Perennial cereal grain cultivation: Implication on soil organic matter and related soil microbial parameters

Audu, Varentta; Rasche, Frank; Mårtensson, Linda-Maria Dimitrova; Emmerling, Christoph

doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2022.104414

Cited by 25 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 69 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To our knowledge, root production has never been measured within this experiment. That said, multiple studies have demonstrated that perennial cropping systems produce significantly more root biomass compared to annuals crops (60,61) and this often leads to greater C pools within perennial systems (12,43,62,63).…”

Section: Reduced Management Intensity Fosters C Stabilization Across ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitive Measures of Soil Health Reveal Carbon Stability Across a Management Intensity and Plant Biodiversity Gradient

Martin

Sprunger

2022

Front. Soil Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Soil carbon (C) is a major driver of soil health, yet little is known regarding how sensitive measures of soil C shift temporally within a single growing season in response to short-term weather perturbations. Our study aimed to i) Examine how long-term management impacts soil C cycling and stability across a management intensity and plant biodiversity gradient and ii) Assess how sensitive soil health indicators change temporally over the course of a single growing season in response to recent weather patterns. Here we quantify a variety of sensitive soil C measures at four time points across the 2021 growing season at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station’s Long Term Ecological Research Trial (LTER) located in southwest Michigan, USA. The eight systems sampled included four annual soybean (Glycine max) systems that ranged in management intensity (conventional, no-till, reduced input, and biologically-based), two perennial biofuel cropping systems (switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and hybrid poplars (Populus nigra x P.maximowiczii)), and two unmanaged systems (early successional system and a mown but never tilled grassland). We found that unmanaged systems with increased perenniality enhanced mineralizable C (Min C) and permanganate oxidizable C (POXC) values. Additionally, all soil health indicators were found to be sensitive to changes in short-term weather perturbations over the course of the growing season. The implications of this study are threefold. First, this study assess indicators of labile and stable C pools over the course of the growing season and reflects the stability of soil C in different systems. Second, POXC, Min C, and ß-glucosidase (GLU) activity are sensitive soil health indicators that fluctuate temporally, which means that these soil health indicators could help elucidate the impact that weather patterns have on soil C dynamics. Lastly, for effective monitoring of soil C, sampling time and frequency should be considered for a comprehensive understanding of soil C cycling within a system.

show abstract

Section: Reduced Management Intensity Fosters C Stabilization Across ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitive Measures of Soil Health Reveal Carbon Stability Across a Management Intensity and Plant Biodiversity Gradient

Martin

Sprunger

2022

Front. Soil Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, to successfully grow annuals, farmers must chemically or mechanically control weeds to avoid competition with crops for light, nutrients, and water, especially in the early stages of seedling development. The resulting soil disturbance has caused significant amounts of carbon loss in the soil (which ends up in the atmosphere as CO 2 ), soil erosion, nutrient loss, and an impact on soil organisms [ 83 ]. From a study on the dynamics of soil organic carbon, it was estimated that over a 20-year period, encompassing a change from annual to perennial crops led to an average 20% increase in organic carbon at 0–30 cm soil profile [ 84 ].…”

Section: Role Of Perennial Species In Sustainable Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…From a study on the dynamics of soil organic carbon, it was estimated that over a 20-year period, encompassing a change from annual to perennial crops led to an average 20% increase in organic carbon at 0–30 cm soil profile [ 84 ]. Compared with organic and conventional cultivation systems of annual wheat, recently commercialised perennial intermediate wheatgrass (IWG) cultivation increased the soil organic carbon in 30–60 cm soil depth, including the amount of carbon in the particulate organic matter, implying reduced carbon losses and high carbon use efficiency [ 83 ]. Another study found that carbon flux, as well as carbon and nitrogen storage in soil were greatest in IWG systems compared with both restored native vegetation and the annual monocropping rotation of wheat, sorghum, and soybean [ 85 ].…”

