Soil organic C (SOC) and total N (TN) contents play a crucial role in sustaining agricultural production systems. Short-term (<=10-year) management effects on SOC and TN dynamics are often complex and variable. Three experiments were conducted to evaluate short-term tillage and cropping system effects on SOC and TN within the 0-30 cm soil depth across Iowa. The first experiment with no-tillage and chisel plowing treatments was established in 1994 on Clarion-Nicollet-Webster (CNW), Galva-Primghar-Sac (GPS), Kenyon-Floyd-Clyde (KFC), Marshall (M), and Otley-Mahaska-Taintor (OMT) soil associations under a corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) rotation. The second experiment with no-tillage, strip-tillage, chisel plowing, deep ripping, and moldboard plowing treatments was initiated in 1998 on the CNW soil association in a corn-soybean rotation. The third experiment consisting of smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and corn-soybean-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) treatments was established in 1991 on Monona-Ida-Hamburg (MIH) soil association under no-tillage management. Short-term tillage effects on SOC and TN occurred primarily at the 0-15 cm soil depth. Tillage effects did not vary significantly with soil association. No-tillage resulted in greater SOC and TN contents than chisel plowing at the end of 7 years of tillage practices averaged over the CNW, GPS, KFC, M, and OMT soil associations. The increase in SOC and TN with no-tillage was not related to SOC and TN stratification in the soil profile or annual C and N inputs from crop residue, but most likely due to decreased mineralization rate of soil organic matter. However, tillage effects on SOC and TN were negligible at the end of only 3 years of tillage practices on the CNW soil association. Smooth bromegrass and switchgrass systems resulted in greater SOC and TN contents at both 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm soil depths than a corn-soybean-alfalfa rotation after 10 years of management on the MIH soil association. Smooth bromegrass and switchgrass systems increased SOC by 2.3 and 1.2 Mg ha-1 yr-1 at the 0-15 cm soil depth, respectively. We conclude from these short-term experiments that reducing tillage intensity and increasing crop diversity to include perennial grasses could be effective in improving C and N sequestration in Midwest soils.
