Conservation Agriculture as a System to Enhance Ecosystem Services

Conservation agriculture (CA) is considered a sustainable practice with the potential to maintain or increase crop productivity and improve environmental quality and ecosystem services. It typically improves soil quality and water conservation; however, its effect on crop productivity is highly variable and dependent on local conditions/management. Crop residue retention plays a crucial role in CA and can help to improve overall soil health and ultimately crop productivity and sustainability. However, weed control, herbicide resistance, and weed shift under residue retained fields is a major challenge. Moreover, CA can increase water infiltration and reduce soil loss and runoff. This reduces the surface transport of nitrate and phosphorus from agricultural fields and the eutrophication of water bodies, although leaching of nitrate to groundwater can potentially increase. In addition, CA has been proposed as one of the components in climate-smart agriculture, owing to its reduced period to seed/plant next crop, reduced soil disturbance and low consumption of fossil fuels. Therefore, compared to the conventional intensive tillage, CA has a greater potential for soil C sequestration, favors higher soil biodiversity, lowers greenhouse gas emission, and can assist in mitigating climate change. However, not all experiments report a positive impact. The understanding and decoding the site-specific complexities of CA system is important and requires a multidisciplinary approach.

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Crop rotational diversity impacts soil physical and hydrological properties under long-term no- and conventional-till soils

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr18192 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

pp. 84 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Abdullah Alhameid ◽

Jasdeep Singh ◽

Udayakumar Sekaran ◽

Ekrem Ozlu ◽

Sandeep Kumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Crop Rotation ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Triticum Aestivum L ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Soil Disturbance ◽

Water Infiltration ◽

Soil Water Retention ◽

Crop Species

Diversification of crop species and minimum mechanical soil disturbance are the interlinked principles of conservation agriculture that are beneficial in improving soil physical and hydrological properties, and hence crop productivity. The present study was conducted to assess the long-term impacts of crop rotational diversity and tillage on soil water infiltration (qs), soil water retention (SWR), pore size distribution (PSD), bulk density (ρb) and soil penetration resistance (SPR). The study was established in 1991 at Beresford, South Dakota, and included three crop rotation systems (2-year, maize (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max L.); 3-year, maize–soybean–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.); and 4-year, maize–soybean–wheat–oat (Avena sativa L.)) and two tillage systems (NT, no-tillage; and CT, conventional tillage). Soil samples were collected only under maize and soybean phases of the crop rotations. Our results showed that NT with 4-year rotation had the lowest ρb under maize and soybean phases (1.21 and 1.19 g cm–3 respectively) compared with the CT system. Similarly, NT with 4-year rotation decreased SPR by 20% compared to CT with 4-year rotation in the soybean phase. Soils managed under NT with 4-year rotation in the soybean phase retained 27, 28, 28, 32, 33, 31 and 26% more water compared with CT and 4-year system at 0–7.5 cm depth at 0, –0.4, –1.0, –2.5, –5.0, –10 and –30 kPa matric potentials respectively. A similar trend was observed for qs under the same treatments, in which it was 31% higher under NT than under CT, both with 4-year rotation. Data from this study showed that diversified crop rotation under NT enhanced soil physical and hydrological properties compared with CT with less diverse systems (e.g. maize–soybean).

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Conservation agriculture in Southern Africa: Advances in knowledge

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170513000550 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 328-348 ◽

Cited By ~ 75

Author(s):

Christian Thierfelder ◽

Leonard Rusinamhodzi ◽

Amos R. Ngwira ◽

Walter Mupangwa ◽

Isaiah Nyagumbo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Fertility ◽

Southern Africa ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Soil Disturbance ◽

Crop Rotations ◽

Water Infiltration ◽

Soil Parameters

AbstractThe increasing demand for food from limited available land, in light of declining soil fertility and future threats of climate variability and change have increased the need for more sustainable crop management systems. Conservation agriculture (CA) is based on the three principles of minimum soil disturbance, surface crop residue retention and crop rotations, and is one of the available options. In Southern Africa, CA has been intensively promoted for more than a decade to combat declining soil fertility and to stabilize crop yields. The objective of this review is to summarize recent advances in knowledge about the benefits of CA and highlight constraints to its widespread adoption within Southern Africa. Research results from Southern Africa showed that CA generally increased water infiltration, reduced soil erosion and run-off, thereby increasing available soil moisture and deeper drainage. Physical, chemical and biological soil parameters were also improved under CA in the medium to long term. CA increased crop productivity and also reduced on-farm labor, especially when direct seeding techniques and herbicides were used. As with other cropping systems, CA has constraints at both the field and farm level. Challenges to adoption in Southern Africa include the retention of sufficient crop residues, crop rotations, weed control, pest and diseases, farmer perception and economic limitations, including poorly developed markets. It was concluded that CA is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution and often needs significant adaptation and flexibility when implementing it across farming systems. However, CA may potentially reduce future soil fertility decline, the effects of seasonal dry-spells and may have a large impact on food security and farmers’ livelihoods if the challenges can be overcome.

