Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forest Systems: Soil Carbon Sequestration and Organic Matter stabilization as detected by laser-based spectroscopies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Maria Tadini ◽  
Alfredo Augusto Pereira Xavier ◽  
Ladislau Martin-Neto ◽  
Débora Marcondes Bastos Pereira Milori ◽  
Alberto Carlos de Campos Bernardi
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Fluorescence Spectroscopy ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Chemical Structure ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Laser Induced Fluorescence ◽  
Sustainable Intensification ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Soil C

<p>The Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forest Systems (CLF) have been able to capture and store the carbon (C) in the form of Soil Organic Matter (SOM), in different regions in Brazil, thereby contributing to mitigate agricultural greenhouse gases emission. This is an eligible practice in Low Carbon Emission Agriculture Plan in Brazil, and currently has around 15 million hectares under use, a very positive and important trend in soil land use in Brazil. SOM is considered a relevant indicator of soil quality due to its direct relationship with biological, chemical, and physical properties, allowing it to evaluate the impacts of agricultural management. Laser-based spectroscopies as Laser-Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy (LIFS) and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) have become promising tools in the evaluation of the SOM in agricultural soils. LIBS can measure soil C, and LIFS can infer about the chemical structure of SOM, mainly aromaticity. The standard protocol for measuring soil C changes involves soil sampling at the field and chemical sample preparation for laboratory analysis. Although this procedure produces precise results, it takes time, generates chemical residues, and the costs restrict its routine for large scale use in agricultural projects. Thus, there is a need to develop clean (green chemistry), rapid, precise, and cost-efficient methods for measuring soil C changes in the field. Also, information about the chemical structure of SOM usually is done through spectroscopic techniques, such as <sup>13</sup>C NMR, EPR, and fluorescence of humic acid, which are not applied for large scale measurement and mapping. LIFS can be applied in whole soil and can be used to evaluate the aromaticity of SOM, and consequently, its chemical stability.  The objectives of this study were to evaluatethe soil C stock and SOM Stability of some Brazilian soils under different integrated systems, such as,Crop-Livestock-Forest (CLF), Crop-Livestock (CL) and Livestock-Forest(LF). The results showed the combination of soil carbon accumulation, and an increase of SOM aromaticity for CLF, which can be promising for sustainable intensification in agriculture.</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Sustainable Intensification; Soil Organic Matter; Carbon stock; Laser-Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy; Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forest Systems</p>

Evaluation of soil organic matter from integrated production systems using laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy

2021 ◽  
Vol 211 ◽  
pp. 105001
Author(s):  
Amanda M. Tadini ◽  
Alfredo A.P. Xavier ◽  
Débora M.B.P. Milori ◽  
Patrícia P.A. Oliveira ◽  
José R. Pezzopane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Fluorescence Spectroscopy ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Laser Induced Fluorescence ◽  
Integrated Production

scholarly journals Predicting decadal trends and transient responses of radiocarbon storage and fluxes in a temperate forest soil

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 3013-3028 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Sierra ◽  
S. E. Trumbore ◽  
E. A. Davidson ◽  
S. D. Frey ◽  
K. E. Savage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Empirical Model ◽  
Temperate Forest ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Carbon Dynamics ◽  
Co2 Efflux ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Soil Carbon Dynamics

Abstract. Representing the response of soil carbon dynamics to global environmental change requires the incorporation of multiple tools in the development of predictive models. An important tool to construct and test models is the incorporation of bomb radiocarbon in soil organic matter during the past decades. In this manuscript, we combined radiocarbon data and a previously developed empirical model to explore decade-scale soil carbon dynamics in a temperate forest ecosystem at the Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, USA. We evaluated the contribution of different soil C fractions to both total soil CO2 efflux and microbially respired C. We tested the performance of the model based on measurable soil organic matter fractions against a decade of radiocarbon measurements. The model was then challenged with radiocarbon measurements from a warming and N addition experiment to test multiple hypotheses about the different response of soil C fractions to the experimental manipulations. Our results showed that the empirical model satisfactorily predicts the trends of radiocarbon in litter, density fractions, and respired CO2 observed over a decade in the soils not subjected to manipulation. However, the model, modified with prescribed relationships for temperature and decomposition rates, predicted most but not all the observations from the field experiment where soil temperatures and nitrogen levels were increased, suggesting that a larger degree of complexity and mechanistic relations need to be added to the model to predict short-term responses and transient dynamics.

