Biological activity of soil under varying tillage and fertilization practices in short-rotation cropping systems

Soil biological activity is a derivative indicator, influenced by the specific features of crop rotation cultivation technologies, the presence of organic matter and plant residues in Chernozem, the compaction level of the arable layer, and the methods of primary tillage. The application of deep ploughing creates favourable conditions for the development of crop root systems through sufficient aeration and water-absorbing properties, thereby ensuring maximum biological activity across all crops in the rotation. This enhances the decomposition of residues and promotes intensive mineralisation processes. The use of various tillage systems (mouldboard, differentiated, shallow (mulching) in a five-field crop rotation demonstrates equivalent productivity outcomes, except for scenarios without the application of mineral fertilisers. In such cases, the shallow (mulching) system lags behind the differentiated and mouldboard systems by 5.5 - 7.6%. The application of mineral fertilisers in moderate doses significantly enhances (by 5.0 - 13.6%) the productivity of crop rotations, particularly under shallow (mulching) tillage systems, which operate under stricter initial conditions for plant mineral nutrition. In these systems, productivity increases exceed 14.0%.