Organic matter management can improve soil structural properties. This is crucial for agricultural soils in tropical regions threatened by high rainfall intensities. Compared to conventional farming, organic farming is usually deemed to increase organic carbon and improve soil structural properties such as stability and permeability. However, how much, if any, buildup of organic carbon is possible or indeed occurring also depends on soil type and environmental factors. We compared the impact of seven years of organic farming (annually 13.6 t ha−1 of composted manure) with that of conventional practices (2 t ha−1 of farmyard manure with 150–170 kg N ha−1 of mineral fertilizers) on soil structural properties. The study was conducted on a Vertisol in India with a two‐year crop rotation of cotton soybean wheat. Despite large differences in organic amendment application, organic carbon was not significantly different at 9.6 mg C g−1 on average in the topsoil. However, the size distribution of water‐stable aggregates shifted toward more aggregates
Biovision Foundation for Ecological Development http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100015593
Coop Sustainability Fund
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Foundation fiat panis http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011087
Liechtenstein Development Service http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100015698
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.18665612