Effects of agricultural management on soil organic matter and carbon transformation - a review

Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the most often reported attribute and is chosen as the most important indicator of soil quality and agricultural sustainability. In this review, we summarized how cultivation, crop rotation, residue and tillage management, fertilization and monoculture affect soil quality, soil organic matter (SOM) and carbon transformation. The results confirm that SOM is not only a source of carbon but also a sink for carbon sequestration. Cultivation and tillage can reduce soil SOC content and lead to soil deterioration. Tillage practices have a major effect on distribution of C and N, and the rates of organic matter decomposition and N mineralization. Proper adoption of crop rotation can increase or maintain the quantity and quality of soil organic matter, and improve soil chemical and physical properties. Adequate application of fertilizers combined with farmyard manure could increase soil nutrients, and SOC content. Manure or crop residue alone may not be adequate to maintain SOC levels. Crop types influence SOC and soil function in continuous monoculture systems. SOC can be best preserved by rotation with reduced tillage frequency and with additions of chemical fertilizers and manure. Knowledge and assessment of changes (positive or negative) in SOC status with time is still needed to evaluate the impact of different management practices.

Soil Organic Matter Fractions in Preserved and Disturbed Wetlands of the Cerrado Biome

“…Land use or management practices may change the soil organic matter (SOM) content and quality, affecting the stocks of SOM and causing changes in the levels of major SOM elements, such as C and/or N (Liu et al, 2006;Carvalho et al, 2010). The replacement of natural vegetation cover by agricultural crops and pastures, associated to the use of inadequate management practices, may cause a significant reduction in SOM stocks, leading to considerable losses of soil C and N (Guo and Gifford, 2002;Machado, 2005;Batlle-Bayer et al, 2010;Wendling et al, 2011).…”

Fatty Acid Content of Seed at Different Development Stages in Canola on Different Soil Types with Low Organic Matter

“…Soil organic matter is often chosen as the most important indicator of soil quality and agricultural sustainability (Liu et al, 2006). It has a profound physical, chemical and biological impact on soil.…”

Prospect and importance of green mulching on the soil status of tropical tasar plantation fields in India

“…Further, the application of legume green manure will add important nutrients like N, sulphur (S) and prosperous (P) to the soil helps to build SOM making the with soil's structure, pore size healthier with increased water holding and cation exchange capacity (CEC) for effective utilization of inorganic fertilizers [ [6][7][8].…”

“…The application of Sun hemp as organic mulch will result in triple benefit of effective utilization of waste, improvement in soil quality and economic gain with low input of chemical fertilizers for sustainable silk cocoon production 4 . In temperate regions, high organic matter inputs combined with slow decomposition rates (determined by climate) lead to high soil organic carbon (SOC), while in tropical regions, decomposition and the turnover of SOC tend to be faster [5][6][7] . The tropical tasar food-plants, Terminalia tomentosa and Terminalia arjuna are under the rain-fed conditions and in degraded soils with low nutrients 8 are being exploited to rear tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta to produce vanya silk of high global demand, though, the optimal leaf productivity of tasar food-plant being most essential to make tropical sericulture sustainable.…”