Managing rice fallow lands of eastern indian himalayas: impacts of residue management and varietal interventions on soil properties, carbon stocks and productivity

Author(s):  
Jayanta Layek ◽  
Anup Das ◽  
G. I. Ramkrushna ◽  
R. Krishnappa ◽  
P. K. Ghosh ◽  
...  
Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Nyambo ◽  
Chiduza Cornelius ◽  
Tesfay Araya

Understanding the impacts of agricultural practices on carbon stocks and CO2 emission is imperative in order to recommend low emission strategies. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of tillage, crop rotation, and residue management on soil CO2 fluxes, carbon stock, soil temperature, and moisture in the semi-arid conditions in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The field trial was laid out as a split-split-plot design replicated three times. The main plots were tillage viz conventional tillage (CT) and no-till (NT). The sub-plots were allocated to crop rotations viz maize–fallow–maize (MFM), maize–oat–maize (MOM), and maize–vetch–maize (MVM). Crop residue management was in the sub-sub plots, viz retention (R+), removal (R−), and biochar (B). There were no significant interactions (p > 0.05) with respect to the cumulative CO2 fluxes, soil moisture, and soil temperature. Crop residue retention significantly increased the soil moisture content relative to residue removal, but was not different to biochar application. Soil tilling increased the CO2 fluxes by approximately 26.3% relative to the NT. The carbon dioxide fluxes were significantly lower in R− (2.04 µmoL m−2 s−1) relative to the R+ (2.32 µmoL m−2 s−1) and B treatments (2.36 µmoL m−2 s−1). The carbon dioxide fluxes were higher in the summer (October–February) months compared to the winter period (May–July), irrespective of treatment factors. No tillage had a significantly higher carbon stock at the 0-5 cm depth relative to CT. Amending the soils with biochar resulted in significantly lower total carbon stock relative to both R+ and R−. The results of the study show that NT can potentially reduce CO2 fluxes. In the short term, amending soils with biochar did not reduce the CO2 fluxes compared to R+, however the soil moisture increases were comparable.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-68
Author(s):  
Roshan M. Bajracharya ◽  
Him Lal Shrestha ◽  
Ramesh Shakya ◽  
Bishal K. Sitaula

Land management regimes and forest types play an important role in the productivity and accumulation of terrestrial carbon pools. While it is commonly accepted that forests enhance carbon sequestration and conventional agriculture causes carbon depletion, the effects of agro-forestry are not well documented. This study investigated the carbon stocks in biomass and soil, along with the selected soil properties in agro-forestry plots compared to community forests (CF) and upland farms in Chitwan, Gorkha and Rasuwa districts of Central Nepal during the year 2012-2013. We determined the total above ground biomass carbon, soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and soil properties (bulk density, organic carbon per cent, pH, total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (P), exchangeable potassium (K), and cation exchange capacity (CEC)) on samples taken from four replicates of 500 m2 plots each in community forests, agro-forestry systems and agricultural land. The soil was sampled in two increments at 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm depths and intact cores removed for bulk density and SOC determination, while loose samples were separately collected for the laboratory analysis of other soil properties. The mean SOC percent and corresponding soil carbon stocks to 30 cm depth were generally highest in CF (3.71 and 3.69 per cent, and 74.98 and 76.24 t ha-1, respectively), followed by leasehold forest (LHF) (2.26 and 1.13 per cent and 40.72 and 21.34 t ha-1, respectively) and least in the agricultural land (3.05 and 1.09 per cent, and 63.54 and 19.42 t ha-1, respectively). This trend was not, however, observed in Chitwan, where agriculture (AG) had the highest SOC content (1.98 per cent) and soil carbon stocks (42.5 t ha-1), followed by CF (1.8 per cent and 41.2 t ha-1) and leasehold forests (1.56 per cent and 35.3 t ha-1) although the differences were not statistically significant. Other soil properties were not significantly different among land use types with the exceptions of pH, total N, available P and CEC in the Chitwan plots. Typically, SOC and soil carbon stocks (to 30cm depth) were positively correlated with each other and with TN and CEC. The AGB-C was expectantly highest in Rasuwa district CF (ranging from 107.3 to 260.3 t ha-1) due to dense growth and cool climate, followed by Gorkha (3.1 to 118.4 t ha-1), and least in Chitwan (17.6 to 95.2 t ha-1). The highest C stocks for agro-forestry systems in both above ground and soil were observed in Rasuwa, followed by Chitwan district. Besides forests, agro-forestry systems also hold good potential to store and accumulate carbon, hence they have scope for contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation with co-benefits.Journal of Forest and Livelihood 13(1) May, 2015, page: 56-68


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahul Singh ◽  
D.R. Bhardwaj ◽  
Nazir A. Pala ◽  
Bhalendra Singh Rajput

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-320
Author(s):  
Bidyapati Ngangom ◽  
Anup Das ◽  
Rattan Lal ◽  
Ramkrushna Gandhiji Idapuganti ◽  
Jayanta Layek ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 1621-1627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haydon S. Jones ◽  
Loretta G. Garrett ◽  
Peter N. Beets ◽  
Mark O. Kimberley ◽  
Graeme R. Oliver

1998 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 707-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. K. Soon

A 10-yr experiment was initiated on a Dark Grey Solod near Beaverlodge, Alberta (55° 13′N, 119° 20′W) in 1985 to determine the effects of fertilizer management and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) straw removal or incorporation on soil organic carbon (SOC) and related properties. Four crop residue treatments viz., (i) straw removed; (ii) straw ploughed in; (iii) straw disked in; (iv) straw disked in, plus a red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) green manure disked in every fifth year were superimposed on each of four fertilizer treatments. The fertilizer treatments were application of N and P: (i) banded at soil-test recommended rates (ST, b); (ii) broadcast-applied and incorporated at soil-test recommended rates (ST, bi); (iii) banded at soil-test rates of N + 25 kg ha−1 and of P + 10 kg ha−1 (ST +, b); (iv) as in (iii) but fertilizers broadcast-applied and incorporated (ST +, bi). Each treatment was replicated three times in a strip-plot design. Organic carbon, total nitrogen, total, organic and inorganic phosphorus, acid-hydrolysable carbohydrates, and microbial biomass C and N in the soil were not significantly influenced by crop residue treatments. The application of N and P fertilizers above soil-test recommended rates did not significantly affect any of the measured soil properties. Nitrogen application at the higher rate, irrespective of placement method, resulted in greater accumulation of nitrate, especially at 60–90 cm depth. It is concluded that barley straw removal over 10 yr from adequately fertilized continuous cropping systems in the Grey soil zone did not adversely affect SOC and some related nutrient pools and soil properties. Key words: Crop residue management, nitrogen, phosphorus, soil organic carbon, microbial biomass, soil carbohydrates


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