Effect of soil aggregate size and long-term contrasting tillage, stubble and nitrogen management regimes on CO2 fluxes from a Vertisol

Soil aggregates are the ‘building blocks’ of soil structure. Aggregation dominantly influences the physico-chemical and biological properties of soil. Farm management practices can alter soil aggregation, which can potentially influence carbon dioxide (CO) fluxes. We examined the effect of soil aggregate size on CO fluxes in a Vertisol following 47 years of contrasting management regimes, namely no-till (NT) or conventional till (CT), stubble retention (SR) or burning (SB), and without nitrogen (N) application (0 N) or with 90 kg N ha year (90 N). Aggregate size significantly affected CO fluxes over a 21-day incubation period, with the smallest aggregate size o