ABSTRACT
Management practices can have major impacts on soil organic carbon (SOC) levels, gains, and losses. There is wide acceptance that cultivating native land causes loss of soil organic matter. Davidson and Ackerman (1993) reported 20% to 40% loss of soil organic matter following the conversion of previously untilled soils to agricultural production. Changes in agricultural production are reversing this trend (Buyanovsky and Wagner, 1998). Conversion of land from plow tillage to long-term no-tillage management often increases soil organic C and N content (Doran, 1980, 1987; McCarty et al., 1995; McCarty and Meisinger, 1997).
