Soil carbon is only higher in the surface soil under minimum tillage in Vertosols and Chromosols of New South Wales North-West Slopes and Plains, Australia

Soil Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 680 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. McLeod ◽  
G. D. Schwenke ◽  
A. L. Cowie ◽  
S. Harden
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Total Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
New South ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Minimum Tillage ◽  
North West ◽  
South Wales

Reduced carbon stock levels in Australian soil due to cropping provide a significant opportunity for carbon sequestration, and the recent initiative to consider soil carbon in domestic emissions trading requires a scientific assessment of soil carbon levels under a range of cropping soil management practices. Some of the previous research in southern and western New South Wales (NSW) showed that the rate of carbon decline in cropping soils is slowed under minimum tillage when the stubble is also retained. However, such comparison is rare in the NSW North-West Slopes and Plains region, particularly on the red soils (Chromosols) which are one of the major soil types in the region. We surveyed 50 dryland Chromosols, 72 dryland Vertosols, and 25 irrigated Vertosols on commercial farms across this region to examine the effects of conventional tillage, minimum tillage, and irrigation on total soil organic carbon. Samples of 0.1 m segments to 0.3 m depth were analysed for total organic carbon and other soil properties. Mid-infrared scans were used to predict the particulate, humus, and resistant soil organic carbon fractions. Bulk density was used to calculate total organic carbon stock for each segment, and equivalent soil mass (ESM) for 0–0.3 m. In Vertosols, for 0–0.3 m ESM, total organic carbon and particulate organic carbon were not different between management practices, whereas humic organic carbon and resistant organic carbon were consistently lower under conventional tillage. However, in 0–0.1 m, total organic carbon was greater under minimum tillage (15.2 Mg ha–1) than conventional tillage (11.9 Mg ha–1) or irrigation (12.0 Mg ha–1), reflecting less soil surface disturbance under minimum tillage. In Chromosols, only total organic carbon was higher under minimum tillage than conventional tillage in the 0–0.3 m ESM (39.8 v. 33.5 Mg ha–1) and in 0–0.1 m (19.7 v. 16.9 Mg ha–1). The strong influences of rainfall, temperature, bulk density, texture, and management history on soil carbon stocks suggested that these environmental and management factors require further consideration when gauging soil carbon sequestration potential under current and novel tillage practices in key regional locations.

The potential for sown tropical perennial grass pastures to improve soil organic carbon in the North-West Slopes and Plains of New South Wales

Soil Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 726 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Schwenke ◽  
M. K. McLeod ◽  
S. R. Murphy ◽  
S. Harden ◽  
A. L. Cowie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Total Organic Carbon ◽  
New South ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Tropical Pastures ◽  
Total N ◽  
Organic C ◽  
North West ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Native Pastures

Sown tropical perennial grass pastures may be a means to restore soil organic carbon (C) lost by cropping with conventional tillage to the levels originally present in native grass pastures. To assess this, total organic carbon and related soil properties were measured under sown tropical pastures, conventionally cultivated cropping, and native pastures on 75 Chromosols and 70 Vertosols to 0.3 m depth in the New South Wales North-West Slopes and Plains region of Australia. The impact of several perennial pasture species on soil organic carbon was also assessed in a 6-year-old, sown pasture experiment on a previously cropped Chromosol. Soil cores in 0.1-m segments to 0.3 m were analysed for total organic carbon, total nitrogen (N), pH, and phosphorus (Colwell-P). Mid-infrared scans were used to predict the particulate, humus, and resistant fractions of the total organic carbon. Bulk density was used to calculate stocks of C, N, and C fractions. In Chromosols, total organic carbon in the surface 0–0.1 m was greater under sown tropical pastures (23.1 Mg ha–1) than conventional tillage cropping (17.7 Mg ha–1), but still less than under native pastures (26.3 Mg ha–1). Similar land-use differences were seen for particulate and resistant organic C, and total N. The proportional differences between land uses were much greater for particulate organic C than other measures, and were also significant at 0.1–0.2 and 0.2–0.3 m. Subsurface bulk density (0.1–0.2 m) was lower under sown tropical pastures (1.42 Mg m–3) than conventionally tilled cropping (1.52 Mg m–3). For Vertosols, total organic carbon in the surface 0–0.1 m was greater under sown tropical pastures (19.0 Mg ha–1) and native pastures (20.5 Mg ha–1) than conventional tillage cropping (14.0 Mg ha–1). Similar land-use effects were seen for the particulate and humus organic C fractions, and total N. In the sown pasture species experiment, there was no significant difference in total N, total organic carbon, or any C fraction between soils under a native-grass species mixture, two improved tropical grass species, or a perennial pasture legume. Regular monitoring is required to better discern whether gradual changes are being masked by spatial and temporal variation. The survey results support previous research on Vertosols within the New South Wales North-West Slopes and Plains that show sown tropical grass pastures can improve total organic carbon. Improvements in total organic carbon on Chromosols have not previously been documented, so further targeted soil monitoring and experimentation is warranted for the region.

