scholarly journals Soil organic carbon dynamics in typical durum wheat-based crop rotation of Southern Italy

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Di Bene ◽  
Alessandro Marchetti ◽  
Rosa Francaviglia ◽  
Roberta Farina

Mediterranean agricultural areas are dominated by cropping systems based on winter cereals crops, summer irrigated crops, forage-based systems, and mixed succession with bare fallow. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is widely used to assess the environmental performance of these cropping systems, since it is strongly influenced by management practices and environmental conditions. This study evaluates the sustainability of representative intensive cropping systems of southern Italy, in terms of SOC stock changes and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions in the long-term perspective, using a process-based model (RothC10N) combined with a GIS-based spatialization procedure. On the basis of SOC modelling, results showed that crop management practices currently adopted by farmers did not guarantee SOC sequestration in all the rotations (-4.29 Mg C ha<sup>–1</sup>). The sustainability of cropping systems can be improved through management practices such as the retention of crop residues into the field and/or the rational use of irrigation for the summer crop (6.73 Mg C ha<sup>–1</sup>). This finding could help policy makers to provide suggestions for a more effective local implementation of agro-environmental measures.

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noppol Arunrat ◽  
Nathsuda Pumijumnong ◽  
Sukanya Sereenonchai ◽  
Uthai Chareonwong

Understanding the effect of the environment, crop types, and land management practices on the organic carbon sequestration of top soil is crucial for adopting management strategies in highland agricultural areas. The objectives of this study are: (1) to estimate top soil organic carbon density (SOCD) of different crop types and (2) to analyze the factors controlling top SOCD in highland agricultural areas. The top soil layers from 0 to 30 cm depths were collected from the Mae Chaem basin, Northern Thailand. The results showed that the highest top SOCD was found soil used for growing upland rice, which contained an average of 58.71 Mg C ha−1. A significant difference between the top SOCD was detected between areas where minimum tillage and conventional tillage of various crops, with average of values 59.17 and 41.33 Mg C ha−1, respectively, for areas growing strawberries; 61.14 and 37.58 Mg C ha−1, respectively, for cabbage, and 71.15 and 39.55 Mg C ha−1, respectively, for maize. At higher elevation, the top SOCD was high, which may be due to high clay content and low temperature. Increased use of chemical fertilizers lead to increases in top SOCD, resulting in increased crop yields. Elevation, bulk density, N and K2O fertilizers were the main factors controlling the top SOCD at all sites.


Soil Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 346
Author(s):  
K. L. Page ◽  
R. C. Dalal ◽  
S. H. Reeves ◽  
W. J. Wang ◽  
Somasundaram Jayaraman ◽  
...  

No-till (NT) farming has been widely adopted to assist in reducing erosion, lowering fuel costs, conserving soil moisture and improving soil physical, chemical and biological characteristics. Improvements in soil characteristics are often driven by the greater soil organic matter accumulation (as measured by soil organic carbon (SOC)) in NT compared to conventional tillage (CT) farming systems. However, to fully understand the effect of NT it is important to understand temporal changes in SOC by monitoring over an extended period. We investigated the long-term effect of NT and stubble retention (SR) on changes in SOC and total soil nitrogen (STN) using results from an experiment that has been running for 50 years in a semi-arid subtropical region of north-eastern Australia. In this experiment, the effects of tillage (CT vs NT), residue management (stubble burning (SB) vs SR), and nitrogen (N) fertiliser (0 and 90 kg-N ha–1) were measured in a balanced factorial experiment on a Vertisol (Ustic Pellusert). The use of NT, SR and N fertiliser generally improved SOC (by up to 12.8%) and STN stocks (by up to 31.7%) in the 0–0.1 m layer relative to CT, SB and no N fertiliser, with the greatest stocks observed where all three treatments were used in combination. However, declines in SOC (up to 20%) and STN (up to 25%) occurred in all treatments over the course of the experiment, indicating that changes in management practices were unable to prevent a loss of soil organic matter over time in this farming system. However, the NT and SR treatments did lose less SOC than CT and SB treatments, and SR also reduced STN loss. The δ13C analysis of samples collected in 2008 and 2015 highlighted that crop residues have significantly contributed to SOC stocks at the site and that their contribution is increasing over time.


