Observing novel soil conditioners for carbon emissions mitigation

Abstract

Original article can be found at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=1756-8692 [Full text of this article is not available in the UHRA]Purpose ??? The New Zealand (NZ) Government's commitment to a sustainable, low emissions energy future may be met, in part, by expanding bioenergy systems fuelled by short rotation forestry through utilising lower quality land affecting soil organic matter content and soil CO2 flux. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the carbon sequestration potential of a range of soil conditioners in order to minimise or offset carbon emissions due to ground disturbance. Design/methodology/approach ??? Seven soil conditioners are evaluated using incubation chambers to measure the affect of their incorporation within three NZ soil types on soil respiration. Findings ??? Charcoal is found to produce a distinct and significant carbon sequestering trend, as do newspaper and whey. Conversely, vegetable oil, paper mill pulp, biodiesel and methanol showed overall carbon emitting trends. Research limitations/implications ??? The research is limited as only CO2 is monitored within the incubation chambers rather than the whole gaseous carbon profile. No microbial observations are conducted. Practical implications ??? The investigation concluded that of the conditioners observed, charcoal, newspaper and whey warrant further observation as carbon sequestration soil conditioners. Originality/value ??? The paper forms part of the foundations within the development of soil conditioners specifically designed for carbon sequestration

Digging deeper: A holistic perspective of factors affecting soil organic carbon sequestration in agroecosystems

“…Strategies of measurement and monitoring must also be linked to specific issues such as for (i) protecting the C reserves of ecosystems rich in SOC stocks (e.g., peat soils, Mollisols, Cryosols and permafrost, tropical rainforests), (ii) restoring the depleted C reserves of degraded/desertified soils (i.e., eroded land salinized landscapes, polluted and contaminated lands, mined soils and other drastically disturbed lands (e.g., urban soils), (iii) assessing the impact of innovation techniques of reducing gaseous emissions (i.e., soil conditioners; Coles, Lewis, & Sims, 2009), and protecting C reserve of some unique ecosystems (i.e., seagrass ecosystem; Fourqurean et al, 2012). • Landuse conversion has depleted the terrestrial ecosystem carbon (C) stock with major loss of the vegetation and soil C stock.…”