Can no-till grain production restore soil organic carbon to levels natural grass in a subtropical Oxisol?

Ferreira, Ademir de Oliveira; Amado, Telmo Jorge Carneiro; Rice, Charles W.; Diaz, D. A. Ruiz; Keller, Cristiano; Inagaki, Thiago Massao

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2016.05.016

Cited by 36 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…4). Yield increases over time have often been attributed to gradually improved soil quality under CA versus CT 30,31 . However, a recent analysis of data published in studies from sub-Saharan Africa 32 did not find a substantial overall increase of soil organic carbon under CA over time.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limits of conservation agriculture to overcome low crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa

et al. 2020

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Conservation agriculture (CA) has become a dominant paradigm in scientific and policy thinking about the sustainable intensification of food production in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet claims that CA leads to increasing crop yields in African smallholder farming systems remain controversial. Through a meta-analysis of 933 observations from 16 different countries in sub-Saharan African studies, we show that average yields under CA are only slightly higher than those of conventional tillage systems (3.7% for six major crop species and 4.0% for maize). Larger yield responses for maize result from mulching and crop rotations/intercropping. When CA principles are implemented concomitantly, maize yield increases by 8.4%. The largest yield benefits from CA occur in combination with low rainfall and herbicides. We conclude that although CA may bring soil conservation benefits, it is not a technology for African smallholder farmers to overcome low crop productivity and food insecurity in the short term.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limits of conservation agriculture to overcome low crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa

et al. 2020

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“…The soil in Cruz Alta was a Typic Haplorthox or Oxisol (U.S. Soil Taxonomy) or Rhodic Ferrasol (IUSS Working Group WRB, 2015) and the climate was classified as humid subtropical (Cfa), with mean annual precipitation of 1,750 mm and temperature of 19.2 C. The area had been under cultivation since 1965 with wheat (Triticum aestivum) and soybean (Glycine max) double cropping (winter/summer) under disk tillage (1965)(1966)(1967)(1968)(1969)(1970)(1971)(1972)(1973)(1974)(1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980) and reduced tillage (1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985) (de Oliveira Ferreira et al, 2016). Lime (5 Mg ha −1 ) was incorporated before the experiment was established in 1985 to test two soil tillage systems in the main plots and three cropping systems in subplots.…”

Section: Cruz Alta Rs Brazilmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Crop productivity and SOC accrual in NT soils are favoured by increased nutrient availability (de Oliveira Ferreira et al, 2018; Kirkby et al, 2014; Manzoni, Taylor, Richter, Porporato, & Ågren, 2012; Poffenbarger et al, 2017; Van Groenigen et al, 2017), amelioration of subsoil acidity (Dalla Nora, Amado, & Nicoloso, R. da S., & Gruhn, E.M., 2017; de Oliveira Ferreira, Amado, et al, 2018), use of organic amendments (Poulton, Johnston, MacDonald, White, & Powlson, 2018; Powlson et al, 2012; Xia, Lam, Yan, & Chen, 2017), irrigation and other best crop management practices (BP), such as high‐yield cultivars with increased plant density (Follett et al, 2013; Grassini & Cassman, 2012; Grassini, Thorburn, Burr, & Cassman, 2011; Schwalbert et al, 2018; Stewart et al, 2017). Thus, the adoption of BP could increase SOC accrual in NT soils up to the levels of natural soils (de Oliveira Ferreira et al, 2016, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing strategies to enhance soil carbon sequestration with the DSSAT‐CENTURY model

