scholarly journals Nitrogen Cycling from Increased Soil Organic Carbon Contributes Both Positively and Negatively to Ecosystem Services in Wheat Agro-Ecosystems

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeda Palmer ◽  
Peter J. Thorburn ◽  
Jody S. Biggs ◽  
Estelle J. Dominati ◽  
Merv E. Probert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Nitrogen Cycling

Modelling impacts of climate change and alternative management interventions on the multi-functionality of agricultural landscapes in southern Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reimund Roetter ◽  
Simon Scheiter ◽  
Munir Hoffmann ◽  
Kwabena Ayisi ◽  
Paolo Merante ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Drought Risk ◽  
Crop Models ◽  
Landscape Level

<p><span><span>On the background of increasing welfare and continued population growth, there is an ever-increasing pressure on land and other natural resources in many parts of the world. The situation is, however, particularly severe in the drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa. Southern African landscapes, composed of arable lands, tree orchards and rangelands, provide a range of important ecosystem functions. These functions are increasingly threatened by land use changes through competing claims on land by agriculture, tourism, mining and other sectors, and by environmental change, namely climate change and soil degradation. Among others, climate models project that drought risk in the region will increase considerably. Based on comprehensive data sets originating from previous groundwork by several collaborative projects on the functioning of these ecosystems, a number of biophysical and bio-economic models have been developed and evaluated. In the framework of the South African Limpopo Landscapes network (SALLnet) we have now refined and tailored these models for combined use for the assessment of changes in multiple functions of the prevailing agroecosystems when affected by alternative climate and land management scenarios - from field to regional scale. We apply vegetation models (such as aDGVM), crop models (such as APSIM) and integrative farm level models (e.g. agent-based) for different farming systems in conjunction with geo-referenced databases. Model outputs are combined to assess the impact of management x environment interactions on various ecosystem functions. Of special interest in our study are the ecosystem services related to the provision of food, feed and fuel, soil and water conservation, as well as recycling and restoring carbon and nutrients in soil. To illustrate how the combination of various modelling components can work in assessing management intervention effects under different environmental conditions on landscape level ecosystem services, a case study was defined in Limpopo province, South Africa. We investigated effects of current management practices and an intensification scenario over a longer period of years on soil organic carbon change under rangeland and arable land, potential erosion, productive water use, biomass production, monthly feed gaps, and rangeland habitat quality. Tentative results showed that sustainable intensification closed the livestock feed gap, but further reduced soil organic carbon. More generally, coupling the output of vegetation and crop models regionally calibrated with sound ground/ experimental data appears promising to provide meaningful insights into the highly complex interconnections of different ecosystem services at a landscape level.</span></span></p>

scholarly journals Effects of land cover on ecosystem services in Tanzania: A spatial assessment of soil organic carbon

Geoderma ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 263 ◽  
pp. 274-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh Winowiecki ◽  
Tor-Gunnar Vågen ◽  
Jeroen Huising
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Spatial Assessment

scholarly journals Production of Carbon Offsets Using Conservation Agriculture Practices

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Francois Rochecouste ◽  
Paul Dargusch
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Carbon Offsets ◽  
The United Nations

This paper examines opportunities for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to consider financial mechanisms for the uptake of conservation agriculture (CA) practices in developing countries to reverse the loss of soil organic carbon. Conservation agriculture, commonly described as the reduction of tillage, maintaining soil cover and introducing crop rotations, is currently being promoted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation as the most sustainable form of farming into the future. It was found that the increasing uptake of CA practices by developed countries improved soil organic carbon benefit and reduced energy inputs. Furthermore industrial agriculture has evolved a range of new technologies that can be adapted in developing countries to improve food security, increase environmental benefits and provide carbon offsets. This is in line with the climate change mitigation strategy of putting atmospheric carbon back in the soil to increase soil organic carbon. It is also noted that recognising conservation agriculture methodologies in carbon offset schemes would require the development of alternative economic instruments specifically to support small landholder changes in farming practices such as exist for hydrological and biodiversity ecosystem services schemes. Some of the constraints for small landowners providing agricultural carbon offsets are investment capital and an established trading mechanism that recognises the inherent issues of agriculture. Adaptation of conservation agricultural practices from industrialised agriculture to developing countries is examined along with current offset schemes being proposed in developed countries. A review of the literature examines Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) and suggests a number of methodologies for consideration as part of an offset market. It was found that the two main obstacles in market terms are the acceptance of a level of soil carbon sequestration that can be easily calculated and the degree of attached liability for farmers in selling the equivalent of a Certified Emission Reduction unit from a highly volatile system.

