Cellulose decomposition in the Trans-Urals forest-steppe zone leached arable chernozem

The aim of research is to study the effect of mineral fertilizers on the intensity of cellulose decomposition in the zone of the Trans-Ural forest-steppe. The study presents the dependence of this process on temperature, soil moisture and the level of mineral nutrition. Research was carried out in the northern forest-steppe of the Trans-Urals in the period 2016–2020 on leached chernozem under crops of spring wheat. Mineral fertilizers were applied to the planned yield in the following doses: by 3.0 t/ha of grain –N40P75; 5 t/ha – N150P200; 6 t/ha – N185P160 kg/ha. The intensity of the degradation of the tissue was determined during the growing season of spring wheat (June-August) with the extraction of the tissue at the end of each month. As a result of many years of research, a direct dependence of cellulose decomposition on weather conditions has been established, the coefficient of variation in the first month of exposure was 23–58 % against the background of N150P200 fertilizers it reached 96 %. In the second and third months of exposure, this indicator decreased and varied within 11–36 and 11–30 %, respectively. No influence of mineral fertilizers (N40P75; N150P200) on cellulose decomposition was revealed in the first month of exposure, decomposition was about 17–19 %, which corresponded to the control values. However, in the variant with the maximum saturation with macronutrients, an increase in decomposition processes by 28 % was recorded in relation to the control. For 2 months of exposure on the unfertilized variant, the weight loss of the tissue was 18–23 %, of which in July - no more than 6 %. In the variant with the mini-mum level of mineral nutrition (NP per 3.0 t / ha of grain), the decomposition was 26–34 %, in July it was already decomposed on average 11–15 %. On the variants with the maximum saturation with fertilizers, the cellulose activity increased by 1.5 times, in relation to the control, the difference reached more than 90%. The last month of exposure is marked by the minimum values for the decomposition of cellulose in the control and low agro background, not exceeding 10 % of the initial tissue mass.