2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (8) ◽  
pp. 799 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. R. Hulugalle ◽  
T. B. Weaver ◽  
L. A. Finlay ◽  
V. Heimoana

Long-term studies of soil organic carbon dynamics in two- and three-crop rotations in irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) based cropping systems under varying stubble management practices in Australian Vertosols are relatively few. Our objective was to quantify soil organic carbon dynamics during a 9-year period in four irrigated, cotton-based cropping systems sown on permanent beds in a Vertosol with restricted subsoil drainage near Narrabri in north-western New South Wales, Australia. The experimental treatments were: cotton–cotton (CC); cotton–vetch (Vicia villosa Roth. in 2002–06, Vicia benghalensis L. in 2007–11) (CV); cotton–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), where wheat stubble was incorporated (CW); and cotton–wheat–vetch, where wheat stubble was retained as in-situ mulch (CWV). Vetch was terminated during or just before flowering by a combination of mowing and contact herbicides, and the residues were retained as in situ mulch. Estimates of carbon sequestered by above- and below-ground biomass inputs were in the order CWV >> CW = CV > CC. Carbon concentrations in the 0–1.2 m depth and carbon storage in the 0–0.3 and 0–1.2 m depths were similar among all cropping systems. Net carbon sequestration rates did not differ among cropping systems and did not change significantly with time in the 0–0.3 m depth, but net losses occurred in the 0–1.2 m depth. The discrepancy between measured and estimated values of sequestered carbon suggests that either the value of 5% used to estimate carbon sequestration from biomass inputs was an overestimate for this site, or post-sequestration losses may have been high. The latter has not been investigated in Australian Vertosols. Future research efforts should identify the cause and quantify the magnitude of these losses of organic carbon from soil.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (16) ◽  
pp. 4045-4050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongcun Zhao ◽  
Meiyan Wang ◽  
Shuijin Hu ◽  
Xudong Zhang ◽  
Zhu Ouyang ◽  
...  

China’s croplands have experienced drastic changes in management practices, such as fertilization, tillage, and residue treatments, since the 1980s. There is an ongoing debate about the impact of these changes on soil organic carbon (SOC) and its implications. Here we report results from an extensive study that provided direct evidence of cropland SOC sequestration in China. Based on the soil sampling locations recorded by the Second National Soil Survey of China in 1980, we collected 4,060 soil samples in 2011 from 58 counties that represent the typical cropping systems across China. Our results showed that across the country, the average SOC stock in the topsoil (0–20 cm) increased from 28.6 Mg C ha−1 in 1980 to 32.9 Mg C ha−1 in 2011, representing a net increase of 140 kg C ha−1 year−1. However, the SOC change differed among the major agricultural regions: SOC increased in all major agronomic regions except in Northeast China. The SOC sequestration was largely attributed to increased organic inputs driven by economics and policy: while higher root biomass resulting from enhanced crop productivity by chemical fertilizers predominated before 2000, higher residue inputs following the large-scale implementation of crop straw/stover return policy took over thereafter. The SOC change was negatively related to N inputs in East China, suggesting that the excessive N inputs, plus the shallowness of plow layers, may constrain the future C sequestration in Chinese croplands. Our results indicate that cropland SOC sequestration can be achieved through effectively manipulating economic and policy incentives to farmers.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Zhang

&lt;p&gt;Improvements in management practices can prevent the decline of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage caused by conventional tillage&amp;#160;practice in Northeast China. Density and size fractionation can track the transformation of plant residue into SOC and its location&amp;#160;in soil matrix. We used a long-term field study&amp;#160;in China&amp;#160;to evaluate these changes as a result of improved management involving tillage and cropping systems. Experimental treatments included no-till&amp;#160;(NT)&amp;#160;and moldboard ploughing&amp;#160;(MP)&amp;#160;under monoculture maize&amp;#160;(Zea mays&amp;#160;L.) (MM) and maize-soybean (Glycine max Merr.) rotation (MS); these were compared to the traditional management involving conventional tillage&amp;#160;(CT)&amp;#160;under MM. An&amp;#160;incubation&amp;#160;study&amp;#160;was conducted to evaluate mineralization and the biodegradability of SOC. The soils were also physically fractionated by density (light fraction, LF) and size (sand, silt, clay). With improved management, the SOC storage&amp;#160;in the clay&amp;#160;showed the largest increase across&amp;#160;all fractions. This increase was greater for MS than MM. The NTMS treatment resulted in a decline in silt-OC storage compared to CTMM. The&amp;#160;SOC mineralization&amp;#160;(mg CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;-C g&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#160;soil)&amp;#160;was affected by tillage and driven by LF-OC&amp;#160;and was observed in the order: NTMM&amp;#160;(2.06) &gt; MPMM&amp;#160;(1.72) &amp;#8776;&amp;#160;NTMS (1.71)&amp;#160;&gt;&amp;#160;CTMM (1.52) &amp;#8776;&amp;#160;MPMS (1.41). Both cropping and depth affected the biodegradability of SOC. Considering the plough layer (0-20 cm), treatments under MM had larger proportion of biodegradable SOC than under MS.&amp;#160;We conclude that the significant differences in SOC storage in physical fractions and SOC biodegradation were caused by differences in soil management.&lt;/p&gt;


