Landuse effects on structural stability and soil organic carbon in the submontane areas of north-western Himalayas, India

Changes in soil structural stability as a result of lime application (1·5 t/ha) were monitored over 3 years in a red earth with contrasting initial pH, organic carbon, and structural stability conditions at Wagga Wagga, NSW. The lime was applied to the surface of the direct drilled-soil without any incorporation, but in the case of the cultivated soils, the lime was incorporated into the top 10 cm by scarifying. After liming, an initial temporary reduction in macroaggregate (>2 µm) stability was detected in the immediate surface (0-2·5 cm) of the direct-drilled soil where the highest increases in pH, losses in soil organic carbon, and increases in microbial biomass were also observed. The decrease in structural stability was attributed to lime-induced increases in biological decomposition and the resulting soil organic carbon losses. Subsequent samplings did not detect any difference in either macro- or micro- (<50 µm) aggregate stability of this soil as a result of lime treatment. In contrast, for the 2 cultivated soils which had lower initial structural stability and organic carbon levels, a decline in stability was not observed. Instead, significant increases in macroaggregate and microaggregate stability were detected 1·5 years after lime application. By the end of 3 years, macroaggregate stability of the limed cultivated soils approached that of the direct-drilled soil. The improvement in structural stability extended to 7·5 cm depth 3 years after lime application. Wet-sieving experiments using prolonged periods of shaking indicated enhanced stability of the water-stable aggregates of the limed cultivated soils but not the direct-drilled soils.

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Modeling Soil Organic Carbon with DNDC and RothC Models in Different Wheat-Based Cropping Systems in North-Western India

Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis ◽

10.1080/00103624.2020.1751850 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (9) ◽

pp. 1184-1203 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Pritpal Singh ◽

Dinesh Kumar Benbi

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Western India ◽

North Western

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Enhanced Carbon Sequestration in Marginal Land Upon Shift towards Perennial C4Miscanthus × giganteus: A Case Study in North-Western Czechia

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11020293 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 293 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Karim Suhail Al Souki ◽

Hana Burdová ◽

Jakub Trubač ◽

Jiří Štojdl ◽

Pavel Kuráň ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Agricultural Soils ◽

Hydrolytic Activity ◽

Bioenergy Crops ◽

Alternative Source ◽

Stress Indicator ◽

North Western

Bioenergy crops such as Miscanthus × giganteus are foreseeable as an alternative source to replace fossil fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They are also assessed as an environment-friendly solution for polluted, marginal and low-quality agricultural soils. Several studies had been launched on soil organic carbon sequestration potentials of miscanthus culture along with its impacts on restoring soil functionality, most of which focus on the long-term basis of the plant’s cultivation. Nevertheless, information concerning the short term impacts as well as the situation in Czechia is still scarce. In this context, a field experiment was launched in 2017 in a poor-quality agricultural land in the city of Chomutov (North-Western Czechia) to compare the impacts of the perennial C4 miscanthus with an annual C3 forage crop (wheat) on the soil carbon stocks as well as enhancing its functionality. Results through the 0–30 cm soil profile examination showed that miscanthus plants played a role in improving the studied soil physico-chemical (bulk density and soil organic carbon concentrations) and biological (Phospholipid fatty acids stress indicator, basal respiration and fluorescein diacetate hydrolytic activity) parameters. The naturally occurring δ13C concentrations were used to evaluate the direct plant contribution to the total soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and revealed considerable miscanthus contribution all over the detected soil layers (1.98 ± 0.21 Mg C. ha−1 yr−1) after only 3 growing seasons. It is thus suggested that the C4 perennial miscanthus possess remarkable prospects for SOC sequestration and restoring degraded lands.

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Impacts of land use and topography on soil organic carbon in a Mediterranean landscape (north-western Tunisia)

SOIL ◽

10.5194/soil-5-239-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 239-251 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Donia Jendoubi ◽

Hanspeter Liniger ◽

Chinwe Ifejika Speranza

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Geographic Area ◽

Grazing Land ◽

Topographic Features ◽

Field Crops ◽

The Impact ◽

North Western

Abstract. This study evaluates the impact of land use and topographic features (slope and aspect) on soil organic carbon (SOC) within the Wadi Beja watershed in north-western Tunisia. A soil spectral library was set up to assess the variation in the SOC for 1440 soil samples from four land use types (field crops, permanent crops, forest, and grazing land), three slope categories (flat, moderate, and steep) and two aspects (north- and south-facing). For field crops, only one factor – slope – significantly affected SOC, with SOC content in north-facing areas appearing to be higher in flat areas (0.75 %) than in hilly areas (0.51 %). However, in south-facing areas, SOC content was also higher in flat areas (0.74 %) than in hilly areas (0.50 %). For permanent crops, which were inter-planted with field crops, the slope significantly affected SOC content, which improved to 0.97 % in flat north-facing and 0.96 % in flat south-facing areas, scoring higher than hilly south- and north-facing areas (0.79 %). In the grazing land use system, both of the investigated factors – aspect and slope – significantly affected the SOC content, which was significantly higher in flat areas (north-facing: 0.84 %, south-facing: 0.77 %) than in hilly areas (north-facing: 0.61 %, south-facing: 0.56 %). For the forest, none of the factors had a significant effect on SOC content, which was higher in flat areas (north-facing: 1.15 %, south-facing: 1.14 %) than in steep areas (1.09 % in north-facing areas and 1.07 % in south-facing areas). This study highlights the ability of visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy to quantify C in diverse soils collected over a large diverse geographic area in order to indicate that calibrations are feasible, and therefore, assessing the variation of SOC content under land use and topographic features (slope and aspect) will result in better sustainable land management planning.

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