Mapping and comparing the distribution of soil carbon under cropping and grazing management practices in Narrabri, north-west New South Wales

Soil Research ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Miklos ◽  
Michael G. Short ◽  
Alex B. McBratney ◽  
Budiman Minasny
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
High Spatial Resolution ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Fine Resolution

The reliable assessment of soil carbon stock is of key importance for soil conservation and mitigation strategies related to reducing atmospheric carbon. Measuring and monitoring soil carbon is complex because carbon pools cycle and rates of carbon sequestration vary across the landscape due to climate, soil type, and management practices. A new methodology has been developed and applied to make an assessment of the distribution of total, organic, and inorganic carbon at a grains research and grazing property in northern New South Wales at a high spatial resolution. In this study, baseline soil carbon maps were created using fine resolution, geo-referenced, proximal sensor data. Coupled with a digital elevation model and secondary terrain attributes, all of the data layers were combined by k-means clustering to develop a stratified random soil sampling scheme for the survey area. Soil samples taken at 0.15-m increments to a depth of 1 m were scanned with a mid-infrared spectrometer, which was calibrated using a proportion of the samples that were analysed in a laboratory for total carbon and inorganic carbon content. This combination of new methodologies and technologies has the potential to provide large volumes of reliable, fine resolution and timely data required to make baseline assessments, mapping, monitoring, and verification possible. This method has the potential to make soil carbon management and trading at the farm-scale possible by quantifying the carbon stock to a depth of 1 m and at a high spatial resolution.

scholarly journals EMISSÃO DE CO2, ATRIBUTOS FÍSICOS E CARBONO ORGÂNICO TOTAL EM DIFERENTES SISTEMAS DE PREPARO DO SOLO

Nativa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 494
Author(s):  
Carla Da Penha Simon ◽  
Edney Leandro da Vitória ◽  
Elcio Das Graça Lacerda ◽  
Yago Soares Avancini ◽  
Tatiana Fiorotti Rodrigues ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Total Organic Carbon ◽  
Co2 Emission ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Minimum Tillage ◽  
Soil Preparation ◽  
Physical Attributes ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Box Plot

Objetivou-se quantificar o CO2,atributos químicos e físicos do solo são influenciados por diferentes manejos de preparo do solo. O Delineamento experimental adotado foi inteiramente casualizado, sendo os tratamentos: Sistema de Plantio Direto (SPD), Cultivo Mínimo e Preparo Convencional (PC), e como referência: área de vegetação nativa (Mata), contando com seis repetições cada variável de estudo. Além da comparação por teste médias, foi realizada uma análise exploratória das leituras nos sistemas de preparo do solo, onde o CO2 foi traduzido graficamente num diagrama o box-plot. As variáveis avaliadas foram: CO2 obtido por meio de um analisador de gás infravermelho; os atributos físicos do solo: Densidade do solo (Ds), Volume Total de Poros (VTP), Macroporosidade (Ma), Microporosidade (Mi), Resistência a Penetração do solo (RPS) e o atributo químico: carbono orgânico total (COT). O fluxo CO2 do solo apresentou diferença significativa entre o SPD e o PC; valores médios encontrados para SPD, CM, Mata e PC foram 2,30; 2,25; 2,18; e 1,39 μmolCO2m−2 s−1, respectivamente; o COT apresentou seu maior valor na área de Mata (32,95 gkg-1) diferindo estatisticamente das demais áreas. Observou-se uma menor emissão de CO2 do solo no PC, pois o sistema apresenta baixo aporte de carbono orgânico.Palavras-chave: sistema de preparo convencional; cultivo mínimo; preparo convencional; carbono orgânico total. CO2 EMISSION, PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES AND TOTAL ORGANIC CARBON IN DIFFERENT SOIL PREPARATION SYSTEMS ABSTRACT: The objective was to quantify the CO2, chemical and physical attributes of the soil are influenced by different management of soil preparation. The experimental design was completely randomized, with the treatments: no-tillage (NT), minimum tillage (MT) and conventional tillage (CT), and as reference:  native forest (NF), with six replicates each study variable. In addition to the mean test comparison, an exploratory analysis of the readings was performed in the soil preparation systems, where CO2 was graphically translated into a box-plot diagram. The variables evaluated were: CO2 obtained by means of a infrared gas analyzer; density (Bd), total pore volume (TPV), macroporosity (Ma), microporosity (Mi), resistance to soil penetration (RSP) and chemical attribute: total organic carbon (TOC). The CO2 soil flux presented a significant difference between NT and CT; where respectively the mean values found for SPD, CM, Mata and PC were 2.30; 2.25; 2.18; and 1.39 μmolCO2m-2s-1; the COT had its highest value in the Mata area (32.95 gkg-1), differing statistically from the other areas. It was observed a lower CO2 emission of the soil in the PC, because the system has low input of organic carbon.Keywords: no-tillage; conventional tillage; minimum tillage; total organic carbon.

