Changes in agricultural management can potentially increase the accumulation rate of soil organic C (SOC), thereby sequestering CO 2 from the atmosphere. This study was conducted to quantify potential soil C sequestration rates for different crops in response to decreasing tillage intensity or enhancing rotation complexity, and to estimate the duration of time over which sequestration may occur. Analyses of C sequestration rates were completed using a global database of 67 long-term agricultural experiments, consisting of 276 paired treatments. Results indicate, on average, that a change from conventional tillage (CT) to no-till (NT) can sequester 57 ± 14 g C m -2 yr -1 , excluding wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-fallow systems which may not result in SOC accumulation with a change from CT to NT. Enhancing rotation complexity can sequester an average 20 ± 12 g C m -2 yr -1 , excluding a change from continuous corn (Zea mays L.) to corn-soybean (Glycine max L.) which may not result in a significant accumulation of SOC. Carbon sequestration rates, with a change from CT to NT, can be expected to peak in 5 to 10 yr with SOC reaching a new equilibrium in 15 to 20 yr. Following initiation of an enhancement in rotation complexity, SOC may reach a new equilibrium in approximately 40 to 60 yr. Carbon sequestration rates, estimated for a number of individual crops and crop rotations in this study, can be used in spatial modeling analyses to more accurately predict regional, national, and global C sequestration potentials.

Soil organic carbon sequestration rates by tillage and crop rotation : A global data analysis

The paper focuses on conservation agriculture (CA), defined as minimal soil disturbance (no-till, NT) and permanent soil cover (mulch) combined with rotations, as a more sustainable cultivation system for the future. Cultivation and tillage play an important role in agriculture. The benefits of tillage in agriculture are explored before introducing conservation tillage (CT), a practice that was borne out of the American dust bowl of the 1930s. The paper then describes the benefits of CA, a suggested improvement on CT, where NT, mulch and rotations significantly improve soil properties and other biotic factors. The paper concludes that CA is a more sustainable and environmentally friendly management system for cultivating crops. Case studies from the rice-wheat areas of the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia and the irrigated maize-wheat systems of Northwest Mexico are used to describe how CA practices have been used in these two environments to raise production sustainably and profitably. Benefits in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on global warming are also discussed. The paper concludes that agriculture in the next decade will have to sustainably produce more food from less land through more efficient use of natural resources and with minimal impact on the environment in order to meet growing population demands. Promoting and adopting CA management systems can help meet this goal.

/pdf/the-role-of-conservation-agriculture-in-sustainable-34cf5l78sw.pdf

The role of conservation agriculture in sustainable agriculture.

Maintenance and improvement of soil quality in continuous cropping systems is critical to sustaining agricultural productivity and environmental quality for future generations. This review focuses on lessons learned from long-term continuous cropping experiments. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the most often reported attribute from long-term studies and is chosen as the most important indicator of soil quality and agronomic sustainability because of its impact on other physical, chemical and biological indicators of soil quality. Long-term studies have consistently shown the benefit of manures, adequate fertilization, and crop rotation on maintaining agronomic productivity by increasing C inputs into the soil. However, even with crop rotation and manure additions, continuous cropping results in a decline in SOC, although the rate and magnitude of the decline is affected by cropping and tillage system, climate and soil. In the oldest of these studies, the influence of tillage on SOC and dependent soil quality indicators can only be inferred from rotation treatments which included ley rotations (with their reduced frequency of tillage). The impact of tillage per se on SOC and soil quality has only been tested in the ‘long-term’ for about 30 yrs, since the advent of conservation tillage techniques, and only in developed countries in temperate regions. Long-term conservation tillage studies have shown that, within climatic limits: Conservation tillage can sustain or actually increase SOC when coupled with intensive cropping systems; and the need for sound rotation practices in order to maintain agronomic productivity and economic sustainability is more critical in conservation tillage systems than conventional tillage systems. Long-term tillage studies are in their infancy. Preserving and improving these valuable resources is critical to our development of soil management practices for sustaining soil quality in continuous cropping systems.

The role of soil organic matter in maintaining soil quality in continuous cropping systems

This review reveals that crop residues of common cultivated crops are an important resource not only as a source of significant quantities of nutrients for crop production but also affecting soil physical, chemical, and biological functions and properties and water and soil quality. When crop residues are returned to the soils, their decomposition can have both positive and negative effects on crop production and the environment. Our aim as agricultural scientists is to increase the positive effects. This can only be achieved with the better understanding of residue, soil, and management factors and their interactions, which affect the decomposition and nutrient release processes. Data on nitrogen benefits and nitrogen recoveries from residues show that a considerable potential exists from residues, especially leguminous residues, not only in meeting the N demands of the succeeding crops, but also in increasing the long-term fertility of the soils. In addition, crop residues and their proper management affects the soil quality either directly or indirectly. Intensive cropping systems are very diverse and complex, so no one residue management system is superior under all situations. Ideally, crop residue management practices should be selected to enhance crop yields with a minimum adverse effect on the environment. It is suggested that in each cropping system, the constraints to production and sustainability should be identified and conceptualized to guide toward the best option. Multidisciplinary and integrated efforts by soil scientists, agronomists, ecologists, environmentalists, and economists are needed to design a system approach for the best choice of crop residue management system to enhance both agricultural productivity and sustainability.

