An empirical model for estimating carbon sequestration on the Canadian prairies

2005 ◽  
Vol 85 (Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 549-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. C. Liang ◽  
C. A. Campbell ◽  
B. G. McConkey ◽  
G. Padbury ◽  
P. Collas
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Empirical Model ◽  
C Sequestration ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Continuous Cropping ◽  
Canadian Prairies ◽  
Simple Process ◽  
No Till ◽  
Gray Soil

There is a need to develop verifiable algorithms that can be easily applied to estimate carbon sequestration in soils. A simple process-based empirical model, driven primarily by soil texture and crop residue input, was developed to account for changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) in Chernozemic soils on the Canadian prairies. The model was used to estimate SOC change under no-till and continuous cropping compared with conventional tillage and rotations with fallow. Using this model, C sequestration due to continuous cropping compared with fallow-containing rotations was determined to be 0.09 Mg C ha-1yr-1 for the Brown and Dark Brown, and 0.05 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 for the Black and Dark Gray/Gray soil zones. The rate of C sequestration as a result of continuous cropping was positively related to the frequency of fallow, which decreases on the prairies from the Brown, Dark Brown, and Black to the Dark Gray/Gray soil zones. Using this model average C sequestration when conventional tillage was converted to no-till, was 0.13, 0.23, 0.34, and 0.25 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 for the same soil zones, respectively. Combined gains due to no-till and continuous cropping in comparison with conventional tillage and fallow-containing rotations were determined to be 0.22, 0.32, 0.39, and 0.30 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 for the Brown, Dark Brown, Black and Dark Gray/Gray soil zones, respectively. Based on Agricultural Census of Canada data in 1996 and 2001, the amount of “C sequestered” due to the adoption of no-till was estimated to be 1.23 million Mg of C in 1996 and 1.72 million Mg of C in 2001, which is approximately 10% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector in Canada. This simple process-based empirical model could serve as a useful tool for soil scientists to use in assessing soil sustainability and C sequestration in the Canadian prairies. It would also assist policy makers in understanding how various scenarios of improved management will influence future greenhouse gas emissions on agricultural soils. Key words: Soil organic carbon, no-till, fallow, crop rotation

scholarly journals Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics in Semi-Arid Irrigated Cropping Systems

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 484
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Bierer ◽  
April B. Leytem ◽  
Robert S. Dungan ◽  
Amber D. Moore ◽  
David L. Bjorneberg
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
C Sequestration ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Dndc Model ◽  
Application Timing ◽  
Winter Triticale ◽  
Semi Arid

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.

Effect of Tillage Systems on Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Quality in a Purple Paddy Soil

2011 ◽  
Vol 183-185 ◽  
pp. 1190-1194
Author(s):  
Jun Ke Zhang ◽  
Qing Ju Hao ◽  
Chang Sheng Jiang ◽  
Yan Wu
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Paddy Soil ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Water Infiltration ◽  
Purple Soil ◽  
Tillage Systems ◽  
Field Station ◽  
No Till ◽  
The Impact

The impact of conservation tillage practices on carbon sequestration has been of great interest in recent years. This experiment analyzed the organic carbon status of soils sampled at depth increments from 0 to 60 cm after 20 years in a purple paddy soil. The tillage experiment was established in the Key Field Station for Monitoring of Eco-Environment of Purple Soil of the Ministry of Agriculture of China, located in the farm of Southwest University (30°26′N, 106°26′E), Chongqing. In this paper, five tillage treatments including conventional tillage with rice only system (DP), conventional tillage with rotation of rice and rape system (SL), no-till and ridge culture with rotation of rice and rape system (LM), no-till and plain culture with rotation of rice and rape system (XM) and tillage and ridge culture with rotation of rice and rape system (LF) were selected as research objectives to measure SOC storage and stratification ratio of SOC (CSR). The SOC storage under different tillage systems was calculated based on an equivalent soil mass. The CSR can be used as an indicator of soil quality because surface organic matter is essential to erosion control, water infiltration, and the conservation of nutrients. Results showed that in soil under no-till SOC was concentrated near the surface, while in tilled soil SOC decreased equably with the increase of soil depth. The difference of SOC contents between the five tillage systems was the largest in the top soil and the lowest in the bottom soil. The order of SOC storage was LM (158.52 Mg C•ha-1) >DP (106.74 Mg C•ha-1) >XM (100.11 Mg C•ha-1) >LF (93.11 Mg C•ha-1) >SL (88.59 Mg C•ha-1), LM treatment was significantly higher than the other treatments. The CSR of 0-10/50-60 cm was 2.65, 2.70 and 2.14 under LM, XM and LF treatments, while 1.54 and 1.92 under DP and SL treatments. We considered CSR>2 indicate an improvement in soil quality produced by changing from tillage to no-tillage, as well as changing from plane to ridge. Overall, long-term LM treatment is a valid strategy for increasing SOC storage and improving soil quality in a purple paddy soil in Southwest China.

