Estimating soil carbon dynamics in intercrop and sole crop agroecosystems using the Century model

Oelbermann, Maren; Echarte, Laura; Marroquin, Lisa D.; Morgan, Svenja; Regehr, Alison; Vachon, Karen; Wilton, Meaghan J.

doi:10.1002/jpln.201600578

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…We used Century version 4.0 because it is widely adopted to simulate changes in soil organic carbon under different agroecosystem management practices and environmental conditions (Smith et al 2007;Oelbermann et al 2017). We calibrated Century using data collected from the field site.…”

Section: Century Model Parameterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, Dynarski et al (2020) noted that a lack of knowledge exists on the longevity and permanence of carbon in soil from the organic matter supplied by biobased residues under conventional and conservation agroecosystem management practices. This knowledge gap can be addressed with the aid of process-based models (e.g., Century, DNDC and RothC) that predict long-term changes in soil organic carbon dynamics under continuous cropping and crop rotation (Oelbermann et al 2017;Singh and Benbi 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But Century remains one of the most widely adopted models since it can approximate the steady state of soil organic carbon when historical data on land management is limited (Bruni et al 2021). Also, Century is well suited for various cropping systems and pedoclimatic regions (Oelbermann et al 2017;Jarecki et al 2018). For instance, Dimassi et al (2018) recently used the Century model on six long-term experimental sites across France with 25 treatments that integrated different crop rotations with inorganic and organic amendments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Compost and biosolids increase long-term soil organic carbon stocks

et al. 2023

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Biobased residues derived from organic urban waste materials can be processed to produce soil amendments that enhance soil fertility and carbon sequestration. However, the extent of carbon sequestration by biobased residues depends on the interaction between their physicochemical properties, climate, and agroecosystem management practices. Our objective was to predict how different biobased residues (compost, anaerobic digestate or biosolids), compared to nitrogen fertilizer, affect soil organic carbon stocks under continuous cropping and crop rotation in Ontario, Canada, using the Century model. The Century model was calibrated and validated with data, from a three-year field study located in Elora, Ontario, Canada, that was used to predict long-term changes in soil organic carbon. Our results showed that after 150 years, soil amended with compost and biosolids increased soil organic carbon stocks significantly (p<0.05) compared to anaerobic digestate and nitrogen fertilizer. Soil organic carbon stocks were 1 to 27% greater with crop rotation compared to continuous cropping. Model performance indicated a strong correlation between measured and simulated soil organic carbon stocks (R2 = 0.26 to 0.82; RMSD = 432 to 727 g m-2). Our findings suggested that compost had the greatest soil carbon sequestration potential of the tested soil amendments, and this difference was due to the quantity and quality of carbon input.

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Section: Century Model Parameterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Compost and biosolids increase long-term soil organic carbon stocks

et al. 2023

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“…To date, empirical and process-based crop models are only able to simulate a limited number of interactions within an intercropped or relay-cropped system (Gaudio et al 2019;Tanveer et al 2017). This often leads to modelling crops independently and not as a part of a cropping system (Oelbermann et al 2017), therefore overlooking synergic and competitive effects between species and their combined effect on the soil biogeochemistry. This is the case when the models are employed in this study to estimate N-related field emissions.…”

Section: Modelling Limitations In Relay-cropped Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental trade-offs of relay-cropping winter cover crops with soybean in a maize-soybean cropping system

