Conservation Agriculture and Soil Carbon Sequestration: Between Myth and Farmer Reality

Govaerts, Bram; Verhulst, Nele; Castellanos-Navarrete, A.; Sayre, Ken D.; Dixon, John; Dendooven, Luc

doi:10.1080/07352680902776358

Cited by 414 publications

(243 citation statements)

References 192 publications

(235 reference statements)

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“…Significant rates of C sequestration have been reported in different dryland cropping systems when using no-tillage. However, the general hypothesis that no-till is always followed by SOC sequestration is still controversial since in most of the studies comparing the effects of different tillage systems on soil C, only the surface soil (0-30-cm depth) has been taken into account (Govaerts et al 2009;Palm et al 2013). Furthermore, attention has to be paid to a possible increase in the emission of N 2 O when using low-intensity soil management systems, as a result of the greater amount of water stored in the soil.…”

Section: Adoption Of More Efficient Water Management Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For that reason, the role of erosiondeposition processes on SOC balance at the landscape scale has not been accurately assessed (Govaerts et al 2009;Izaurralde et al 2007). This would also help us clarify the current controversial and site-specific effects of soil erosion on the global C cycle (Kuhn et al 2009) without forgetting the pool of inorganic C. Currently, there is a lack of understanding regarding the impact of wind and water erosion on greenhouse gas emissions (Kuhn et al 2012), mainly methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Carbon management in dryland agricultural systems. A review

Plaza‐Bonilla¹,

Arrúe

Cantero‐Martínez

et al. 2015

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

122

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Section: Adoption Of More Efficient Water Management Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon management in dryland agricultural systems. A review

Plaza‐Bonilla¹,

Arrúe

Cantero‐Martínez

et al. 2015

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

122

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show abstract

“…Increasing organic inputs can be done by increasing returned biomass (roots, litter) via higher yields or adding additional organic inputs such as compost, animal manure or crop residues. Decreasing organic outputs can be done by changing the moisture content of the soil or by using reduced or no tillage, although the effect of the latter two remain disputed (Govaerts * et al 2009). Actual increase in SOM depends on a number of factors, such as the current amount of SOM, type of organic input, and environmental factors such as temperature, soil texture, and humidity (Smith et al 1997).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Do organic inputs matter – a meta-analysis of additional yield effects for arable crops in Europe

et al. 2016

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Background and aims Organic inputs have a positive effect on the soil organic matter balance. They are therefore an important asset for soil fertility and crop growth. This study quantifies the additional yield effect due to organic inputs for arable crops in Europe when macronutrients are not a limiting factor. Methods A meta-analysis was performed using data from 20 long-term experiments in Europe. Maxima of yield response curves to nitrogen were compared, with and without organic inputs, under abundant P and K supply. Results We were surprised to find that, across all experiments, the mean additional yield effect of organic inputs was not significant (+ 1.4 % ± 1.6 (95 % confidence interval)). In specific cases however, especially for root and tuber crops, spring sown cereals, or for very sandy soils or wet climates, organic inputs did increase attainable yields. A significant correlation was found between increase in attainable yields and increase in soil organic matter content. Conclusions Aggregating data from 20 long-term experiments in Europe, this study shows that organic inputs and/ or soil organic matter do not necessarily increase yields, given sufficient nutrients are supplied by mineral fertilisers. Results show the relevance of some environmental factors for additional yield effect of organic inputs, but no simple relation between organic inputs and crop growth.

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“…Nevertheless, some other demonstrated no significant differences between no-till and conventional tillage, or even opposite (Govaerts et al 2009). Some recent reports also addressed faithful question on the potential of no-till in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing C-sequestration (Kirkegaard et al 2014) and improving crop water use efficiency (Fan et al 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 94%

Soil respiration and net ecosystem production under different tillage practices in semi-arid Northwest China

Lamptey¹,

Li²,

Xie³

et al. 2017

PLANT SOIL ENVIRON

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In semi-arid areas, increasing CO<sub>2</sub> emissions are threatening agricultural sustainability. It is unclear whether different tillage practices without residue returned could help alleviate these issues while increasing crop productivity. This study aimed to quantify soil respiration under conventional tillage (CT); rotary tillage (RT); subsoiling (SS) and no-till (NT), all without residue returned in the Western Loess Plateau. The results showed that SS and NT significantly decreased soil respiration compared to CT, but the effects of SS was the greatest. As a result, SS decreased carbon emission by 22% in 2014 and 19% in 2015 versus CT. The trends of net ecosystem production under different tillage systems were as follows: CT > RT > NT > SS. No-till increased net ecosystem production by 33% in 2014 and 12% in 2015 relative to CT. The SS treatment increased average grain yield by 27% and 23% over CT and RT, and enhanced water use efficiency by an average of 43%. On average, SS increased carbon emission efficiency by 60% and 43% compared to CT and RT, respectively. Thus, subsoiling management strategy is a promising option for the development of sustainable agriculture in semi-arid areas.

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Conservation Agriculture and Soil Carbon Sequestration: Between Myth and Farmer Reality

Cited by 414 publications

References 192 publications

Carbon management in dryland agricultural systems. A review

Carbon management in dryland agricultural systems. A review

Do organic inputs matter – a meta-analysis of additional yield effects for arable crops in Europe

Soil respiration and net ecosystem production under different tillage practices in semi-arid Northwest China

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