scholarly journals Monitoring soil organic carbon stock changes in agricultural landscapes: Issues and a proposed approach

2006 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
A J VandenBygaart
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Landscape Processes ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
Soc Stock

The distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) in the landscape is governed by multiple factors and processes occurring at multiple scales. Thus, an understanding of landscape processes and pedology should aid in designing approaches to study SOC stock changes. Numerous factors affect distribution of SOC in the landscape at varying spatial and temporal scales. Each of these is summarized to set the stage for outlining a proposed approach to monitoring SOC in the agricultural landscape. Many tools are used to assess the variability of soil properties at varying spatial scales. Pedological knowledge and interpretation of landscape processes can be used to understand the spatial distribution of SOC in the landscape. I show that semi-variograms and the minimum detectable difference may be of limited value in deriving a universal approach to assess SOC change. Issues to be considered or resolved before initiating a monitoring system include depth of sampling and influence of management, compositing and sub-sampling, changes in bulk density, landscape effects and SOC dynamics. After considering these issues, I propose an approach to monitor SOC stock change in agroecosystems, acknowledging that any methodology likely cannot be strictly and universally applicable. The approach considers issues such as location, plot layout, and experimental and statistical design. Such an approach, derived from a landscape and pedology perspective, may make the measurement and verification of SOC at varying scales a less daunting task. Key words: Soil organic carbon change, landscape, pedology, experimental design

The impact of hedges maturation on soil organic carbon stocks in agricultural landscapes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Biffi ◽  
Pippa j Chapman ◽  
Richard P Grayson ◽  
Guy Ziv
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Soc Stock ◽  
The Impact

<p>Hedgerows can provide a wide range of regulatory ecosystem services within improved grassland landscapes, such as soil function improvement, soil erosion reduction, biodiversity, water quality, and flood prevention and mitigation. Because of their beneficial effects, farmers are incentivised to retain their hedgerows and the planting of hedges has been encouraged in agri-environment schemes in Europe. Today, hedgerow planting it is one of the most popular practices adopted in the Countryside and Environmental Stewardships in England. The role of hedgerows in climate change mitigation has been increasingly recognized over the past decade, however, while other services have been more widely studies, less is known about hedges soil organic carbon (SOC) storage capacity. The Resilient Dairy Landscapes project aims at identifying strategies to reconcile dairy systems productivity and environment in the face of climate change, and with the Committee on Climate Change calling for a 30% - 40% increase in hedgerow length by 2050 in the UK, it is important to determine the role of hedgerows in meeting Net Zero targets. In this study, we estimate the extent of SOC stock beneath hedges and how it may vary with depth, hedge management and age, as well as how it may compare to SOC stock in adjacent agricultural fields. Thus, we measured SOC under 2-4 years old, 10 years old, 37 years old, and 40+ years old hedgerows at 10 cm intervals up to 50 cm of depth under 32 hedges located on dairy farms in Cumbria, UK. We found that the time since planting and the depth of samples play a crucial role in the amount of SOC stock stored underneath hedgerows when accounting for differences in soil type. Our results contribute measurable outcomes towards the estimate of targets for Net Zero 2050 and the extent of ecosystem services provision by hedgerow planting in agricultural landscapes.  </p>

scholarly journals Estimating soil organic carbon stocks of Swiss forest soils by robust external-drift kriging

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 1197-1210 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Nussbaum ◽  
A. Papritz ◽  
A. Baltensweiler ◽  
L. Walthert
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Likelihood Method ◽  
Standard Errors ◽  
Soil Profiles ◽  
Near Infrared Reflectance ◽  
Soc Stock ◽  
Soc Stocks ◽  
External Drift