Cecchin

Pourhashem

Gesch

et al. 2021

Agricultural Systems

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Winter camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz] and field pennycress [Thlaspi arvense L.] are oilseed feedstocks that can be employed as winter-hardy cover crops in the current cropping systems in the U.S. upper Midwest. In addition to provide multiple ecosystem services, they can be a further source of income for the farmer. However, using these cover crops is a new agricultural practice that has only been studied recently. The objective of this study was to assess and compare the environmental performance of a maize [Zea mays L.]-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cropping system with different winter cover crops -camelina, pennycress, and rye (Secale cereale L.)in the U.S. upper Midwest. Field experiments were carried out from 2016 to 2017 (2-year maize-soybean sequence) at three locations: Morris (Minnesota), Ames (Iowa), and Prosper (North Dakota). The environmental impact assessment was carried out using a "cradle-to-gate" life cycle assessment methodology. Four impact categories were assessed: global warming potential (GWP), eutrophication, soil erosion, and soil organic carbon (SOC) variation. Two functional units (FU) were selected: (1) 1 ha year − 1 , and (2) $1 net margin. When expressed with the FU ha yr − 1 , across the three locations cover crops had (a) lower eutrophication potential and water soil erosion, and (b) lower GWP if the cover crop was not fertilized with nitrogen. Camelina and pennycress were more effective than rye in reducing soil losses, while the three cover crops provided similar results for eutrophication potential. The results for the SOC variation were mixed, but the sequence with rye had the best performance at all locations. When expressed with the FU $ net margin, sequences including camelina and pennycress were overall the worst sequences in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient and soil losses. This negative performance was mainly due to the seed yield reduction in the second year of the sequence for both the main cash crop (soybean) and the relayed-cover crop compared with the conventional sequence maize-soybean. Such result led to a lower net margin per hectare in the sequences including camelina and pennycress when compared with the control. The results of this study suggest that the introduction of camelina and pennycress as winter-hardy cover crops has a strong potential for reducing the environmental impacts of the maize-soybean rotation. However, a field management optimization of these cover crops in a relay-cropping system is needed to make them a sustainable agricultural practice.

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“…Agricultural activity can be paradoxical, from soil exploitation that results in increased greenhouse gas emissions to the search for maintaining soil organic C, which is seen as an opportunity to mitigate climate change. The adverse effects of land misuse result in a decrease in C stocks and the acceleration of soil degradation, which can compromise ecosystems that are essential to human welfare and the preservation of nature (Oelbermann et al, 2017;Althoff et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulating soil carbon and nitrogen trends under an integrated system in the Brazilian Cerrado

Vogado,

Souza,

Althoff

et al. 2023

Acta Sci. Agron.

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Management systems that include trees tend to provide higher amounts of plant biomass to the soil, contributing to the increase in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks. This study simulated C and N stocks and their compartments in a crop-livestock-forest integration system in the edafoclimatic conditions of the Maranhão Cerrado using the Century 4.5 model. The evaluated areas were native Cerrado vegetation (NV) and crop-livestock-forest integration (CLFI). The calibration process gradually modified the model parameters to better fit the simulated and observed soil C and N stocks. The best fit between the data was obtained after changes in the main parameters (DEC3(2), DEC4, and DEC5) that controlled the rate of decomposition of soil organic matter. C and N stocks increased by 14% and 15%, respectively, over 14 years after replacing NV with CLFI. The slow compartment of C presented greater sensitivity to changes in management, with an increase of 47% compared with that of NV. The active compartment increased by 31% and the passive compartment remained constant for over 14 years. Future scenarios, where pasture was maintained between the eucalyptus trees and the scenario that allowed the soybean, corn, and Brachiaria rotation between the trees, were more effective, accumulating approximately 37 Mg C ha-1. The continuous contribution of residues from the trees and pasture increased C and N stocks in the long-term in the slow fraction, where the total organic carbon increased from 32 to 36 Mg ha-1 when NV was replaced with CLFI. The model predicted the C and N stocks with accuracies ranging from 1 to 11% of the observed values

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Estimating soil carbon dynamics in intercrop and sole crop agroecosystems using the Century model

Cited by 13 publications

References 50 publications

Compost and biosolids increase long-term soil organic carbon stocks

Compost and biosolids increase long-term soil organic carbon stocks

Environmental trade-offs of relay-cropping winter cover crops with soybean in a maize-soybean cropping system

Simulating soil carbon and nitrogen trends under an integrated system in the Brazilian Cerrado

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