Predicting a ceiling for soil carbon sequestration on variable landscapes under no-till in eastern Canada

2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. 775-785 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Chan ◽  
B D Kay ◽  
E G Gregorich
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
C Sequestration ◽  
Saturation Ratio ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Biochemical Basis ◽  
No Till ◽  
Variable Landscapes ◽  
Variable Topography

Much of the crop production in eastern Canada occurs on landscapes where erosion/deposition has occurred. The potential to sequester C by reducing tillage will be greatest in those parts of landscapes where the organic carbon (OC) stocks are below a ceiling (OCc). However, the physical/biochemical basis for OCc is not understood and therefore it is difficult to predict where C sequestration will occur in landscapes with variable topography. In this research we tested two hypotheses proposed as the physical/biochemical basis for OCc: (1) OCc coincides with the steady state OC (OCss) stocks on non-eroded sites and (2) OCc coincides with a critical proportion of the capacity of the clay and silt fraction to absorb and retain OC (i.e., a critical saturation ratio). Comparison of data from sites with level and variable topography disproved the first hypothesis; OC stocks on level sites were, on average, 14 Mg ha-1 larger than OCc 15 yr after implementing no-till (NT) on variable landscapes. Further analyses of data from sites with variable topography indicated the saturation ratio in the surface 10 cm of soil must be less than 0.45 before NT results in C sequestration in the profile. Although the analyses are not incompatible with the second hypothesis, the critical saturation ratio is surprisingly small compared with values obtained from level sites. Additional tests of the second hypothesis are warranted on sites with variable topography in which C sequestration has been documented. Key words: Erosion, C capacity, saturation ratio, spatial variability, C sequestration

Tillage and root heat stress in wheat in central Alberta

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Wang ◽  
R. Lemke ◽  
T. Goddard ◽  
C. Sprout
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Grain Growth ◽  
Growth Stage ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Wheat Root ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Canadian Prairies ◽  
No Till ◽  
Soil Temperatures

Heat stress occurs often in wheat on the Canadian Prairies especially during reproductive growth, which has markedly negative impacts on yield. As previous studies reported that wheat growth was affected more by heat stress in roots than in shoot, we suspected that the cooling effect of no-till (NT) on soil may reduce the risk of root heat stress and benefit the yield compared with conventional tillage (CT). Data were collected between 2000 and 2003 from a tillage study using a continuous wheat cropping system on a Thin Black Chernozemic clay loam in central Alberta. Consistently lower soil temperatures at 5 and 10 cm in NT than CT were observed in the whole growing season every year. At the grain growth stage, NT mitigated heat shock (>32°C at 5 cm) which occurred in 2001 and 2002 under CT and considerably reduced root heat stress index (HSI), calculated as accumulations of hourly soil temperatures greater than 20°C, every year compared with CT. By reducing root heat stress especially during the grain growth stage and slightly increasing pre-seeding soil moisture, no-till increased above-ground biomass (33–160%) and grain yield (18–147%) every year except 2003 when heat and water stress were relatively mild. Key words: Heat stress, soil temperature, no-till, conventional tillage, wheat, root

scholarly journals Method of Tillage with the Factor Determining the Quality of Organic Matter

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bozena Debska ◽  
Iwona Jaskulska ◽  
Dariusz Jaskulski
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Surface Layer ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Residue Management ◽  
Plant Residue ◽  
Tillage System ◽  
Tillage Method

The aim of this paper has been to determine the importance of the strip-till method for the content of carbon and the quality of organic matter as compared with plough and ploughless tillage. The question to answer has been to what extent strip-till can contribute to carbon sequestration and thus be part of the strategy of counteracting climate change. The research involved soil where conventional tillage (CT), strip-till (ST), and reduced tillage (RT) were applied. These systems differ completely in the way they affect the post-harvest residue, i.e., “plant residue management”. For air-dry soil samples, the following analyses were made: the content of total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (Nt), content of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved nitrogen (DNt), and the fractional composition of humus. In the surface layer the content of TOC ranged from 11.96 (CT) to 13.88 g kg−1 (RT) and DOC ranged from 209.9 (CT) to 230.5 mg kg−1 (ST). The share of the fraction of fluvic acids (0–15 cm layer) changed from 15.51% (RT) to 18.81% (ST), the share of the fraction of humic acids was 9.36% (ST) to 11.60%, and humins were 68.90% (CT) to 72.6% (RT). These results demonstrated that the tillage system determines the properties of the organic matter of soil. In the surface layer (0–15 cm) and in the 30–50 cm layer the properties of the soil organic matter under strip-till had a greater similarity to the soil under ploughless tillage than under conventional tillage. Ploughless tillage and strip-till considerably limited the leaching of carbon and nitrogen from the surface layer to the 30–50 cm layer. Strip-till, similarly to ploughless tillage, is the tillage method which can be crucial for the process of carbon sequestration.