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Increasing adaptation to climate stress by applying conservation agriculture in Southern Africa.

10.1079/9781789245745.0016 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 270-283

Author(s):

Christian Thierfelder ◽

Peter Steward

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Soil Moisture ◽

Heat Stress ◽

Drought Stress ◽

Southern Africa ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Soil Disturbance ◽

On Farm

Abstract Climate change and soil fertility decline are threatening food security in southern Africa and efforts have been made to adapt current cropping systems to the needs of smallholder farmers. Conservation Agriculture (CA) based on minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention and crop diversification has been proposed as a strategy to address the challenges smallholder farmers face. Here we analyse the potential contributions of CA towards adaptation to the effects of climate change by summarizing data on infiltration, soil moisture dynamics and crop productivity under heat and drought stress. The data were taken in the main from CIMMYT's on-farm and on-station trial network. Data show that CA systems maintain 0.7-7.9 times higher water infiltration than the conventional tilled system depending on soil type, which increases soil moisture during the cropping season by 11%-31% between CA treatments and the conventional control treatment. This leads to greater adaptive capacity of CA systems during in-season dry spells and under heat stress. A supporting regional maize productivity assessment, analysing the results of numerous on-farm and on-station experiments, showed that CA systems will outperform conventional tillage practices (CP), especially on light-textured soils, under heat and drought stress. With higher rainfall and low heat stress, this relation was more positive towards CP and on clay soil there was no benefit of practising CA when rainfall was high. The long dry season and limited biomass production of CA systems in southern Africa require complementary good agricultural practices to increase other soil quality parameters (e.g. increased soil carbon) to maintain higher productivity and sustainability over time. This can be addressed by combinations of improved stress-tolerant seed, targeted fertilization, inclusion of tree-based components or green manure cover crops in the farming system, scale-appropriate mechanization and improved weed control strategies.

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The Global Uptake of Conservation Agriculture and the Impact on Water-Related Ecosystem Services

The Oxford Handbook of Food, Water and Society ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190669799.013.59 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 689-708

Author(s):

Amir Kassam ◽

David Coates

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Crop Production ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Soil Disturbance ◽

Related Services ◽

Alternative Crop ◽

Current Spread ◽

The Impact ◽

Production Approach

Conventional tillage agriculture has a built-in propensity for soil erosion and land degradation leading to loss of ecosystem services that are required to sustain agricultural production as well as minimize off-farm impacts. It is associated with suboptimal crop and land productivity. The global uptake of Conservation Agriculture (CA), which is a recognized flagship alternative crop production approach, is built upon three practical interlinked principles of: no or minimum mechanical soil disturbance (‘no-till’), soil cover management, and diversified cropping. The current spread of CA globally is 180 M ha of annual cropland (12.5 per cent), increasing annually at 10 M ha. Knowledge of how CA positively affects ecosystem services at the field and landscape level, with emphasis on water-related services and food security, shows that CA has the potential to meet, or exceed, most of the current shortfall in projected global agricultural water demand by 2050.

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Conservation Agriculture: An Agroecological Approach to Adapting and Mitigating Climate Change Impacts on Malawi’s Agriculture

International Journal of World Policy and Development Studies ◽

10.32861/ijwpds.67.88.96 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 88-96

Author(s):

Adewale M. Ogunmodede

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽

Nutrient Use Efficiency ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Farming System ◽

Gas Emissions ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation

Although Africa’s contribution to the world’s greenhouse gas emission is the smallest compared to other continents, yet they tend to be affected most by the variability in Climate. Malawi is not an exception to this climate change, as they are not just faced with rising temperatures and variable rainfall patterns, but with reoccurring droughts and severe flooding. Agriculture has been noted to contribute significantly to not only climate change but also has significant impacts on global warming through its greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, not all farming systems impact negatively on climate change. Conservation Agriculture is a farming system that encourages no or minimum soil disturbance, maintenance of a permanent soil cover, and diversification of crop species. These three interlinked principles combined with good agricultural practices promote biodiversity and normal biotic processes, both on and under the ground surface, thereby increasing the productivity and nutrient use efficiency of water, into a more resilient farming system which will help sustain and improve agricultural production. This review looks at Conservation Agriculture practices in the Machinga Agricultural Development Division of Malawi and its role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. This paper shows that Conservation Agriculture has played an active role in the adaptation and mitigation of climate change effect by reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions but suggested there is a need for the government to formulate a CA framework that is founded on the three interlinked principles and not just based on soil and water conservation principles which are currently being advocated and practised.