scholarly journals Restoration of degraded grasslands, but not invasion by Prosopis juliflora, avoids trade-offs between climate change mitigation and other ecosystem services

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Purity Rima Mbaabu ◽  
Daniel Olago ◽  
Maina Gichaba ◽  
Sandra Eckert ◽  
René Eschen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Prosopis Juliflora ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Change Mitigation ◽  
Semi Arid

AbstractGrassland degradation and the concomitant loss of soil organic carbon is widespread in tropical arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Afforestation of degraded grassland, sometimes by using invasive alien trees, has been put forward as a legitimate climate change mitigation strategy. However, even in cases where tree encroachment of degraded grasslands leads to increased soil organic carbon, it may come at a high cost since the restoration of grassland-characteristic biodiversity and ecosystem services will be blocked. We assessed how invasion by Prosopis juliflora and restoration of degraded grasslands in a semi-arid region in Baringo, Kenya affected soil organic carbon, biodiversity and fodder availability. Thirty years of grassland restoration replenished soil organic carbon to 1 m depth at a rate of 1.4% per year and restored herbaceous biomass to levels of pristine grasslands, while plant biodiversity remained low. Invasion of degraded grasslands by P. juliflora increased soil organic carbon primarily in the upper 30 cm and suppressed herbaceous vegetation. We argue that, in contrast to encroachment by invasive alien trees, restoration of grasslands in tropical semi-arid regions can both serve as a measure for climate change mitigation and help restore key ecosystem services important for pastoralists and agro-pastoralist communities.

How does soil organic carbon mediate trade-offs between ecosystem services and agricultural production?

2019 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 280-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastián Horacio Villarino ◽  
Guillermo Alberto Studdert ◽  
Pedro Laterra
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Trade Offs

Orchard management, soil organic carbon and ecosystem services in Mediterranean fruit tree crops

2017 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 92-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Montanaro ◽  
Cristos Xiloyannis ◽  
Vitale Nuzzo ◽  
Bartolomeo Dichio
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Fruit Tree ◽  
Tree Crops ◽  
Orchard Management

scholarly journals Land Use Change Affects Soil Organic Carbon: An Indicator of Soil Health

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy W. Ngatia ◽  
Daniel Moriasi ◽  
Johnny M. Grace III ◽  
Riqiang Fu ◽  
Cassel S. Gardner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Natural Vegetation ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Global Increase

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a major indicator of soil health. Globally, soil contains approximately 2344 Gt of organic carbon (OC), which is the largest terrestrial pool of OC. Through plant growth, soil health is connected with the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems. Provides ecosystem services which include climate regulation, water supplies and regulation, nutrient cycling, erosion protection and enhancement of biodiversity. Global increase in land use change from natural vegetation to agricultural land has been documented as a result of intensification of agricultural practices in response to an increasing human population. Consequently, these changes have resulted in depletion of SOC stock, thereby negatively affecting agricultural productivity and provision of ecosystem services. This necessitates the need to consider technological options that promote retention of SOC stocks. Options to enhance SOC include; no-tillage/conservation agriculture, irrigation, increasing below-ground inputs, organic amendments, and integrated, and diverse cropping/farming systems. In addition, land use conversion from cropland to its natural vegetation improves soil C stocks, highlighting the importance of increasing agricultural production per unit land instead of expanding agricultural land to natural areas.

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