Changes in soil carbon under long-term maize in monoculture and legume-based rotation

2001 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
E G Gregorich ◽  
C F Drury ◽  
J A Baldock
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Natural Abundance ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Soil C

Legume-based cropping systems could help to increase crop productivity and soil organic matter levels, thereby enhancing soil quality, as well as having the additional benefit of sequestering atmospheric C. To evaluate the effects of 35 yr of maize monoculture and legume-based cropping on soil C levels and residue retention, we measured organic C and 13C natural abundance in soils under: fertilized and unfertilized maize (Zea mays L.), both in monoculture and legume-based [maize-oat (Avena sativa L.)-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)-alfalfa] rotations; fertilized and unfertilized systems of continuous grass (Poa pratensis L.); and under forest. Solid state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used to chemically characterize the organic matter in plant residues and soils. Soils (70-cm depth) under maize cropping had about 30-40% less C, and those under continuous grass had about 16% less C, than those under adjacent forest. Qualitative differences in crop residues were important in these systems, because quantitative differences in net primary productivity and C inputs in the different agroecosystems did not account for observed differences in total soil C. Cropping sequence (i.e., rotation or monoculture) had a greater effect on soil C levels than application of fertilizer. The difference in soil C levels between rotation and monoculture maize systems was about 20 Mg C ha-1. The effects of fertilization on soil C were small (~6 Mg C ha-1), and differences were observed only in the monoculture system. The NMR results suggest that the chemical composition of organic matter was little affected by the nature of crop residues returned to the soil. The total quantity of maize-derived soil C was different in each system, because the quantity of maize residue returned to the soil was different; hence the maize-derived soil C ranged from 23 Mg ha-1 in the fertilized and 14 Mg ha-1 in the unfertilized monoculture soils (i.e., after 35 maize crops) to 6-7 Mg ha-1 in both the fertilized and unfertilized legume-based rotation soils (i.e., after eight maize crops). The proportion of maize residue C returned to the soil and retained as soil organic C (i.e., Mg maize-derived soil C/Mg maize residue) was about 14% for all maize cropping systems. The quantity of C3-C below the plow layer in legume-based rotation was 40% greater than that in monoculture and about the same as that under either continuous grass or forest. The soil organic matter below the plow layer in soil under the legume-based rotation appeared to be in a more biologically resistant form (i.e., higher aromatic C content) compared with that under monoculture. The retention of maize residue C as soil organic matter was four to five times greater below the plow layer than that within the plow layer. We conclude that residue quality plays a key role in increasing the retention of soil C in agroecosystems and that soils under legume-based rotation tend to be more “preservative” of residue C inputs, particularly from root inputs, than soils under monoculture. Key words: Soil carbon, 13C natural abundance, 13C nuclear magnetic resonance, maize cropping, legumes, root carbon

scholarly journals Predicting decadal trends and transient responses of radiocarbon storage and fluxes in a temperate forest soil

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 2197-2232 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Sierra ◽  
S. E. Trumbore ◽  
E. A. Davidson ◽  
S. D. Frey ◽  
K. E. Savage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Empirical Model ◽  
Temperate Forest ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Carbon Dynamics ◽  
Co2 Efflux ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Soil Carbon Dynamics

Abstract. Representing the response of soil carbon dynamics to global environmental change requires the incorporation of multiple tools in the development of predictive models. An important tool to construct and test models is the incorporation of bomb radiocarbon in soil organic matter during the past decades. In this manuscript, we combined radiocarbon data and a previously developed empirical model to explore decade-scale soil carbon dynamics in a temperate forest ecosystem at the Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, USA. We evaluated the contribution of different soil C fractions to both total soil CO2 efflux and microbially-respired C. We tested the performance of the model based on measurable soil organic matter fractions against a decade of radiocarbon measurements. The model was then challenged with radiocarbon measurements from a warming and N addition experiment to test multiple hypotheses about the different response of soil C fractions to the experimental manipulations. Our results showed that the empirical model satisfactorily predicts the trends of radiocarbon in litter, density fractions, and respired CO2 observed over a decade in the soils not subjected to manipulation. However, the model, modified with prescribed relationships for temperature and decomposition rates, predicted most but not all the observations from the field experiment where soil temperatures and nitrogen levels were increased, suggesting that a larger degree of complexity and mechanistic relations need to be added to the model to predict short-term responses and transient dynamics.

scholarly journals Is resistant soil organic matter more sensitive to temperature than the labile organic matter?

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Fang ◽  
P. Smith ◽  
J. U. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Decay Rate ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Measured Data ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Labile Organic Matter ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Published Evidence ◽  
Labile Pool

Abstract. A recent paper by Knorr et al. (2005a) suggested that the decomposition of resistant soil organic matter is more temperature sensitive than labile organic matter. In Knorr et al.'s (2005a) model, the reference decay rate was presumed to be same for all pools of soil carbon. We refit Knorr et al.'s (2005a) model but allow both the activation energy and the reference decay rate to vary among soil C pools. Under these conditions, a similar fit to measured data can be obtained without invoking the assumption that the resistant C pool is more temperature sensitive than the labile pool. Other published evidence does not unequivocally support Knorr et al.'s (2005a) hypothesis of increased temperature sensitivity of resistant pools of soil carbon. Because of the lack of experimental data, Knorr et al.'s (2005a) conclusion that the decomposition of the resistant SOM is more temperature sensitive than the labile pool is premature.

