Using active fractions of soil organic matter as indicators of the sustainability of Ferrosol farming systems

Soil Research ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 279 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Bell ◽  
P. W. Moody ◽  
S. A. Yo ◽  
R. D. Connolly
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Critical Concentrations ◽  
Aggregate Breakdown ◽  
Eastern Australia

Chemical and physical degradation of Red Ferrosols in eastern Australia is a major issue necessitating the development of more sustainable cropping systems. This paper derives critical concentrations of the active (permanganate-oxidisable) fraction of soil organic matter (C1) which maximise soil water recharge and minimise the likelihood of surface runoff in these soils. Ferrosol soils were collected from commercial properties in both north and south Queensland, while additional data were made available from a similar collection of Tasmanian Ferrosols. Sites represented a range of management histories, from grazed and ungrazed grass pastures to continuously cropped soil under various tillage systems. The concentration of both total carbon (C) and C1 varied among regions and farming systems. C1 was the primary factor controlling aggregate breakdown, measured by the percentage of aggregates <0·125 mm (P125) in the surface crust after simulated rainfall. The rates of change in P125 per unit change in C1 were not significantly different (P < 0·05) for soils from the different localities. However, soils from the coastal Burnett (south-east Queensland) always produced lower P125 (i.e. less aggregate breakdown) than did soils from the inland Burnett and north Queensland locations given the same concentration of C1. This difference was not associated with a particular land use. The ‘critical’ concentrations of C1 for each region were taken as the C1 concentrations that would allow an infiltration rate greater than or equal to the intensity of a 1 in 1 or 1 in 10 year frequency rainfall event of 30 min duration. This analysis also provided an indication of the risk associated with the concentrations of C1 currently characterising each farming system in each rainfall environment. None of the conventionally tilled Queensland Ferrosols contained sufficient C1 to cope with rainfall events expected to occur with a 1 in 10 frequency, while in many situations the C1 concentration was sufficiently low that runoff events would be expected on an annual basis. Our data suggest that management practices designed both to maximise C inputs and to maintain a high proportion of active C should be seen as essential steps towards developing a more sustainable cropping system.

Soil organic matter in rainfed cropping systems of the Australian cereal belt

Soil Research ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 435 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Dalal ◽  
K. Y. Chan
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Performance Indicator ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Soil Productivity ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Eastern Australia

The Australian cereal belt stretches as an arc from north-eastern Australia to south-western Australia (24˚S–40˚S and 125˚E–147˚E), with mean annual temperatures from 14˚C (temperate) to 26˚C (subtropical), and with annual rainfall ranging from 250 mm to 1500 mm. The predominant soil types of the cereal belt include Chromosols, Kandosols, Sodosols, and Vertosols, with significant areas of Ferrosols, Kurosols, Podosols, and Dermosols, covering approximately 20 Mha of arable cropping and 21 Mha of ley pastures. Cultivation and cropping has led to a substantial loss of soil organic matter (SOM) from the Australian cereal belt; the long-term SOM loss often exceeds 60% from the top 0–0.1 m depth after 50 years of cereal cropping. Loss of labile components of SOM such as sand-size or particulate SOM, microbial biomass, and mineralisable nitrogen has been even higher, thus resulting in greater loss in soil productivity than that assessed from the loss of total SOM alone. Since SOM is heterogeneous in nature, the significance and functions of its various components are ambiguous. It is essential that the relationship between levels of total SOM or its identif iable components and the most affected soil properties be established and then quantif ied before the concentrations or amounts of SOM and/or its components can be used as a performance indicator. There is also a need for experimentally verifiable soil organic C pools in modelling the dynamics and management of SOM. Furthermore, the interaction of environmental pollutants added to soil, soil microbial biodiversity, and SOM is poorly understood and therefore requires further study. Biophysically appropriate and cost-effective management practices for cereal cropping lands are required for restoring and maintaining organic matter for sustainable agriculture and restoration of degraded lands. The additional benefit of SOM restoration will be an increase in the long-term greenhouse C sink, which has the potentialto reduce greenhouse emissions by about 50 Mt CO2 equivalents/year over a 20-year period, although current improved agricultural practices can only sequester an estimated 23% of the potential soil C sink.