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Detecting the Complex Relationships and Driving Mechanisms of Key Ecosystem Services in the Central Urban Area Chongqing Municipality, China

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13214248 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (21) ◽

pp. 4248

Author(s):

Fang Wang ◽

Xingzhong Yuan ◽

Lilei Zhou ◽

Shuangshuang Liu ◽

Mengjie Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Area ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Additive Models ◽

Mountainous Areas ◽

Chongqing Municipality ◽

Driving Mechanisms ◽

Social Ecological

Ecosystem services (ESs) are highly vulnerable to human activities. Understanding the relationships among multiple ESs and driving mechanisms are crucial for multi-objective management in complex social-ecological systems. The goals of this study are to quantitatively evaluate and identify ESs hotspots, explore the relationships among ESs and elucidate the driving mechanisms. Taking central urban area Chongqing municipality as the study area, biodiversity (BI), carbon fixation (CF), soil conservation (SC) and water conservation (WC) were evaluated based on the InVEST model and ESs hotspots were identified. The complex interactions among multiple ESs were determined by utilizing multiple methods: spearman correlation analysis, bivariate local spatial autocorrelation and K-means clustering. The linear or nonlinear relationships between ESs and drivers were discussed by generalized additive models (GAMs). The results showed that during 2000–2018, except for CF that exhibited no obvious change, all other ESs showed a decrease tendency. High ESs were clustered in mountains, while ESs in urban areas were lowest. At administrative districts scale, ESs were relatively higher in Beibei, Banan and Yubei, and drastically decreased in Jiangbei. Multiple ES hotspots demonstrated clear spatial heterogeneity, which were mainly composed of forestland and distributed in mountainous areas with high altitude and steep slope. The relationships between ES pairs were synergistic at the entire scale. However, at grid scale, the synergies were mainly concentrated in the high-high and low-low clusters, i.e., mountainous areas and urban central areas. Five ESs bundles presented the interactions among multiple ESs, which showed well correspondence with social-ecological conditions. GAMs indicated that forestland and grassland had positive impact on BI and CF. Additionally, SC was mainly determined by geomorphological factors, while WC were mainly influenced by precipitation. Furthermore, policy factors were confirmed to have a certain positive effect on ESs. This study provides credible references for ecosystem management and urban planning.

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Adoption and Impact of Conservation Agriculture on Smallholder Farmers’ Crop Productivity and Income in Luapula Province, Zambia

Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.5539/jas.v9n9p168 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 168 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Stanford Nkhoma ◽

Thomson Kalinda ◽

Elias Kuntashula

Keyword(s):

Positive Impact ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Average Treatment Effect ◽

Probit Regression ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Extension Services ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Farming Households

Despite efforts to systemically disseminate Conservation Agriculture (CA) technology in Luapula Province of Zambia, the adoption rate remains limited. Furthermore, no empirical evidence has been presented on the factors influencing adoption of the technology or the extent to which farmers’ livelihood has been influenced due to uptake of the technology. This study therefore examined the adoption and impact of CA on crop productivity and income on farming households in the Province. Using the 2012 Rural Agricultural Livelihood Survey (RALS) data, the study employed a probit regression model to identify factors influencing adoption of CA among the smallholder farmers in the Province. The probit regression analysis showed that advice on CA and access to wetlands/dambos by households increased the probability to adopt CA. The study also adopted the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) approach to help match the adopters and non-adopters based on observable covariates in order to assess technology impact by providing consistent estimates of the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT). The results showed a small but insignificant positive impact of CA on crop productivity and income. This suggests that adoption of CA has the potential to generate an improvement in farming households’ livelihood in Luapula Province, Zambia. Therefore, adoption of CA in Luapula Province should be explicitly encouraged. This can be further enhanced by increased access to quality extension services that incorporates promotion of CA practices among the smallholder farming households in the area.