The nutrient status and cultivation practices of the soils of the North-West wheat belt of NSW.

1954 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 422 ◽  
Author(s):  
EG Hallsworth ◽  
FR Gibbons ◽  
TH Lemerle
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
New South ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
North West ◽  
Nitrogen Levels ◽  
The North ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Cultivation Practices ◽  
North Western ◽  
Available Phosphate

A study has been made of the nitrogen, organic carbon, phosphate, and pH levels of the wheat soils of north-western New South Wales, and the cultivation practices adopted. They are found generally to be high in both total and available phosphate, and particularly high figures for available phosphate, over 1000 p.p.m., were found in limited areas. The nitrogen levels of the virgin chernozemic soils are distinctly higher than those of the red-brown earths and red solodic soils, but soils of all groups show a decline with cultivation, which is most rapid in the first 10 years. The introduction of periods under lucerne raises the nitrogen level, but the wheat/grazed fallow or wheat/grazing oats appear to cause the same nitrogen losses as are encountered under continuous wheat, in spite of the prevalence of stubble burning which inevitably accompanies this practice. The average yields of wheat on the chernozemic soils are distinctly higher than those obtained on the red-brown earths and red solodic soils, on some of which nitrogen appears to be limiting.

Climatically driven change in soil carbon across a basalt landscape is restricted to non-agricultural land use systems

Soil Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian R. Wilson ◽  
Dacre King ◽  
Ivor Growns ◽  
Manoharan Veeragathipillai
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Rainfall Event ◽  
North West ◽  
Land Use Systems ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Sampling Times

Soils represent a significant component of the global terrestrial carbon cycle. Historical soil carbon depletion resulting from soil and land management offers an opportunity to store additional carbon to offset greenhouse gas emissions as part of our international response to climate change. However, our ability to reliably measure, estimate and predict soil carbon storage is hindered by a range of sources of variability, not least of which is change through time. In the present study, we assessed temporal changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) and its component fractions in response to climate alone and in the absence of land use change at any given site by examining a series of soil monitoring sites across a basalt landscape in north-west New South Wales under a range of land use types over a 3-year period (March–April 2008 and March–April 2011), where a significant rainfall event had occurred in the intervening time (2010). Across the dataset, woodland soils contained the largest carbon concentration (SOC%) and total organic carbon stock (TOCs) compared with other non-wooded land use systems, which themselves were statistically similar. However, larger carbon quantities were restricted largely to the surface (0–10cm) soil layers. Between 2008 and 2011, significant increases in SOC% and TOCs were detected, but again these were restricted to the woodland sites. No change in particulate organic carbon (POC) was detected between the two sampling times, but both humic organic carbon (HOC) and resistant organic carbon (ROC) increased in woodland soils between the two sampling times. Increased HOC we attribute to microbial processing of soil carbon following the 2010–11 rainfall event. However, we suggest that increased ROC results from limitations in mid-infrared calibration datasets and estimations. We conclude that the quantity of soil carbon and its component fractions is, indeed, driven by climatic factors, but that these effects are moderated by aboveground land use and SOC inputs.