Changes in soil organic carbon and nitrogen after 47 years with different tillage, stubble and fertiliser management in a Vertisol of north-eastern Australia

Soil Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 346
Author(s):  
K. L. Page ◽  
R. C. Dalal ◽  
S. H. Reeves ◽  
W. J. Wang ◽  
Somasundaram Jayaraman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Residue Management ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Over Time

No-till (NT) farming has been widely adopted to assist in reducing erosion, lowering fuel costs, conserving soil moisture and improving soil physical, chemical and biological characteristics. Improvements in soil characteristics are often driven by the greater soil organic matter accumulation (as measured by soil organic carbon (SOC)) in NT compared to conventional tillage (CT) farming systems. However, to fully understand the effect of NT it is important to understand temporal changes in SOC by monitoring over an extended period. We investigated the long-term effect of NT and stubble retention (SR) on changes in SOC and total soil nitrogen (STN) using results from an experiment that has been running for 50 years in a semi-arid subtropical region of north-eastern Australia. In this experiment, the effects of tillage (CT vs NT), residue management (stubble burning (SB) vs SR), and nitrogen (N) fertiliser (0 and 90 kg-N ha–1) were measured in a balanced factorial experiment on a Vertisol (Ustic Pellusert). The use of NT, SR and N fertiliser generally improved SOC (by up to 12.8%) and STN stocks (by up to 31.7%) in the 0–0.1 m layer relative to CT, SB and no N fertiliser, with the greatest stocks observed where all three treatments were used in combination. However, declines in SOC (up to 20%) and STN (up to 25%) occurred in all treatments over the course of the experiment, indicating that changes in management practices were unable to prevent a loss of soil organic matter over time in this farming system. However, the NT and SR treatments did lose less SOC than CT and SB treatments, and SR also reduced STN loss. The δ13C analysis of samples collected in 2008 and 2015 highlighted that crop residues have significantly contributed to SOC stocks at the site and that their contribution is increasing over time.

The role of long-term sites in agroecological research: A case study

1995 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. H. Janzen
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Productivity Measurement ◽  
Sampling Protocols ◽  
Long Term Studies

Gradual, episodic or subtle changes in agroecosystems can be definitively measured only in long-term studies. The objective of this paper is to illustrate the benefits and limitations of long-term agroecological sites using a crop rotation study (Rotation ABC) established at Lethbridge, Alberta in 1910. Long-term agroecological sites, envisioned as part of a continuum of research levels, seek to determine the persistence of cropping systems with respect to their effects on soil resources and the larger environment. Examples of research findings arising from such sites include the documentation of long-term changes in agricultural productivity, measurement of organic matter changes over time, calculation of long-term nutrient budgets, and verification of simulation models. For example, soil organic matter concentrations in Rotation ABC were found to decline abruptly within the first few decades of cultivation and then approach a new steady state. Despite the continual removal of N in harvested grain, soil N concentrations also appear to have stabilized, suggesting an accession of N approximately equivalent to the amount harvested. Common limitations of long-term sites like that at Lethbridge include: rudimentary experimental design, evolving management practices, incidental changes at the sites, and variation in sampling protocols. The successful use of long-term agroecological sites depends on well-defined objectives, simplicity of design, adequate scale, consistent data and sample collection, and collaboration among sites. The primary justification for the establishment and maintenance of long-term agroecological sites may be their future role in answering questions not yet envisioned. Key words: Soil organic matter, long-term studies, crop rotations, sustainability, fertilizer

scholarly journals 640 Sustainable Cropping Systems

HortScience ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 558A-558
Author(s):  
Chad M. Hutchinson ◽  
Milton E. McGiffen
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Green Waste

The goals of sustainable agriculture include decreased reliance on synthetic nutrients and pesticides and improved environmental quality for the long-term benefit of the land, livelihood of growers, and their communities. Cropping systems that maximize these goals use alternative fertility and pest control options to produce crops with minimal soil erosion and nutrient leaching. Cropping system elements that can help achieve these goals include: reduced tillage, cover crops, and organic soil amendments. Cover crops are grown before the cash crop and used to replenish the soil with nitrogen and organic matter. Cover crops often also influence pest populations and can be selected based on site-specific growing conditions. Cover crops can be mulched on the soil surface to prevent erosion and weed emergence or can be tilled directly into the soil to incorporate nitrogen and organic matter. Green waste mulch is an increasingly used soil amendment. Many municipalities are encouraging farmers to use green waste mulch in farming systems as an alternative to green waste disposal in landfills. Reduced tillage was once restricted to large-seeded field crops but recent technical advances have made it a feasible option for vegetables and other horticultural crops. Alternative farming practices; however, are still only used by a small minority of growers. Increases in price for organic produce and changes in laws governing farming operations may increase adoption of alternatives to conventional agriculture.

