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.

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.

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.

Soil carbon stock estimations: methods and a case study of the Maranhão State, Brazil

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Telmo José Mendes ◽  
Diego Silva Siqueira ◽  
Eduardo Barretto de Figueiredo ◽  
Ricardo de Oliveira Bordonal ◽  
Mara Regina Moitinho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Soil Carbon Stock

Partial substitution of rice husk for manure in greenhouse vegetable fields: Insight from soil carbon stock and aggregate stability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Fei ◽  
Shirong Zhang ◽  
Junliang Li ◽  
Bin Liang ◽  
Xiaodong Ding
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Rice Husk ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Aggregate Stability ◽  
Partial Substitution ◽  
Soil Carbon Stock ◽  
Greenhouse Vegetable

scholarly journals Soil carbon stock in olive groves agroforestry systems under different management and soil characteristics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilla Bateni ◽  
Maurizio Ventura ◽  
Giustino Tonon ◽  
Andrea Pisanelli
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Soil Characteristics ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Soil Carbon Stock ◽  
Olive Groves

Goat and Sheep Grazing in Shrub-Infested Semi-arid Woodlands of New South Wales.

1986 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 140 ◽  
Author(s):  
BH Downing
Keyword(s):  
Animal Species ◽  
New South ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Dietary Preferences ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Continuous Grazing ◽  
Local Observation ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Western Division

Examination of data on dietary preferences of sheep, goats and cattle suggests that different grazing systems are desirable for each of the three major woodland types (belah-rosewood, mulga, poplar box) examined. Competition for herbs, frequently palatable to all animal species, indicates that goats and sheep are unsuitable for joint use either in heavily wooded country or where annual herbaceous production is less than 200 kg-ha. Supplementary feeding, fire and judicious stocking are proposed as a strategy for inducing goats to eat a proportion of unpalatable shrubs. The literature provides little helpful information on how rangelands in the Western Division should be managed. No reports are given on comparisons of grazing systems, such as rotational grazing, rotational resting, and continuous grazing. No guidance is given on grazing after burning of the rangeland. Recommendations are generally against the use of goats for control of woody plants, whereas local observation shows this to be an apparently effective practice. The recommendations are mostly based on experimental procedures which, although suitable for detecting animal dietary preferences in the short term, are less appropriate for investigation of the effects of grazing on range condition in the long term. Some suggestions are made towards a different approach for: investigating the effects of grazing by sheep and goats on rangeland condition, and the economic implications of this in terms of animal production.

scholarly journals Soil carbon stock and humification in pastures under different levels of intensification in Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aline Segnini ◽  
Alfredo Augusto Pereira Xavier ◽  
Pedro Luis Otaviani-Junior ◽  
Patrícia Perondi Anchão Oliveira ◽  
André de Faria Pedroso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Soil Carbon Stock ◽  
Different Levels

Soil carbon stock of the Central-East Asia in the climate warming

2006 ◽  
Vol 25 (S1) ◽  
pp. 278-278
Author(s):  
Xinqing Lee ◽  
Daikuan Huang ◽  
Wei Jiang ◽  
Zhaodong Feng ◽  
Hongguang Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Soil Carbon Stock

scholarly journals Modeling relevant factors and covariates of carbon stock changes in peatlands using a hierarchical linear mixed modeling approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kilian Walz ◽  
Kenneth A Byrne ◽  
David Wilson ◽  
Florence Renou-Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Carbon Distribution ◽  
Soil Carbon Stock ◽  
Modeling Approach ◽  
The Impact

<p>While peatlands constitute the largest soil carbon stock in Ireland with 75% of soil carbon stored in an area covering an estimated 20% of the land surface, carbon stocks of peatlands are affected by past and present disturbances related to various land uses. Afforestation, grazing and peat extraction for energy and horticultural use often are major drivers of peatland soil degradation. A comparative assessment of the impact of land disturbance on peatland soil carbon stocks on a national scale has been lacking so far. Current research, funded by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), addresses this issue with the goal to fill various gaps related to mapping and modeling changes of soil carbon stock in Irish peatlands. Data from the first nationwide peatland survey forms the basis for this study, in which the influence of different factors and covariates on soil carbon distribution in peatlands is examined. After data exploratory analysis, a mixed linear modeling approach is tested for its suitability to explain peatland soil carbon distribution within the Republic of Ireland. Parameters are identified which are responsible for changes across the country. In addition, model performance to map peat soil carbon stock within a three-dimensional space is evaluated.</p>

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