Effect of Tillage Systems on Distribution of Aggregates and Organic Carbon in a Long-Term No-Tillage Paddy Field

2011 ◽  
Vol 183-185 ◽  
pp. 1185-1189
Author(s):  
Qi Wen Tang ◽  
Chang Sheng Jiang ◽  
Qing Ju Hao ◽  
Yan Wu
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Bottom Layer ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Organic Carbon Content ◽  
Diameter Class ◽  
Tillage Systems ◽  
No Till ◽  
Long Term Experiment

The effect of different tillage systems on the size distribution of aggregates and organic carbon distribution and storage in different size aggregates in a Hydragric Anthrosol were studied in a long-term experiment in Chongqing, China. The experiment included five tillage treatments, which are conventional tillage with rice only system (DP), conventional tillage with rotation of rice and rape system (SH), no-till and ridge culture with rotation of rice and rape system (LM), no-till and plain culture with rotation of rice and rape system (XM) and tillage and ridge culture with rotation of rice and rape system (LF), respectively. The results showed that the aggregates 0.25-0.05 mm in diameter accounted for the largest proportion in each soil layer under all treatments. The organic carbon mainly exist in aggregates in the 0.25-2 mm and 0.05-0.25 mm diameter in the plough layer, which mainly exist in the 0.25-2 mm in diameter in the bottom layer. Distribution of organic carbon in aggregates in the 0.05-0.25 mm diameter class was highest, followed by the aggregates in the 0.25-2mm diameter class. The organic carbon in aggregates under different tillage systems was in a decreasing order of LM (21.05 g·kg-1)> DP (14.13 g·kg-1)> XM (13.29 g·kg-1)> LF (12.54 g·kg-1) > SH (11.41 g·kg-1). The total organic carbon content showed a significant correlation with the amount of aggregates with diameter >0.005 mm. The results showed that the accumulation of soil organic carbon was mainly affected by aggregates in the >0.005mm diameter class.

Sequestration of carbon and changes in soil quality under conservation tillage on light-textured soils in Australia: a review

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 325 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Y. Chan ◽  
D. P. Heenan ◽  
H. B. So
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Soil Structure ◽  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Continuous Cropping ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Long Term Changes

Light-textured soils (<35% clay) make up more than 80%, by area, of cropping soils in Australia. Many have inherent soil physical problems, e.g. hardsetting, sodicity and low organic carbon levels. Maintenance and improvement of soil organic carbon levels are crucial to preserving the soil structure and physical fertility of these soils.A review of field trials on conservation tillage (3–19 years duration) on these soils in southern Australia revealed that significantly higher soil organic carbon levels compared with conventional tillage were found only in the wetter areas (>500 mm) and the differences were restricted to the top 2.5–10.0 cm. The average magnitude of the difference was lower than that reported in the USA. The lack of a positive response to conservation tillage is probably a reflection of a number of factors, namely low crop yield (due to low rainfall), partial removal of stubble by grazing and the high decomposition rate (due to the high temperature). There is evidence suggesting that under continuous cropping in the drier areas, the soil organic carbon level continues to decline, even under conservation tillage.Better soil structure and soil physical properties, namely macro-porosity, aggregate stability and higher infiltration have been reported under conservation tillage when compared with conventional tillage. However, little information on long-term changes of these properties under conservation tillage is available. As many of these soil qualities are associated directly or indirectly with soil organic carbon levels, the lack of significant increase in the latter suggests that many of these improvements may not be sustainable in the longer term, particularly in the drier areas. Continuous monitoring of long-term changes in the soil organic carbon and soil quality under conservation tillage in different agro-ecological zones is needed.

Stratification ratio of organic matter pools influenced by management systems in a weathered Oxisol from a tropical agro-ecoregion in Brazil

Soil Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. C. Figueiredo ◽  
D. V. S. Resck ◽  
M. A. C. Carneiro ◽  
M. L. G. Ramos ◽  
J. C. M. Sá
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Microbial Biomass Carbon ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
No Till ◽  
The Impact

Enhancement of organic matter plays an essential role in improving soil quality for supporting sustainable food production. Changes in carbon stocks with impacts on emissions of greenhouse gases may result from the stratification of organic matter as a result of soil use. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of soil management systems on soil carbon stocks and stratification ratios (SR) of soil organic matter pools. Total organic carbon (TOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), mineral-associated organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen, basal respiration, and particulate organic matter nitrogen (PON) were determined. The field experiment comprised several tillage treatments: conventional tillage, no-till with biannual rotation, no-till with biannual rotation combined with a second crop, no-till with annual rotation, and pasture. The labile fractions indicated a high level of variation among management systems. Pasture proved to be an excellent option for the improvement of soil carbon. While the conventional tillage system reduced total carbon stocks of the soil (0–40 cm), no-tillage presented TOC stocks similar to that of native vegetation. Sensitivity of the TOC SR varied from 0.93 to 1.28, a range of 0.35; the range for POC was 1.76 and for MBC 1.64. The results support the hypothesis that the labile fractions (POC, MBC, and PON) are highly sensitive to the dynamics of organic matter in highly weathered soils of tropical regions influenced by different management systems. Reductions to SRs of labile organic matter pools are related to the impacts of agricultural use of Cerrado soils.

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