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Improving soil and water conservation and ecosystem services by sustainable soil management practices: From a global to an Italian soil partnership

Italian Journal of Agronomy ◽

10.4081/ija.2020.1765 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 293-298

Author(s):

Filiberto Altobelli ◽

Ronald Vargas ◽

Giuseppe Corti ◽

Carmelo Dazzi ◽

Luca Montanarella ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Soil Water ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Management Practices ◽

Soil Management ◽

Soil And Water Conservation ◽

Water Infiltration ◽

Sustainable Soil Management ◽

Soil And Water

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identify the need to restore degraded soils in order to improve productivity and the provision of ecosystem services. The aim is to support food production, store and supply clean water, conserve biodiversity, sequester carbon, and improve soil resilience in a context of climate change. Within this framework, in order to achieve the SDGs and to correct land management in the long-term, soil management is considered mandatory. The reduction of land degradation should be based on various sustainable soil management practices that improve and maintain soil organic matter levels, increase water infiltration, and improve soil water management. This technical review - a policy paper - summarizes the sustainable and territorial impact of soil degradation, including soil water erosion, from the global level to the European and National levels. Furthermore, with the aim of sharing ongoing soil and water management actions, instruments, and initiatives, we provide information on soil and water conservation activities and prospects in Italy.

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Conservation agriculture systems for Malawian smallholder farmers: long-term effects on crop productivity, profitability and soil quality

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170512000257 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 350-363 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

Amos Robert Ngwira ◽

Christian Thierfelder ◽

Dayton M. Lambert

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Cultural Beliefs ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Maize Yield ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Production Costs ◽

Water Infiltration ◽

Gross Margins

AbstractConservation agriculture (CA) systems are based upon minimal soil disturbance; crop residue retention and crop rotation and/or intercrop association are increasingly seen to recycle nutrients, increase yield and reduce production costs. This study examines the effects of CA practices on crop productivity, profitability and soil quality under the conditions encountered by smallholder farmers in two farming communities from 2005 to 2011 in Malawi, as part of the contribution to remedy a lack of supporting agronomic research for these relatively new systems. The drier agroenvironment of Lemu of Bazale Extension Planning Area (EPA) is characterized by sandy clay loam soils and lower rainfall. Here, CA showed positive benefits on maize yield after the first season of experimentation, with highest increases of 2.7 Mg ha−1 and 2.3 Mg ha−1 more yield in CA monocrop maize and CA maize–legume intercrop, respectively, than the conventional tillage in the driest season of 2009/10. In the high rainfall environment of Zidyana EPA (characterized by sandy loam soils), substantial maize yield benefits resulted in the fifth season of experimentation. Farmers spent at most 50 days ha−1 (US$140) producing maize under CA systems compared with 62 days ha−1(US$176) spent under conventional tillage practices. In Lemu, both CA systems resulted in gross margins three times higher than that of the conventional control plot, while in Zidyana, CA monocrop maize and CA maize–legume intercrop resulted in 33 and 23% higher gross margins, respectively, than conventional tillage. In Zidyana, the earthworm population was highest (48 earthworms m−2 in the first 30 cm) in CA monocrop maize, followed by a CA maize–legume intercropping (40 earthworms) and lowest (nine earthworms) in conventionally tilled treatment. In both study locations CA monocrop maize and CA maize–legume intercrop gave higher water infiltration than the conventional treatment. Improvements in crop productivity, overall economic gain and soil quality have made CA an attractive system for farmers in Malawi and other areas with similar conditions. However, for extensive adoption of CA by smallholder farmers, cultural beliefs that crop production is possible without the ubiquitous ridge and furrow system and residue burning for mice hunting have to be overcome.

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Conservation Agriculture: A Way for Soil Water Conservation

Agricultural Reviews ◽

10.18805/ag.r-2045 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

S. Selvakumar ◽

K. Sivakumar

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

Crop Rotation ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽

Cropping System ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Future Climate Change ◽

World Population ◽

Indian Agriculture

World population is going on increasing, it may be 2.4 billion by 2050, but stabilizing the yield of crop is questionable in Indian agriculture due to improper management of agricultural land. Excess tillage accelerate the organic matter oxidation present on the top soil, soil erosion and creates subsurface hard pan. This makes the field unsuitable for cultivation of crops in future. Climate change is worsening the situation by imposing water scarcity in India. So to evade these problems, conservation agriculture is the only way. Main objectives of conservation agriculture is reducing tillage, year round cropping, crop rotation, mulching may be live or residue. Due to reduced mechanical tillage, activity of micro flora and macro flora get increases that improves biological tillage of soil, that in turn improves soil structure and enhances the plant growth. Most of the studies showed that the cost of wheat production and CO2 emission from the field is reduced when conservation agriculture was fallowed in rice-wheat cropping system. Crop rotation and also mixed cropping improves soil fertility and also it reduces soil erosion. It can be a part of climate smart agriculture. It reduces greenhouse gas emission and also it can improve carbon sequestration. Considerably it can save 20-30% of water.

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