The aim of the present study was to compare the chemical soil quality parameters in a three-year spring wheat monoculture as affected by the incorporation of biomass of selected catch crops into the soil under two tillage systems (plough tillage and no-tillage). The experiment was set up as a split-plot design with 5 replicates on 27 m2 plots. The suitability of the following catch crops plants: white mustard, lacy phacelia, and a mixture of legumes (faba bean + spring vetch), was tested relative to the control treatment. The study was conducted in Czesławice (Poland), in 2013-2015. The experiment was established on loess soil with the grain size distribution of silt loam and classified as good wheat soil complex (soil class II).  Soil samples were taken using a soil sampling auger from an area of 0.20 m2 (from the 0-20 cm layer) in each plot in the spring period (before spring wheat was sown). This study hypothesized that the catch crops, in combination with conservation tillage, would result in an improvement in some soil fertility chemical indicators in a several-year monoculture of spring wheat. It was proven that, regardless of a tillage system, the catch crops (in particular the mixture of legumes and white mustard) beneficially affected the soil chemical properties (in particular the content of soil humus, organic C, P, Mg and micronutrients). Tillage systems did not cause significant differences in soil pH. The catch crops also contributed to a reduction in phenolic compounds in the soil.  Tillage systems had a weaker impact on the soil chemical parameters. Despite this, plough tillage promoted more favorable soil chemical composition in spring (compared to the conservation tillage).  

25.1.2020