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
E. T. Sebetha ◽  
A. T. Modi

<p>Cowpea is a multi-purpose nitrogen fixing crop that can be grown as a vegetable, grain legume and a fodder. The objectives of this study were to investigate the growth response of cowpea to different cropping systems at different locations and determine nitrogen fertilization on cowpea growth and soil organic carbon content. Three cropping systems were used, namely, maize-cowpea rotation, cowpea monocropping and maize-cowpea intercropping at three locations (Potchefstroom, Taung, and Rustenburg) in South Africa during 2011/12 and 2012/13 planting seasons. Nitrogen fertilizer was applied at two rates where no application was the control at all locations and application according to soil analysis recommendation for maize requirement was applied at each location. The variables measured for cowpea growth were days to 100% flowering and physiological maturity, number of leaves and nodules per cowpea plant. Soil organic carbon was determined for each treatment. The results showed that, maize-cowpea rotation and monocropping reached days to 100% flowering and maturity significantly earlier compared to intercropping. Cowpea planted at Potchefstroom and Rustenburg reached days to 100% flowering and physiological maturity significantly earlier than cowpea planted at Taung. Cowpea planted at Taung had significantly higher number of nodules per plant than cowpea planted at Potchefstroom and Rustenburg. There was also a positive correlation between soil organic carbon and cowpea growth. It is concluded that the positive effect of cowpea in agronomic systems is enhanced by the correct cropping system, although it is affected by location.</p>


Author(s):  
R. K. Naresh ◽  
M. Sharath Chandra ◽  
Aryan Baliyan ◽  
B. Naveen Kumar ◽  
Pradeep Kumar Kanaujiya ◽  
...  

The role of soil microorganisms in the biogeochemical process and nutrient cycling of soil is critical and is colossally impacted by agronomic management practices. In order to establish climate-smart precision land leveling practices in cereal based cropping systems, comprehension of the land bacterial local area and supplement nutrient dynamics under differentiating management practices is of most extreme significance. Climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices are gaining traction in subtropical India as a viable alternative to conventional cereal-based cropping systems for reversing natural resource depletion. Sustainable soil management alternatives that sequester carbon in the soil, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and help intensify production, all while enhancing the natural resource base. Aggregate-associated soil organic carbon (SOC) contents in 0-15 cm depth were recorded highest SOC at 15-30 cm depth in Precision Land Leveling (PLL) systems as 9.4% for both M-P-MbPLL and M-W-MbPLL. Highest PON change in arable cropping system (30.9 & 40.1%) was found in O-W-Mb with precision land levelling plots followed by R-P-O with precision land levelling plots (26.1 & 35.8%) as compared to R-W and S-W system. The values of LFOC in surface soil were 194.7, 187.9, 176.2, 170.9, 168.5, 150.6, 132.8 and 123.8 mgkg−1 in R-P-O, R-C-O, M-W-Mb, O-W-Mb, M-P-Mb, R-P-Mb, R-W and S-W with precision land leveling treatments. Therefore, adopting Climate Smart Agriculture Precision Land leveling practices can dramatically boost system productivity in cereal-based cropping systems by improving SOC and soil biological quality. The overview literature accrued indicate that CSA based totally totally management has a remarkable impact on top soil resilience in phrases of relative abundances of bacterial groups, soil organic carbon & to be had plant nutrients and as a result may additionally play a vital function within the sustainability of the extensive cereal based cropping systems.


