scholarly journals Glomalin and Contribution of Glomalin to Carbon Sequestration in Soil: A Review

Author(s):  
MD. Belal Hossain

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) improves the uptake of nutrients and water to the plants through mutual symbiosis. Only AMF produces glomalin related soil protein (GRSP). Acaulospora morroaiae, Glomus luteum, Glomus verruculosum, Glomus versiforme are the effective glomalin producing AMFs. Mixed primary forest, tropical rainforest, soil organic matter, clay soil, no tillage, quality and quantity of fertilizers, crop rotation, and water stable aggregates are also suitable to increase glomalin production. Glomalin is a glycoprotein that contains 30–40% carbon (C) which is assumed to be stable and persistent in soil. The glomalin can sequestrate more carbon in the soil due to its high carbon and aggregate stability. Greater aggregate stability leads to high organic carbon protection in terrestrial ecosystems. The lowest glomalin content (0.007 mg per gram soil) was found in Antarctic region, and the highest glomalin content (13.50 mg per gram soil) was observed in tropical rainforest. In agricultural soil, glomalin content varies between 0.30 and 0.70 mg per gram soil. The GRSP containing soil organic carbon (SOC) in deeper soil layers was 1.34 to 1.50 times higher than in surface layers. Glomalin can sequestrate 0.24 Mg C ha-1 in soil when present at 1.10±0.04 mg g-1. At elevated CO2 (700 µmol mol-1) level, easily extractable glomalin (EEG) and total glomalin (TG) were 2.76 and 5.67% SOC in the surface soil layer over ambient carbon dioxide (CO2) level. This finding indicates the effective function of GRSP C sequestration in soil under global environmental change scenarios. Glomalin can also protect labile carbon that can help regulating nutrient supply to the plants. No tillage practice causes higher AMF hyphal length, GRSP and water stable aggregate (WSA) compared to that of conventional tillage practice. The current review demonstrated that GRSP is an important tool for carbon storage in deep soils. Glomalin mediates soil aggregates, improves soil quality, increases carbon sequestration and crop production, and mitigates climate change.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1541
Author(s):  
Xiaolin Shen ◽  
Lili Wang ◽  
Qichen Yang ◽  
Weiming Xiu ◽  
Gang Li ◽  
...  

Our study aimed to provide a scientific basis for an appropriate tillage management of wheat-maize rotation system, which is beneficial to the sustainable development of agriculture in the fluvo-aquic soil areas in China. Four tillage treatments were investigated after maize harvest, including rotary tillage with straw returning (RT), deep ploughing with straw returning (DP), subsoiling with straw returning (SS), and no tillage with straw mulching (NT). We evaluated soil organic carbon (SOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and particulate organic carbon (POC) in bulk soil and soil aggregates with five particle sizes (>5 mm, 5–2 mm, 2–1 mm, 1–0.25 mm, and <0.25 mm) under different tillage managements. Results showed that compared with RT treatment, NT treatment not only increased soil aggregate stability, but also enhanced SOC, DOC, and POC contents, especially those in large size macroaggregates. DP treatment also showed positive effects on soil aggregate stability and labile carbon fractions (DOC and POXC). Consequently, we suggest that no tillage or deep ploughing, rather than rotary tillage, could be better tillage management considering carbon storage. Meanwhile, we implied that mass fractal dimension (Dm) and POXC could be effective indicators of soil quality, as affected by tillage managements.


2018 ◽  
pp. 71-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Jude Villasica ◽  
Suzette Lina ◽  
Victor Asio

Aggregate stability and carbon (C) sequestration in soils are closely related phenomena. However, high aggregate stability does not always ensure high carbon sequestration to some soil types since other binding agents could dominate other than carbon. Thus, this study aimed to determine the relationship between aggregate stability and carbon sequestration of different tropical soils which basically differ in geology, genesis, and possibly in their dominant aggregating agents. The study selected four representative soil types (Haplic Acrisol, Calcaric Cambisol, Silic Andosol and Haplic Ferralsol) found in Leyte and Samar that were characterized by previous workers. Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) and Aggregate Stability (AS) in dry and wet conditions were quantified using standard procedures. Some pertinent secondary data were also recorded as reference for each soil type. Results revealed that only Silic Andosol showed positive significant correlation (0.93) between aggregate stability and soil organic carbon (SOC). The other soil types showed weak and negative correlation between aggregate stability and SOC; however, their stability revealed a strong positive relationship with inorganic binding agents. Therefore, each soil type reflects a different relationship between aggregate stability in wet condition and SOC and that the variations could be attributed to the differences in the morpho-physical and geochemical nature of the soils. Moreover, SOC is found to greatly influence the aggregate stability in Silic Andosol, thus the soil carbon sequestration potential of this soil type is generally related to its aggregate stability. However, in other soil types like Haplic Acrisol, Calcaric Cambisol, and Haplic Ferralsol, other binding agents like Calcium (Ca) and iron oxides dominate and control the formation and stability of aggregates rather than SOC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-225
Author(s):  
Ben W. Thomas ◽  
Derek Hunt ◽  
Shabtai Bittman ◽  
Kirsten D. Hannam ◽  
Aimé J. Messiga ◽  
...  