Testing for soil carbon saturation behavior in agricultural soils receiving long-term manure amendments

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Feng ◽  
M. Xu ◽  
M. Fan ◽  
S. S. Malhi ◽  
J. J. Schoenau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Agricultural Field ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Carbon Saturation ◽  
Manure Amendments

Feng, W., Xu, M., Fan, M., Malhi, S. S., Schoenau, J. J., Six, J. and Plante, A. F. 2014. Testing for soil carbon saturation behavior in agricultural soils receiving long-term manure amendments. Can. J. Soil Sci. 94: 281–294. Agricultural soils are typically depleted in soil organic matter compared with their undisturbed counterparts, thus reducing their fertility. Organic amendments, particularly manures, provide the opportunity to restore soil organic matter stocks, improve soil fertility and potentially sequester atmospheric carbon (C). The application of the soil C saturation theory can help identify soils with large C storage potentials. The goal of this study was to test whether soil C saturation can be observed in various soil types in agricultural ecosystems receiving long-term manure amendments. Seven long-term agricultural field experiments from China and Canada were selected for this study. Manure amendments increased C concentrations in bulk soil, particulate organic matter+sand, and silt+clay fractions in all the experiments. The increase in C concentrations of silt+clay did not fit the asymptotic regression as a function of C inputs better than the linear regression, indicating that silt+clay did not exhibit C saturation behavior. However, 44% of calculated C loading values for silt+clay were greater than the presumed maximal C loading, suggesting that this maximum may be greater than 1 mg C m−2 for many soils. The influences of soil mineral surface properties on C concentrations of silt+clay fractions were site specific. Fine soil particles did not exhibit C saturation behavior likely because current C inputs were insufficient to fill the large C saturation deficits of intensely cultivated soils, suggesting these soils may continue to act as sinks for atmospheric C.

scholarly journals Is resistant soil organic matter more sensitive to temperature than the labile organic matter?

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 725-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Fang ◽  
P. Smith ◽  
J. U. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Decay Rate ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Labile Organic Matter ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Published Evidence ◽  
Labile Pool ◽  
S Model

Abstract. A recent paper by Knorr et al. (2005) suggested that the decomposition of resistant soil organic matter is more temperature sensitive than labile organic matter. In Knorr et al.'s model, the reference decay rate was fixed for all pools of soil carbon. We refit Knorr et al.'s model but allow both the activation energy and the reference decay rate to vary among soil C pools. Under these conditions, a similar fit to measured data can be obtained without invoking the assumption that the resistant C pool is more temperature sensitive than the labile pool. Other published evidence does not unequivocally support Knorr et al.'s hypothesis of increased temperature sensitivity of resistant pools of soil carbon.

scholarly journals Top-down and bottom-up controls on soil carbon and nitrogen cycling with repeated burning across four ecosystems

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam F. A. Pellegrini ◽  
Sarah E. Hobbie ◽  
Peter B. Reich ◽  
Ari Jumpponen ◽  
E. N. Jack Brookshire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Soil C And N ◽  
C And N

AbstractFires shape the biogeochemistry and functioning of many ecosystems, but fire frequencies are changing across large areas of the globe. Frequent fires can change soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage through both “top-down” pathways, by altering inputs through shifting plant composition and biomass, and “bottom-up” ones, by altering losses through decomposition and turnover of soil organic matter. However, the relative importance of these different pathways and the degree to which they regulate ecosystem responses to decades of changing fire frequencies is uncertain. Here, we sampled soils and plant communities in four North American and African sites spanning tropical savanna, temperate coniferous savanna, temperate broadleaf savanna, and temperate coniferous forest that each contained multiple plots repeatedly burned for 33-61 years and nearby plots that were protected from fire over the same period. The sites varied markedly in temperature, precipitation, species composition, fire history and soil chemistry; thus they represent a broad test for the generality of fire impacts on biogeochemical cycling. For all four sites, bulk soil C and N by were 25-180% higher in unburned vs. frequently burned plots, with greater soil losses occurring in areas with greater declines in tree cover and biomass inputs into soils. Fire reduced the activity of soil extracellular enzymes that hydrolyze labile C and N from soil organic matter by two- to ten-fold, whereas tree cover was the predominant control on the oxidation of recalcitrant C compounds. C-acquisition enzyme activity tended to decline with decreasing soil N, suggesting that N losses may contribute to limited decomposition, buffering systems against increased losses of soil C with fire. In conclusion, variability in how fire alters soil C and N across ecosystems can be explained partly by fire-driven changes in tree cover and biomass, but the slower turnover of organic matter we observed may offset some of the reduction of C inputs from plants after fire.

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