Abstract. Accurate estimates of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks are required to quantify carbon sources and sinks caused by land use change at national scale. This study presents a novel robust kriging method to precisely estimate regional and national mean SOC stocks, along with truthful standard errors. We used this new approach to estimate mean forest SOC stock for Switzerland and for its five main ecoregions. Using data of 1033 forest soil profiles, we modelled stocks of two compartments (0–30, 0–100 cm depth) of mineral soils. Log-normal regression models that accounted for correlation between SOC stocks and environmental covariates and residual (spatial) auto-correlation were fitted by a newly developed robust restricted maximum likelihood method, which is insensitive to outliers in the data. Precipitation, near-infrared reflectance, topographic and aggregated information of a soil and a geotechnical map were retained in the models. Both models showed weak but significant residual autocorrelation. The predictive power of the fitted models, evaluated by comparing predictions with independent data of 175 soil profiles, was moderate (robust R2 = 0.34 for SOC stock in 0–30 cm and R2 = 0.40 in 0–100 cm). Prediction standard errors (SE), validated by comparing point prediction intervals with data, proved to be conservative. Using the fitted models, we mapped forest SOC stock by robust external-drift point kriging at high resolution across Switzerland. Predicted mean stocks in 0–30 and 0–100 cm depth were equal to 7.99 kg m−2 (SE 0.15 kg m−2) and 12.58 kg m−2 (SE 0.24 kg m−2), respectively. Hence, topsoils store about 64% of SOC stocks down to 100 cm depth. Previous studies underestimated SOC stocks of topsoil slightly and those of subsoils strongly. The comparison further revealed that our estimates have substantially smaller SE than previous estimates.

scholarly journals Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Afforested Agricultural Land in Lithuanian Hemiboreal Forest Zone

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1562
Author(s):  
Iveta Varnagirytė-Kabašinskienė ◽  
Povilas Žemaitis ◽  
Kęstutis Armolaitis ◽  
Vidas Stakėnas ◽  
Gintautas Urbaitis
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Forest Stand ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Soc Stock ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Soc Stocks ◽  
Topsoil Layer

In the context of the specificity of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in afforested land, nutrient-poor Arenosols and nutrient-rich Luvisols after afforestation with coniferous and deciduous tree species were studied in comparison to the same soils of croplands and grasslands. This study analysed the changes in SOC stock up to 30 years after afforestation of agricultural land in Lithuania, representing the cool temperate moist climate region of Europe. The SOC stocks were evaluated by applying the paired-site design. The mean mass and SOC stocks of the forest floor in afforested Arenosols increased more than in Luvisols. Almost twice as much forest floor mass was observed in coniferous than in deciduous stands 2–3 decades after afforestation. The mean bulk density of fine (<2 mm) soil in the 0–30 cm mineral topsoil layer of croplands was higher than in afforested sites and grasslands. The clear decreasing trend in mean bulk density due to forest stand age with the lowest values in the 21–30-year-old stands was found in afforested Luvisols. In contrast, the SOC concentrations in the 0–30 cm mineral topsoil layer, especially in Luvisols afforested with coniferous species, showed an increasing trend due to the influence of stand age. The mean SOC values in the 0–30 cm mineral topsoil layer of Arenosols and Luvisols during the 30 years after afforestation did not significantly differ from the adjacent croplands or grasslands. The mean SOC stock slightly increased with the forest stand age in Luvisols; however, the highest mean SOC stock was detected in the grasslands. In the Arenosols, there was higher SOC accumulation in the forest floor with increasing stand age than in the Luvisols, while the proportion of SOC stocks in mineral topsoil layers was similar and more comparable to grasslands. These findings suggest encouragement of afforestation of former agricultural land under the current climate and soil characteristics in the region, but the conversion of perennial grasslands to forest land should be done with caution.

scholarly journals On the rebound: soil organic carbon stocks can bounce back to near forest levels when agroforests replace agriculture in southern India

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 871-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. C. Hombegowda ◽  
O. van Straaten ◽  
M. Köhler ◽  
D. Hölscher
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Clay Fraction ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Southern India ◽  
Reference Plot ◽  
Soc Stock ◽  
Soc Stocks

Abstract. Tropical agroforestry has an enormous potential to sequester carbon while simultaneously producing agricultural yields and tree products. The amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestered is however influenced by the type of the agroforestry system established, the soil and climatic conditions and management. In this regional scale study, we utilized a chronosequence approach to investigate how SOC stocks changed when the original forests are converted to agriculture, and then subsequently to four different agroforestry systems (AFSs): homegarden, coffee, coconut and mango. In total we established 224 plots in 56 plot clusters across four climate zones in southern India. Each plot cluster consisted of four plots: a natural forest reference plot, an agriculture reference and two of the same AFS types of two ages (30–60 years and > 60 years). The conversion of forest to agriculture resulted in a large loss the original SOC stock (50–61 %) in the top meter of soil depending on the climate zone. The establishment of homegarden and coffee AFSs on agriculture land caused SOC stocks to rebound to near forest levels, while in mango and coconut AFSs the SOC stock increased only slightly above the agriculture stock. The most important variable regulating SOC stocks and its changes was tree basal area, possibly indicative of organic matter inputs. Furthermore, climatic variables such as temperature and precipitation, and soil variables such as clay fraction and soil pH were likewise all important regulators of SOC and SOC stock changes. Lastly, we found a strong correlation between tree species diversity in homegarden and coffee AFSs and SOC stocks, highlighting possibilities to increase carbon stocks by proper tree species assemblies.

