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Soil degradation has been of great concern for New Brunswick's potato farmers, especially on sloped land and shallow soils. In this study, we evaluated the initial response of labile soil carbon (C) fractions (permanganate oxidizable C (POXC) and particulate organic C (POC)) and aggregate stability to two integrated best management practices (BMPIs) composed of the following individual practices: diversion terraces (DT), grassed waterways (GW), and contour tillage (CT) (i.e., DTGW) and DT, GW, CT, and tile drainage (TD) (i.e., DTGW + TD), relative to CT that served as a control. The more water was regulated in the field, the greater the increase in labile C; where DTGW and DTGW + TD gained 19.8% and 50.6% of POXC, respectively, while CT lost 11.2% of POXC. There was an increase in mineral associated organic matter C in the terraced BMPIs, despite the high amount of tillage events that took place during potato cultivation. Two BMPIs had no effect on aggregate stability, most likely due to the short duration of this initial monitoring study that spanned just over two growing seasons. Even though there were no improvements in soil structure, our findings showed that some stabilization of soil C is possible even during the initial two seasons following BMPI implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Canadian Journal of Soil Science is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents a study on the impact of poultry manure applications on soil erosion and runoff water quality from a loam soil of potato production in New Brunswick. It notes the benefits of poultry manure to soil quality and explores the potential risks linked with the application of the manure to the surface water quality. It also assesses the effects of poultry manure on potatoes in aspects of soil erosion and runoff water quality.