The lower Fraser Valley is one of the most intensively cropped regions in Canada. Yet, how soil health indicators respond to long-term intensive agricultural management is poorly documented in this region. Thus, we evaluated a suite of soil health indicators in response to 21 growing seasons of continuous silage corn (Zea mays L.) under conventional tillage or no-tillage (0–20 cm soil layer). Wet aggregate stability, available water capacity, active carbon (permanganate oxidizable, POXC), and extractable potassium and extractable magnesium were significantly greater with no-till than conventional tillage, whereas 8 of 13 indicators were similar. Soil health indicators responded more favourably to no-till than conventional tillage.


2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 862 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Dalal ◽  
W. M. Strong ◽  
J. E. Cooper ◽  
A. J. King

No-tillage (NT) practice, where straw is retained on the soil surface, is increasingly being used in cereal cropping systems in Australia and elsewhere. Compared to conventional tillage (CT), where straw is mixed with the ploughed soil, NT practice may reduce straw decomposition, increase nitrogen immobilisation and increase organic carbon in the soil. This study examined 15N-labelled wheat straw (stubble) decomposition in four treatments (NT v. CT, with N rates of 0 and 75 kg/ha.year) and assessed the tillage and fertiliser N effects on mineral N and organic C and N levels over a 10-year period in a field experiment. NT practice decreased the rate of straw decomposition while fertiliser N application increased it. However, there was no tillage practice × N interaction. The mean residence time of the straw N in soil was more than twice as long under the NT (1.2 years) as compared to the CT practice (0.5 years). In comparison, differences in mean residence time due to N fertiliser treatment were small. However, tillage had generally very little effect on either the amounts of mineral N at sowing or soil organic C (and N) over the study period. While application of N fertiliser increased mineral N, it had very little effect on organic C over a 10-year period. Relatively rapid decomposition of straw and short mean residence time of straw N in a Vertisol is likely to have very little long-term effect on N immobilisation and organic C level in an annual cereal cropping system in a subtropical, semiarid environment. Thus, changing the tillage practice from CT to NT may not necessitate additional N requirement unless use is made of additional stored water in the soil or mineral N loss due to increased leaching is compensated for in N supply to crops.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 971
Author(s):  
Deisi Navroski ◽  
Adônis Moreira ◽  
Maria De Fátima Guimarães ◽  
Arnaldo Colozzi Filho

The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in microbiological attributes of soils under different growing systems. Three cropping systems were evaluated (1) no-tillage system (NTS); (2) conventional tillage system (CTS); and (3) newly scarified no-tillage system (SNTS). The three systems were maintained for 20 years. In addition, a primary forest (PF) fragment was used as a reference. Soil samples were collected at depths of 0.0-0.1 m, 0.1-0.2 m, and 0.2-0.3 m. The following variables were measured: microbial biomass carbon (MBC); soil respirometry (RESP) using the fumigation and incubation method; microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) using fumigation and extraction; metabolic quotient (qCO2) using the RESP-MBC ratio; and number of spores (NS) of mycorrhizal fungi by plate counting of spores extracted from the soil by wet sieving. Treatments were arranged in a completely randomized block design with five replicates. The different management systems affected the soil microbiota, especially in the superficial layer of 0.0-0.1 m. At a depth of 0.0-0.2 m, the PF presented significantly higher values for all analyzed attributes, except for NS. There were no significant differences in the studied characteristics between the NTS and SNTS at the three depths, indicating that scarification performed only once in the NTS was not sufficient to produce changes in soil microbiological attributes. However, the adoption of the CTS for 20 years promoted a decrease in MBC and MBN. RESP and NS were not significantly different between the cropping systems. Principal component analysis indicated a significant difference in microbiological characteristics between the PF and the areas under management. Therefore, different growing systems change the soil microbiota, and the lower the degree of tilling (NTS and SNTS), the smaller the changes in soil microbiological attributes. Soil preparation practices used in conventional tilling negatively affect soil microbial biomass, decreasing the levels of MBC and MBN.


2014 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 1726-1733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda J. Ashworth ◽  
Fred L. Allen ◽  
Jason P. Wight ◽  
Arnold M. Saxton ◽  
Don D. Tyler ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8619
Author(s):  
Orestis Kairis ◽  
Chrysoula Aratzioglou ◽  
Athanasios Filis ◽  
Michel van Mol ◽  
Costas Kosmas

The effects of four main practices tillage versus no-tillage, and intensive grazing versus extensive grazing, applied in characteristic agricultural and grazing lands of Crete Island were evaluated in situ using nine soil quality indicators. The following nine representative indicators of soil quality assessment were assessed using the rapid visual assessment methodology adopted at European level in the context of the EU research project iSQAPER: susceptibility to water and wind erosion, surface ponding (under cropping), formation of tillage pan, soil color, soil porosity, soil structure, susceptibility to slaking, infiltration rate, and biodiversity status. These indicators were measured in 48 agricultural field-plots to adequately represent the four above-mentioned practices and the different types of geomorphological patterns existing in the area. Additionally, 38 agricultural fields were sampled in the topsoil to assess cultivation practices (tillage, no-tillage) on soil organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable potassium, available phosphorous, and soil aggregate stability. Based on the indicators rating methodology, the appropriate statistical tests were applied and the soils under different managements were characterized in terms of their potential quality and their general agricultural value. The obtained data showed that in agricultural areas, significant differences were detected between tillage and no-tillage management practices for the indicators of soil structure and consistency and infiltration rate. In grazing land, significant differences were found for the soil quality indicators of susceptibility to erosion and infiltration rate for the corresponding practices of intensive and extensive grazing. Organic carbon content, exchangeable potassium content and aggregate stability were greatly affected in tillage versus no-tillage management practices.


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