scholarly journals SOIL CARBON STOCK IN DIFFERENT USES IN THE SOUTHERN CONE OF MATO GROSSO DO SUL

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 86-94
Author(s):  
Luis Felipe Batista Nandi Martins ◽  
Douglas Troian ◽  
Jean Sérgio Rosset ◽  
Camila Beatriz Da Silva Souza ◽  
Paulo Guilherme Da Silva Farias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Total Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Organic Carbon Content ◽  
Undisturbed Soil ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Soil Carbon Stock ◽  
A Value

This study aimed to assess the soil density (Sd) and the total organic carbon contents and stocks in different management systems and implementation times in the municipality of Iguatemi, MS, Brazil. A completely randomized design with four replications was applied to four areas: conventional tillage (CT), reformed pasture (RP), and degraded pasture (DP), in addition to a native forest (NF) area with no anthropic action. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected at depths of 0–0.05, 0.05–0.1, and 0.1–0.2 m. The determination of Sd and total organic carbon content (TOC) allowed calculating the carbon stock (Cstock), the stratification index (SI), and the carbon stock variation (ΔCstock), with subsequent multivariate analysis. The NF area presented the highest TOC contents at all depths compared to the managed areas, with a value of 17.45 g kg−1 at a depth of 0–0.05 m. The RP and NF areas showed similar SI, which was higher in PD, with a value of 2.54. Except for RP, the other managed areas showed a negative ΔCstock in the soil profile relative to the NF area. The RP and NF areas promoted the maintenance of TOC in the soil, while DP and CT compromised the edaphic quality.

Impact of carbon farming practices on soil carbon in northern New South Wales

Soil Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette L. Cowie ◽  
Vanessa E. Lonergan ◽  
S. M. Fazle Rabbi ◽  
Flavio Fornasier ◽  
Catriona Macdonald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Organic Amendment ◽  
New South ◽  
Organic Amendments ◽  
Farming Practices ◽  
Soil Carbon Stock ◽  
Conventional Management ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Continuous Grazing

This study sought to quantify the influence of ‘carbon farming’ practices on soil carbon stocks, in comparison with conventional grazing and cropping, in northern New South Wales. The study had two components: assessment of impacts of organic amendments on soil carbon and biological indicators in croplands on Vertosols of the Liverpool Plains; and assessment of the impact of grazing management on soil carbon in Chromosols of the Northern Tablelands. The organic amendment sites identified for the survey had been treated with manures, composts, or microbial treatments, while the conventional management sites had received only chemical fertilisers. The rotational grazing sites had been managed so that grazing was restricted to short periods of several days, followed by long rest periods (generally several months) governed by pasture growth. These were compared with sites that were grazed continuously. No differences in total soil carbon stock, or soil carbon fractions, were observed between sites treated with organic amendments and those treated with chemical fertiliser. There was some evidence of increased soil carbon stock under rotational compared with continuous grazing, but the difference was not statistically significant. Similarly, double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) stocks were not significantly different in either of the management contrasts, but tended to show higher values in organic treatments and rotational grazing. The enzymatic activities of β-glucosidase and leucine-aminopeptidase were significantly higher in rotational than continuous grazing but statistically similar for the cropping site treatments. Relative abundance and community structure, measured on a subset of the cropping sites, showed a higher bacteria : fungi ratio and provided evidence that microbial process rates were significantly higher in chemically fertilised sites than organic amendment sites, suggesting enhanced mineralisation of organic matter under conventional management. The higher enzyme activity and indication of greater efficiency of microbial populations on carbon farming sites suggests a greater potential to build soil carbon under these practices. Further research is required to investigate whether the indicative trends observed reflect real effects of management.

Soil carbon balance in Hungarian crop rotation systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia De Luca ◽  
János Balogh ◽  
Krisztina Pintér ◽  
Szilvia Fóti ◽  
Meryem Bouteldja ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Carbon Balance ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Soil Carbon Stock ◽  
Significant Difference

