Effects of integrating grass‐clover leys with livestock into arable crop rotations on soil carbon stocks and particulate and mineral‐associated soil organic matter fractions in conventional and organic systems

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil microbiome biomass, activity, composition and CO₂ emissions in a long‐term organic and conventional farming systems

Santoni

Verdi

Pathan

et al. 2022

“…Nevertheless, the urgency of climate change requires prompter action in developing sustainable soilmanagement strategies for carbon sequestration, even with some uncertainty about their long-term effectiveness. For grassland, this may involve the optimum arrangement of grazing activities (e.g., integrated crop-livestock systems) (Zani et al, 2021). For peatland, the most carbon-rich soil, conservation is one of the most important research directions in soil carbon sequestration.…”

Section: Carbon Sequestration With Sustainable Soil Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expediting climate‐smart soils management

Hou

2021

The 26th annual summit of the United Nations climate change conference (COP26) was held in Glasgow, UK, between 31 October and 13 November 2021. The summit achieved significant progress towards stronger and more concerted international efforts in combating climate change. Among others, the second most important greenhouse gas, methane, stepped into the centre of the stage. Over 100 countries have joined the Global Methane Pledge, committing to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 to 2030 (EU, 2021). China and the United States agreed to enhance their collaboration on climate action in the 2020s by giving an unexpected joint declaration (USDOS, 2021). Moreover, the international community has for the first time agreed to reduce coal, the worst fossil fuel, accounting for the largest amount of CO 2 emissions, and developed countries are agreeing to help developing countries on adaptation efforts (Rincon, 2021). These advances are encouraging for the international community, especially after years of split and setback after the 2015 Paris agreement during COP21 with, for example, the withdrawal from the Paris agreement by the Trump administration (McGrath, 2020).

“…As a result of climate change, all parts of the UK are expected to be warmer; by 2070, temperatures are expected to rise from 0.9°C to 5.4°C in the summer and 0.7°C to 4.2°C in the winter; summers are expected to be drier while winters are expected to be wetter (Met Office, 2020). In the agricultural sector, soil C sequestration is possible, especially with improved management techniques (Smith et al., 2008) such as integrating livestock into arable rotations (Börjesson et al., 2018; Zani et al., 2022). The integration of livestock systems supports sustainable intensification of food production while improving producer income, soil health, and environment (Franzluebbers, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring and modelling the impact of outdoor pigs on soil carbon and nutrient dynamics under a changing climate and different management scenarios

Pun,

Galdos,

Chapman

et al. 2024

A mixed agricultural system that integrates livestock and cropping is essential to organic, agroecological, and regenerative farming. The demand for improved welfare systems has made the practice of outdoor rearing of pigs very popular; it currently makes up 40% of the UK pig industry and has also been integrated into arable rotations. Besides the benefits of outdoor production systems, they also potentially pose environmental risks to farmlands, such as accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil, soil erosion and compaction and carbon loss. Despite this, the impact of outdoor pigs and arable crop rotations on soil health has been under‐researched relative to other livestock species. This study was conducted at the University of Leeds Research Farm from 2018 to 2020 using a combined experimental and modelling approach to understand the impact of outdoor pigs on soil carbon and nutrient dynamics. The physio‐chemical properties of arable soil were measured prior to the introduction of the pigs and after introducing the pigs at the end of first and second years, consecutively. There was assessment of control sites (without pigs, mowing once a year) and pig pens (pigs in a rotation with arable crops). The soil was sampled at two different depths, 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm. It was observed that measured soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in the soil depths of 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm layer were decreased by 7% and 3%, respectively, in the pig pens from 2019 to 2020, and total available nitrogen and phosphorus were significantly higher in pig pens than the control sites. Hence, at a depth between 0 and 20 cm, the average total available nitrogen was 2.51 and 2.68 mg kg−1 in the control sites and 21.76 and 20.45 mg kg−1 in the pig pens in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The average total available phosphorus at 0–20 cm was 26.54 and 37.02 mg kg−1 in control sites and 48.15 and 63.58 mg kg−1 in pig pens during 2019 and 2020, respectively. A process‐based model (DayCent) was used to simulate soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the arable rotation with outdoor pigs and showed SOC stock losses of – 0.09 ± 0.23 T C ha−1 year−1 using the future climate CMIP5 RCP 8.5 scenario for 2020 to 2048. To reduce this loss, we modelled the impact of changing the management of the pig rotation and found that the loss of SOC stock could be decreased by shortening the period of pig retention in the field, growing grass in the field, and leguminous crops in the crop rotation.