Section: Role Of Perennial Species In Sustainable Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, compared with annual crops, perennial crops are more robust, protect the soil from erosion and improve its structure, increase the retention of nutrients, organic carbon, water [ 83 , 84 , 85 ], and therefore can contribute to the adaptation and mitigation of climate change. Overall, they help ensure long-term food and water security.…”

Section: Role Of Perennial Species In Sustainable Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Management and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for a Sustainable Agriculture

Pathirana

Carimi

2022

Plants

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the dramatic increase in food production thanks to the Green Revolution, hunger is increasing among human populations around the world, affecting one in nine people. The negative environmental and social consequences of industrial monocrop agriculture is becoming evident, particularly in the contexts of greenhouse gas emissions and the increased frequency and impact of zoonotic disease emergence, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Human activity has altered 70–75% of the ice-free Earth’s surface, squeezing nature and wildlife into a corner. To prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide, the UN has launched a Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. In this context, this review describes the origin and diversity of cultivated species, the impact of modern agriculture and other human activities on plant genetic resources, and approaches to conserve and use them to increase food diversity and production with specific examples of the use of crop wild relatives for breeding climate-resilient cultivars that require less chemical and mechanical input. The need to better coordinate in situ conservation efforts with increased funding has been highlighted. We emphasise the need to strengthen the genebank infrastructure, enabling the use of modern biotechnological tools to help in genotyping and characterising accessions plus advanced ex situ conservation methods, identifying gaps in collections, developing core collections, and linking data with international databases. Crop and variety diversification and minimising tillage and other field practices through the development and introduction of herbaceous perennial crops is proposed as an alternative regenerative food system for higher carbon sequestration, sustaining economic benefits for growers, whilst also providing social and environmental benefits.

show abstract

“…Once planted, perennial crops can be grown for several seasons and harvested annually, reducing the need for tillage, while their deep rooting habits help to actively increase soil carbon over time (Figure 1; Paustian et al, 2016;Ledo et al, 2020;Peixoto et al, 2022). Perennialism is also associated with greater nutrient uptake, environmental resilience, weed suppression, reduced soil erosion and nutrient leaching, and increased biomass of soil microbial communities, highlighting the potential contribution of perennial crops to no-till agriculture (Lundgren and Des Marais, 2020;Audu et al, 2022;Soto-Gómez and Pérez-Rodríguez, 2022). From a social and economic perspective, perennial grain crops have the potential to improve rural economies through reducing the need for costly external inputs and labor intensity .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perennials as Future Grain Crops: Opportunities and Challenges

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Perennial grain crops could make a valuable addition to sustainable agriculture, potentially even as an alternative to their annual counterparts. The ability of perennials to grow year after year significantly reduces the number of agricultural inputs required, in terms of both planting and weed control, while reduced tillage improves soil health and on-farm biodiversity. Presently, perennial grain crops are not grown at large scale, mainly due to their early stages of domestication and current low yields. Narrowing the yield gap between perennial and annual grain crops will depend on characterizing differences in their life cycles, resource allocation, and reproductive strategies and understanding the trade-offs between annualism, perennialism, and yield. The genetic and biochemical pathways controlling plant growth, physiology, and senescence should be analyzed in perennial crop plants. This information could then be used to facilitate tailored genetic improvement of selected perennial grain crops to improve agronomic traits and enhance yield, while maintaining the benefits associated with perennialism.

show abstract

Perennial cereal grain cultivation: Implication on soil organic matter and related soil microbial parameters

Cited by 25 publications

References 69 publications

Sensitive Measures of Soil Health Reveal Carbon Stability Across a Management Intensity and Plant Biodiversity Gradient

Sensitive Measures of Soil Health Reveal Carbon Stability Across a Management Intensity and Plant Biodiversity Gradient

Management and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for a Sustainable Agriculture

Perennials as Future Grain Crops: Opportunities and Challenges

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About