Nicoloso

Amado

Rice

2020

European J Soil Science

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The adoption of no-till (NT) has been proposed to recover soil organic carbon (SOC), which will aid the mitigation of climate change. However, studies have questioned the potential of NT soils to deliver SOC sequestration and sustain crop yields. No-till experiments are relatively recent (<50 years) and very few studies were able to assess SOC dynamics in high-yield agroecosystems. We used the DSSAT-CENTURY model to predict long-term SOC (0-30 cm) using datasets from two experiments assessing tillage and nitrogen (N) sources in a Mollisol from the midwest United States (28 years) and tillage and crop rotations in an Oxisol from southern Brazil (33 years). The conversion of prairie and grassland soils to conventional agriculture decreased SOC by 61 and 12% in the Mollisol and Oxisol, respectively. Soil organic C accrual in NT soils was >0.5 Mg C ha −1 year −1 under medium-low-yield maize in the Mollisol and negligible in the Oxisol under soybean/wheat rotation. Organic fertilization and crop rotation increased SOC accrual at both sites. Simulated SOC had good agreement with observations for NT soils but overestimated SOC in tilled soils. The model's parameters were then modified for tilled soils. Long-term simulations (100 years) revealed that SOC accrual in NT soils (0-15 cm) is partially offset by losses at 15-30 cm under low C inputs. Simulations with best crop management practices (BP; irrigation, high-yield cultivars, higher plant density and improved N fertilization) augmented C inputs and SOC stocks, ultimately recovering SOC to the levels of prairie soils. Our results suggest that the adoption of NT, recycling of organic fertilizers and the use of BP should be further promoted for recovery and permanence of SOC in agricultural soils. Highlights • Studies have questioned the potential of conservation agriculture (CA) to deliver SOC sequestration and sustain crop yields. • We used the DSSAT-CENTURY model to simulate SOC dynamics in temperate and subtropical soils. • No-till under moderate C/N inputs recovered topsoil SOC, but subsurface losses offset SOC accrual.

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“…The use of cover crops in a rotational system with annual crops provides several benefits to the productive system, especially nutrient cycling (Pacheco et al, 2017;Tiecher et al, 2012), protection from raindrop impact, with reduced soil surface degradation (Dalla and erosion reduction (Nielsen et al, 2016). It can also increase organic carbon (Ferreira et al, 2016;Sousa et al, 2017), which improves soil physical, chemical and biological properties and mitigates environmental impacts caused by land use (Qu et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dry Mass Accumulation, Nutrients and Decomposition of Cover Plants

Sousa¹,

Medeiros²,

Lacerda³

et al. 2019

JAS

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The use of cover crops is an important strategy for soil management in the Brazilian Cerrado to improve no-tillage (NT) systems. For this, it is necessary know the potential of cover crop species for biomass production, nutrient cycling, and persistence of residues on the soil surface in soils and climatic conditions of this biome. Thus, the experiment was developed to evaluate the agronomic potential of cover crops cultivated on an Oxisol (Latossolo Amarelo) in the Cerrado of Piauí, Brazil. The experiment was conducted from January 2015 to July 2016. The experimental design was in randomized blocks with 11 treatments and four replicates. The treatments consisted of single and intercropped cover species. The evaluations were: dry mass production, nutritional composition of the plants, nutrient accumulation by dry mass produced and decomposition rate of the dry mass produced for each treatment. The higher dry matter production was obtained with Crotalaria juncea, Cajanus cajan (cv. IAC-Fava larga), Pennisetum glaucum and Brachiaria ruziziensis. The lower dry matter production was obtained with Mucuna aterrima, and mix of Crotalaria spectabilis + Pennisetum glaucum. The higher nutrients accumulation in the plants occurred for Cajanus cajan (cv. IAC-Fava larga), Crotalaria juncea and Crotalaria spectabilis. The cover plants studied presented good potential for soil conservation, due to the permanence of residues on the surface, except for Mucuna aterrima and Crotalaria spectabilis.

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Can no-till grain production restore soil organic carbon to levels natural grass in a subtropical Oxisol?

Cited by 36 publications

References 39 publications

Limits of conservation agriculture to overcome low crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa

Limits of conservation agriculture to overcome low crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa

Assessing strategies to enhance soil carbon sequestration with the DSSAT‐CENTURY model

Dry Mass Accumulation, Nutrients and Decomposition of Cover Plants

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