2002 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Larbi ◽  
J. W. Smith ◽  
I. O. Adekunle ◽  
W. A. Agyare ◽  
L. D. Gbaraneh ◽  
...  

A study was conducted in the humid-forest, forest-savanna, and Guinea savanna zones of West Africa from 1993 to 1999 to examine the effect of managing crop residues from cereal–legume cropping systems for mulch and fodder for sheep. Increasing the proportion of total crop residues produced from a unit area of land and used as mulch increased maize grain yield, soil organic carbon, nitrogen and available phosphorus. The extra increases obtained when more than half the crop residues were applied as mulch were relatively small, however, suggesting that 25–50% of the crop residues could be removed as feed without any detrimental effect. When any crop residues rejected by sheep were mixed with livestock urine and faeces and returned to the respective fields from where the crop residues had been removed, subsequent grain yield and soil organic carbon, nitrogen, and available phosphorus increased. The study demonstrated the possibility of managing crop residues for increased productivity in smallholder mixed crop–livestock systems.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 650
Author(s):  
Jesús Aguilera-Huertas ◽  
Beatriz Lozano-García ◽  
Manuel González-Rosado ◽  
Luis Parras-Alcántara

The short- and medium—long-term effects of management and hillside position on soil organic carbon (SOC) changes were studied in a centenary Mediterranean rainfed olive grove. One way to measure these changes is to analyze the soil quality, as it assesses soil degradation degree and attempts to identify management practices for sustainable soil use. In this context, the SOC stratification index (SR-COS) is one of the best indicators of soil quality to assess the degradation degree from SOC content without analyzing other soil properties. The SR-SOC was calculated in soil profiles (horizon-by-horizon) to identify the best soil management practices for sustainable use. The following time periods and soil management combinations were tested: (i) in the medium‒long-term (17 years) from conventional tillage (CT) to no-tillage (NT), (ii) in the short-term (2 years) from CT to no-tillage with cover crops (NT-CC), and (iii) the effect in the short-term (from CT to NT-CC) of different topographic positions along a hillside. The results indicate that the SR-SOC increased with depth for all management practices. The SR-SOC ranged from 1.21 to 1.73 in CT0, from 1.48 to 3.01 in CT1, from 1.15 to 2.48 in CT2, from 1.22 to 2.39 in NT-CC and from 0.98 to 4.16 in NT; therefore, the soil quality from the SR-SOC index was not directly linked to the increase or loss of SOC along the soil profile. This demonstrates the time-variability of SR-SOC and that NT improves soil quality in the long-term.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 484
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Bierer ◽  
April B. Leytem ◽  
Robert S. Dungan ◽  
Amber D. Moore ◽  
David L. Bjorneberg

Insufficient characterization of soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics in semi-arid climates contributes uncertainty to SOC sequestration estimates. This study estimated changes in SOC (0–30 cm depth) due to variations in manure management, tillage regime, winter cover crop, and crop rotation in southern Idaho (USA). Empirical data were used to drive the Denitrification Decomposition (DNDC) model in a “default” and calibrated capacity and forecast SOC levels until 2050. Empirical data indicates: (i) no effect (p = 0.51) of winter triticale on SOC after 3 years; (ii) SOC accumulation (0.6 ± 0.5 Mg ha–1 year–1) under a rotation of corn-barley-alfalfax3 and no change (p = 0.905) in a rotation of wheat-potato-barley-sugarbeet; (iii) manure applied annually at rate 1X is not significantly different (p = 0.75) from biennial application at rate 2X; and (iv) no significant effect of manure application timing (p = 0.41, fall vs. spring). The DNDC model simulated empirical SOC and biomass C measurements adequately in a default capacity, yet specific issues were encountered. By 2050, model forecasting suggested: (i) triticale cover resulted in SOC accrual (0.05–0.27 Mg ha–1 year–1); (ii) when manure is applied, conventional tillage regimes are favored; and (iii) manure applied treatments accrue SOC suggesting a quadratic relationship (all R2 > 0.85 and all p < 0.0001), yet saturation behavior was not realized when extending the simulation to 2100. It is possible that under very large C inputs that C sequestration is favored by DNDC which may influence “NetZero” C initiatives.


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