Crop Residues and Management Practices: Effects on Soil Quality, Soil Nitrogen Dynamics, Crop Yield, and Nitrogen Recovery

One of our current challenges is to quantify the mechanisms, capacity, and longevity of C stabilization in agricultural lands. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the long-term (10 yr) role of C input in soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and to identify underlying mechanisms of C stabilization in soils. Carbon input and SOC sequestration, as governed by crop management strategies, were assessed across 10 Mediterranean cropping systems. Empirically derived relationships between yield and aboveground plus belowground crop biomass as well as estimates of C contributions from crop residues and manure amendments were used to quantity cumulative C inputs into each cropping system. Soil samples were separated into four aggregate size dasses (>2000, 250-2000, 53-250, and 2000 μm) and small (250-2000 μm) macroaggregates. Aggregate stability increased linearly with both C input (r 2 = 0.75, p = 0.001) and SOC (r 2 = 0.63, p = 0.006). Across the 10 cropping systems annual soil C sequestration rates ranged from -0.35 to 0.56 Mg C ha -1 yr We found a strong linear relationship (r 2 = 0.70, p = 0.003) between SOC sequestration and cumulative C input, with a residue-C conversion to SOC rate of 7.6%. This linear relationship suggests that these soils have not reached an upper limit of C sequestration (i.e., not C saturated). In addition, C shifted from the <53-μm fraction in low C input systems to the large and small macroaggregates in high C input systems. A majority of the accumulation of SOC due to additional C inputs was preferentially sequestered in the microaggregates-within-small-macroaggregates (mM). Hence, the mM fraction is an ideal indicator for C sequestration potential in sustainable agroecosystems.

The relationship between carbon input, aggregation, and soil organic carbon stabilization in sustainable cropping systems

Soil organic matter is important because it influences the productivity and physical well-being of soils. Recently, increased attention has focussed on soil organic matter as a possible sink for C02-C. Despite this interest, there is a lack of data for quantifying the effect of tillage on soil organic matter. Between 1981 and 1994, two tillage experiments were conducted at Swift Current, Saskatchewan, on Swinton loam, an Orthic Brown Chernozemic soil. Organic C and N were monitored periodically to quantify the effects of crop rotation [continuous spring wheat (Cont W) (Triticum aestivum L.) vs. fallow–wheat (F-W)] and tillage management [no-tillage (NT) vs. conventional tillage (CT) involving primarily use of a cultivator and rodweeder]. The effect of snow management on soil organic matter was also evaluated in one experiment, but this factor was not significant. Organic matter changes were mainly observed in the 0- to 7.5-cm soil depth. Carbon and N were greater in both concentrations and amounts in Cont...

Carbon sequestration in a Brown Chernozem as affected by tillage and rotation

Soil testing laboratories require predictive equations that provide accurate fertilizer recommendations to improve economic return to producers and reduce the risk of environmental pollution. Snow management by cereal trap strips and fertilizer N management involving rates, placement, and timing of application were studied in a 9-yr experiment on a Swinton Loam (Aridic Haploboroll) in southwestern Saskatchewan. Spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was grown annually using zero-tillage management. Stepwise regression with backward elimination was used to develop the following relationship: Y = −781 + 3.11 WU + 6.88 FN − 0.053 FN 2 − 0.33 SN 2 + (0.23 SN × WU) − (0.25 SN × FN) + (0.035 FN × WU) + (0.00083 SN × FN × WU) + (1.60 Yr × SN) − (0.53 Yr × FN) (R 2 = 0.91, P = 0.001, n = 1248), where Y = grain yield (kg ha −1 ), WU = estimated water use (mm), SN = available soil N (kg ha −1 ), FN = rate of fertilizer N (kg ha −1 ), and Yr = number of years of study []

Nitrogen Management for Spring Wheat Grown Annually on Zero-Tillage: Yields and Nitrogen Use Efficiency

Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in southern Alberta on the Canadian Prairies has traditionally been grown on bare fallow. Recently, the improved winterhardy cultivar Norstar and improved management recommendations, such as seeding directly into stubble or into chemical fallow, have encouraged producers to adapt this crop to the colder climate of southern Saskatchewan. The objective of the experiments reported herein was to determine if the optimum time for seeding winter wheat on stubble and chemical fallow differed from that recommended for seeding on conventional fallow in southern Alberta (...)

Optimum Seeding Date for Winter Wheat in Southwestern Saskatchewan

The adoption of reduced tillage practices has increased markedly on the Canadian prairies in recent years. Producers in the semiarid Brown Chernozemic soil zone require information on how the inten...

Long-term tillage effects on spring wheat production on three soil textures in the Brown soil zone

Recommendations regarding seeding depth, rate and row spacing for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production in the semiarid Canadian prairies have been extrapolated from those for the production of spring wheat in the region, or from information on winter wheat studies conducted in more humid areas of Saskatchewan. A factorial combination of two seeding depths (25- vs. 50-mm), two row spacing (18- vs. 36-cm) and two seeding rates (30 vs. 60 kg ha−1) was used to study plant establishment, grain yield and grain quality of winter wheat in the semiarid Brown soil zone. Three years of experiments were conducted on a Swinton silt loam near Swift Current, and on a Hatton fine sandy loam near Cantuar. Winter wheat was seeded directly into stubble at both sites and into chemically prepared fallow on the silt loam. On average, there was no significant difference (P < 0.05) due to planting depth. Deep planting reduced plant establishment and grain yield in only two of 11 site-years when humid conditions prevail...

Seeding depth, rate and row spacing for winter wheat grown on stubble and chemical fallow in the semiarid prairies

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