<p>Although characteristics of the carbon balance and the organic carbon stock changes of arable lands have been the primary research focus of numerous studies, uncertainity is still a major factor in this area of research. Our aim is to determine the dynamics of carbon cycling in croplands in regards to a crop rotation consisting of different crop types and to clarify the factors driving the carbon fluxes between its main components.</p><p>A field-scale eddy covariance (EC) station was established in 2017 at a cropland site in Central Hungary in order to obtain the cropland’s annual net ecosystem exchange of CO<sub>2</sub> (NEE). Net ecosystem carbon budget (NECB) was calculated considering vertical and lateral C fluxes as well. Soil management is a conventional management with yearly deep ploughing and mineral fertilizer application.</p><p>During the three years of our experiment the crop rotation included winter wheat, winter rapeseed, sorghum and winter wheat. The largest net CO<sub>2</sub> uptake was observed during the sorghum season (from sowing to harvest, -309 g C m<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>). However, extreme autumnal drought resulted in the incomplete germination of rapeseed in 2018, which led to carbon loss (108 g C m<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>) during this vegetation period. Results show a significant difference between the two winter wheat seasons – sown in 2017 and 2019 – which can be explained by the differing precipitation of the two periods. Despite the strong CO<sub>2</sub> uptake of winter wheat and sorghum, NECB ranged between negligible C gain (-18.26 g C m<sup>-2</sup> year<sup>-1</sup>, sorghum) to C losses of up to 108 g C m<sup>-2</sup> year<sup>-1</sup> (rapeseed). During three years the C loss was 420 g C m<sup>-2</sup> as C export through harvest and fallow periods counterbalanced the crops’ CO<sub>2 </sub>uptake.</p><p>As a conclusion we can state this cropland could not sequester enough carbon to maintain the soil organic carbon pool and in order to reduce the risk of the depletion of soil carbon stock further efforts are needed in the field of soil management practices.</p>

How does agroecology practices impact soil carbon stock and fluxes in a maize field?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas L. Breil ◽  
Thierry Lamaze ◽  
Vincent Bustillo ◽  
Benoit Coudert ◽  
Solen Queguiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Management ◽  
Respiration Rates

<p>Soil plays a major role on carbon cycle, through both carbon stock which is one of the most important carbon terrestrial pool and soil CO<sub>2</sub> efflux which represents one of the largest amounts of natural carbon emissions. It is known that soil respiration, through roots respiration and carbon mineralisation by microorganisms, is mainly controlled by temperature and humidity but the impact of crop management practices still needs to be investigated. Previous studies have demonstrated that crop management and more particularly reduced or no-tillage (NT) as well as cover-crops (CC) play a key role to mitigate soil respiration and increase soil organic carbon (SOC) content, but the impacts of the synergy of these practices are still unclear. Our study aims at better understanding the effect of sustainable agriculture through agroecological crop management practices on soil carbon dynamics.</p><p>Soil respiration was measured in south-west of France on two distinct sites, CAS in 2018 and ABA in 2019, characterized by different initial soil carbon content, 106.9 % higher in CAS than in ABA. Each site included two joint maize fields using agroecological (NT and CC, named Agroeco) and conventional (tillage and bare soil, named Conv) practises. Agroeco have been settled for 12 and 19 years at CAS and ABA, respectively, at the time of experiment. Soil respiration chamber as well as temperature and moisture sensors were used to collect data twice a month, while pedoclimatic variables were monitored continuously on each field. Soil samples were collected in the fields before the experiment to define SOC and nutrient content as well as physical properties, through the entire soil profile.</p><p>Mean soil respiration rate was higher on ABA-Agroeco (0.86 g CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>-</sup>² h<sup>-1</sup>) than on ABA-Conv (0.50 g CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>-</sup>² h<sup>-1</sup>) and was significantly correlated with soil temperature and humidity at Conv and only with soil temperature at Agroeco. Similar relations were found at CAS but with lower soil respiration rates. SOC concentration for ABA in the top 0-15 cm was higher at Agroeco (13.4 g kg<sup>-1</sup>) than at Conv (8.0 g kg<sup>-1</sup>) but little difference was found at CAS where SOC was high. These results suggest that soil respiration rates depend less on soil humidity on Agroeco than on Conv because agroecology management practices both keep more water at the surface and store additional soil organic carbon in soils, inducing more activity through the carbon cycle with higher soil respiration rate. For both sites, agroecological practices induced higher SOC content compared to conventional ones, however, only for ABA site, soil respiration was higher for agroecological field while SOC content was higher. This study supports the idea that agroecological management practices can increase carbon cycle activity by increasing soil carbon stocks thus allowing the mitigation of greenhouse gases emissions and climate change, even by increasing soil CO<sub>2</sub> efflux.</p>

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