Objective To explore the characteristics of soil aggregates, their organic carbon content and structural distribution under the long-term organic substitution model. Methods Through 10 consecutive years of field positioning experiments, the effects of organic fertilizer replacing part of chemical fertilizer on the water stability of soil aggregates, the content of organic carbon and the distribution of functional group structures at different particle sizes were studied. Results 1)The results show that, long-term organic substitution can significantly increase the average mass diameter and geometric average diameter of soil aggregates, as well as the content of soil aggregates >0.25 mm, and increase the proportion of particle sizes ranging from 2 to 0.25 mm. 2)Compared with the conventional single application of chemical fertilizers, the organic replacement treatment increased the soil organic carbon content in aggregates of larger than 2 mm by 14.49%-61.84%, 2-0.25 mm by 21.85%-41.32%, 0.25-0.053 mm by 13.51%-36.86%, and <0.053 mm by 15.51%-38.47%. Organic substitution can significantly increase the content of organic carbon in micro-aggregate particles and mineral-bound organic carbon, which is 11.67%-13.87% and 77.24%-101.01% respectively compared with the conventional single application of chemical fertilizers. 3)In addition, organic substitution also promotes the structural diversification of organic carbon functional groups in aggregates at different particle sizes, optimizes the uniform distribution and increases the quantity of aromatic carbon and polysaccharides. Conclusion Long-term organic substitution can effectively increase the water stability of soil aggregates and the organic carbon content in different particle sizes, promote the diversification of the structural distribution and quantity increase of organic carbon functional groups, and help enhance the soil structural stability, water retention and erosion resistance.
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