scholarly journals Soil organic carbon stocks are systematically overestimated by misuse of the parameters bulk density and stone content

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Poeplau ◽  
Cora Vos ◽  
Axel Don
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Bulk Density ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon Stocks ◽  
Soc Stock ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Soc Stocks

Abstract. Estimation of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks requires estimates of the carbon content, bulk density, stone content and depth of a respective soil layer. However, different application of these parameters could introduce a considerable bias. Here, we explain why three out of four frequently applied methods overestimate SOC stocks. In stone rich soils (> 30 Vol. %), SOC stocks could be overestimated by more than 100 %, as revealed by using German Agricultural Soil Inventory data. Due to relatively low stone content, the mean systematic overestimation for German agricultural soils was 2.1–10.1 % for three different commonly used equations. The equation ensemble as re-formulated here might help to unify SOC stock determination and avoid overestimation in future studies.

scholarly journals Application of RothC model to predict soil organic carbon stock on agricultural soils of Slovakia

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Barančíková ◽  
J. Halás ◽  
M. Gutteková ◽  
J. Makovníková ◽  
M. Nováková ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Plant Residues ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon Stock ◽  
Rothc Model ◽  
Soc Stock ◽  
Organic Carbon Stock

Soil organic matter (SOM) takes part in many environmental functions and, depending on the conditions, it can be a source or a sink of the greenhouse gases. Presently, the changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stock can arise because of the climatic changes or changes in the land use and land management. A promising method in the estimation of SOC changes is modelling, one of the most used models for the prediction of changes in soil organic carbon stock on agricultural land being the RothC model. Because of its simplicity and availability of the input data, RothC was used for testing the efficiency to predict the development of SOC stock during 35-year period on agricultural land of Slovakia. The received data show an increase of SOC stock during the first (20 years) phase and no significant changes in the course of the second part of modelling. The increase of SOC stock in the first phase can be explained by a high carbon input of plant residues and manure and a lower temperature in comparison with the second modelling part.

scholarly journals Estimates of Soil Renewal Rates: Applications for Anti-Erosion Arrangement of the Agricultural Landscape

Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fedor Lisetskii
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Humus Horizon ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Soil Formation ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Crimean Peninsula ◽  
History Of ◽  
T Values ◽  
Over Time

Engineering and geographic substantiation of the anti-erosion organization of agricultural landscapes requires not only differentiated estimations of erosion losses, but also commensurate (in terms of space–time scales) estimations of the soil loss tolerance. The main approaches for determining the participation of estimations of soil formation in the substantiation of erosion tolerance have been defined. This study is aimed at justifying the methods of incorporating the results of pedogenesis modeling into computational methods for organizing agricultural landscapes. This paper presents the results of a study of the process of formation of the humus horizon and the accumulation of organic carbon in soils, based on soils from archaeological sites in the Crimean Peninsula over a period from 25 to 2000 years ago, with differences in climate and parent rock, in a region with a thousand-year history of human activity. The patterns of variation in the thickness of the humus horizons over time and the accumulation of carbon were determined, and estimates for the rate of the pedogenesis were obtained. In connection with the slowing of the rate of pedogenesis over time, the chronofunction of the change in the thickness of soils (of both exponential and logistic types) may be applied and, on this basis, it is possible to calculate the rates of the formation of the humus horizon depending on the morphological status of the soils. During re-naturation of highly degraded soils, maximum renewal rates may take place only with a very high input of organic matter, which is crucial to take into account in the development and implementation of programs for the rehabilitation of degraded lands. Under the conditions of slope agriculture, the rationale for T-values should be linked to many factors of the input and consumption of organic carbon, which provides a logical mathematical model of the formation of soil quality. For soil quality management on agricultural lands, a formula for calculating T-values, using an equation where the rate of pedogenesis is associated with a variety of changes in soil organic carbon, is proposed in this article.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document