Use of simulation in assessing cropping system strategies for minimising salinity risk in brigalow landscapes

2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 635 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. L. Poulton ◽  
N. I. Huth ◽  
P. S. Carberry
Keyword(s):  
Management Practice ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Salt Content ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Agricultural Practice ◽  
Salinity Hazard ◽  
Eastern Australia

Areas of brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) dominated landscapes in north-eastern Australia have declined drastically due to major clearing and agricultural expansion during the late 1940s and early 1960s. The inherently high salt content of the soils of this region present a potential downstream salinity hazard from groundwater recharge. Chronosequence analysis using paired chloride profiles from soil cores taken beneath brigalow remnants and adjacent pasture or cropping lands provide a tracer for quantifying historic recharge rates as a consequence of vegetation management and agricultural practice. Present day chloride levels are the direct result of past land management. In this paper we present the results of simulation studies used to benchmark historic management practice since clearing in terms of chloride leaching and drainage. These simulations estimated that 15.3 t/ha of chloride leached from the top 150 cm in 7 major drainage events (>15mm) over a 34-year period, and that these leaching events corresponded with peaks in rainfall cycles. Use of virtual experiments to investigate alternative cropping systems found significant increases in the frequency and magnitude of drainage events of no-tillage wheat compared with sorghum grown in a summer-rainfall region. Systems simulation can provide guidelines for designing cropping systems which best balance production with drainage objectives in dryland farming systems.

Conservation cropping systems for the semi-arid tropics of North Queensland, Australia

1991 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 515 ◽  
Author(s):  
AL Cogle ◽  
RJ Bateman ◽  
DH Heiner
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Semi Arid

A farming systems project was commenced in the semi-arid tropics of north-eastern Australia to assess the cropping potential and reliability of a newly developing region. Emphasis was placed on evaluation of conservation cropping systems, since it was expected that these would be the most successful and protective uses of the land. This paper discusses the agronomy of peanuts, maize and sorghum grown under different conservative cropping practices (reduced tillage, no tillage, ley) on the soil (red earth) most likely to be developed for large-scale cropping in the region. Crop yields with all practices were limited by establishment difficulties including high soil temperatures, poor weed control and climatic variability. Reduced tillage was more successful than no tillage due to higher yields in dry years; however, in wet years no tillage produced similar yields. The ley cropping system may have some advantages in this environment for integrated production and resource protection.

Impact of agricultural management practices on the nutrient supply potential of soil organic matter under long-term farming systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 175 ◽  
pp. 71-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jharna Rani Sarker ◽  
Bhupinder Pal Singh ◽  
Warwick J. Dougherty ◽  
Yunying Fang ◽  
Warwick Badgery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Nutrient Supply ◽  
Agricultural Management ◽  
Supply Potential

scholarly journals A CENTURY 5 model using for estimation of soil organic matter behaviour at predicted climate change

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 25-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Sobocká ◽  
J. Balkovič ◽  
M. Lapin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Soil Type ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen

The trends of carbon sequestration behaviour have been estimated for the most fertile soil type of Slovakia based on the prognosticated regional climate change scenario. The processes were modelled and simulated by CENTURY 5 model to provide these inputs: predicted information about quantification of carbon and nitrogen fluxes, and primary net of organic matter production. Soil conditions were represented by the soil type calcareous Haplic Chernozem (Danubian lowland), and the climatic scenario was related to the meteorological station Hurbanovo modelled for the period of 2005&minus;2090. The dynamics of soil carbon and nitrogen was assessed using a conventional cropping system, concretely for 5-years crop rotation winter wheat-maize-oats (feed)-alfalfa-alfalfa modified into two alternatives: with fertilisation and without irrigation (ALT1), and excluding fertilisation and irrigation (ALT2). The model CENTURY 5 provides the simulation of three soil organic matter pools: the active (labile) pool (C<sub>L</sub>), the slow (sequestration) pool (C<sub>S</sub>), and the passive (resistant) pool (C<sub>P</sub>). The results of the model simulation for the conventional crop rotation predict that the supplies of active and slow SOM pools (C<sub>L</sub>, C<sub>S</sub>) do not show any statistically significant decreasing tendency in relation to the expected climate scenario. A moderately linear decreasing trend is expected with the passive SOM pool (C<sub>P</sub>), however, this decreasing tendency is not recognised during total carbon running (C<sub>TOT</sub>). I.e., in the future conventional crop-rotation farming no significant climate change impacts on total carbon sequestration will be presumed. In the case of ALT1, the model shows a gradual but very moderate decrease mainly with CS pool, and in that of ALT2 a significant decreasing trend is recognised with all SOM pools, mainly with CS pool. Amazing is the finding that in the case of non-irrigated but fertilised cropping system (in dry weather), the anticipated significant decrease in carbon sequestration was not observed, however, more drastic changes can be predicted in the non-fertilised and non-irrigated alternative. The average aboveground live carbon and belowground live carbon in both alternative cropping systems in relation to the conventional one have been compared. It was, estimated: in ATL1, that the primary net of organic matter decreased by almost 38% (aboveground live C) and by 43% (belowground live C), and in ALT2 by 43% (aboveground live C) and 45% (belowground live C), respectively. All these findings can be considered as the modelling outputs at the given input data, not as a firmly confirmed prognosis. Nevertheless, the achieved results of CENTURY 5 modelling assume that in the case of sufficient fertilisation and irrigation with well-managed cropping rotation practice under fertile soil conditions of Slovakia, no serious changes in carbon supplies in all SOM pools can be expected.

Influence of cropping system and soil type on soil health

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn B. Marshall ◽  
David L. Burton ◽  
Brandon Heung ◽  
Derek H. Lynch
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Soil Nitrogen Availability

There has been a continued adaption and application of soil health tests across all regions of the globe. However, there are challenges related to the interpretation of the results of soil health tests developed in one region but applied elsewhere. To determine the factors that are the most important for interpreting soil health tests in Nova Scotia, a soil health database was constructed using soil samples from diverse cropping systems and soil orders in the region. The Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health, developed at Cornell University in New York, was adapted and combined with other soil health measures. Principal component analysis (PCA), ANOVA, and a correlation analysis was applied to the dataset to determine if management (i.e., cropping system) or pedogenesis (i.e., soil order) was more important as a driver of soil health test results. It was determined that cropping systems explained more variance in the dataset than soil order. While total carbon explained the most variation in the PCA, it was highly correlated to other measures of carbon such as permanganate oxidizable carbon and respiration that may be more responsive to management changes. Additionally, it was identified that autoclaved-citrate extractable (ACE) protein, a test for nitrogen mineralization, was more related to measures of soil carbon than other measures of soil nitrogen availability. The findings of this study provide a foundation for interpreting soil health testing results for this region and will help indicate which cropping systems and soil management practices have the greatest potential for improving soil health.

scholarly journals Crop Litter Has a Strong Effect on Soil Organic Matter Sequestration in Semi-Arid Environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 13278
Author(s):  
Nikolaos V. Paranychianakis ◽  
Giorgos Giannakis ◽  
Daniel Moraetis ◽  
Vasileios A. Tzanakakis ◽  
Nikolaos P. Nikolaidis
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Conservation Practices ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Olive Trees

The agricultural soils in the Mediterranean are characterized by low stocks of soil organic matter (SOM) because of the intensive management practices and constraints on litter inputs to the soil imposed by environmental conditions (low precipitation, high evapotranspiration). To date, several studies have provided evidence for a low potential of Mediterranean agroecosystems, especially on its southern part, to store C, even under soil conservation practices (e.g., non-tillage), questioning the capacity of commonly applied practices to restore soil health, mitigate climate change and improve resilience of agroecosystems to climate extremes. Using paired orchards of avocado and olive trees, we show that soils in the South Mediterranean have a high potential for C storage that depends strongly on crop type and soil properties. Soils planted with avocado trees showed higher SOM contents compared to olive trees mainly in the upper soil layer (0–10 cm) which were linked to higher inputs and litter chemistry. Our findings enable us to re-define achievable thresholds of SOC (≈8%) in Southern Mediterranean soils to store C, to quantify the effect of different cropping systems, and the period required to reach this potential and how this potential is affected by soil properties. Thus, the findings have profound implications for the design of soil conservation practices compatible with Mediterranean conditions and developing initiatives describing achievable targets of SOM restoration depending on soil properties and cropping systems.

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