Quantitative Approaches in Assessing Soil Organic Matter Dynamics for Sustainable Management

Murindangabo, Yves Theoneste; Kopecký, Marek; Konvalina, Petr; Ghorbani, Mohammad; Perná, Kristýna; Nguyen, Thi Giang; Bernas, Jaroslav; Baloch, Sadia Babar; Hoang, Trong Nghia; Eze, Festus Onyebuchi; Ali, Shahzaib

doi:10.3390/agronomy13071776

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 142 publications

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“…To understand the quality and decomposition rates of labile soil organic matter fractions in different land use types, it was essential to study the kinetics of soil carbon oxidation [ 8 , 22 ]. In this study, the alternative fallow and conventional farming land exhibited higher oxidation compared to other land use types.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It serves as a measure of how well the organic matter in the soil is protected from decomposition. A higher SR value suggests a stronger degree of stabilization, indicating that a larger portion of organic carbon is less susceptible to rapid breakdown which has the potential to contribute to long-term carbon storage in the soil [ 22 – 24 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The evaluation of the labile fraction (C L ) and stable fractions (C S ) of SOM was conducted separately to assess both their quantity and quality. The quality of the C L was determined based on its oxidation speed constant (k), which provides insights into its decomposition rate [ 8 , 22 ]. On the other hand, the quality of the C S was expressed in terms of stable fraction Stability Ratio (SR), which offer information about its proportion and contribution to the long-term total organic matter.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Carbon Management Index (CMI) is an evaluation model used to assess the impact of specific land uses on soil quality compared to a reference land use soil [ 22 ]. It takes into consideration the relationship between soil carbon supply and both the total pool size and lability (turnover rate).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To enhance the sensitivity of soil quality assessments across diverse land uses, the incorporation of more refined indicators such as the carbon management index (CMI), and stability ratio (SR) has been employed. These indicators offer valuable insights into the management, lability, and stability of soil carbon across various land use practices [ 5 , 22 ]. The CMI provides insights into the capacity of a land use type to promote soil quality and the SR represents the percentage of the stabilized fraction in relation to the total organic matter carbon content in the sample [ 23 , 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparative analysis of soil organic matter fractions, lability, stability ratios, and carbon management index in various land use types within bharatpur catchment, Chitwan District, Nepal

Murindangabo,

Kopecký,

Hoang

et al. 2023

Carbon Balance Manage

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Background Land use and land cover changes have a significant impact on the dynamics of soil organic matter (SOM) and its fractions, as well as on overall soil health. This study conducted in Bharatpur Catchment, Chitwan District, Nepal, aimed to assess and quantify variations in total soil organic matter (TSOMC), labile organic matter fraction (CL), stable organic matter fraction (CS), stability ratio (SR), and carbon management index (CMI) across seven land use types: pastureland, forestland, fruit orchards, small-scale conventional agricultural land, large-scale conventional agricultural land, large-scale alternative fallow and conventional agricultural land, and organic farming agricultural land. The study also explored the potential use of the Carbon Management Index (CMI) and stability ratio (SR) as indicators of soil degradation or improvement in response to land use changes. Results The findings revealed significant differences in mean values of TSOMC, CL, and CS among the different land use types. Forestland and organic farming exhibited significantly higher TSOMC (3.24%, 3.12%) compared to fruit orchard lands (2.62%), small scale conventional farming (2.22%), alternative fallow and conventional farming (2.06%), large scale conventional farming (1.84%) and pastureland (1.20%). Organic farming and Forestland also had significantly higher CL (1.85%, 1.84%) and CS (1.27%, 1.39%) compared to all other land use types. Forest and organic farming lands showed higher CMI values, while pastures and forests exhibited higher SR values compared to the rest of the land use types. Conclusions This study highlights the influence of various land use types on soil organic matter pools and demonstrates the potential of CMI and SR as indicators for assessing soil degradation or improvement in response to land use and land cover changes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparative analysis of soil organic matter fractions, lability, stability ratios, and carbon management index in various land use types within bharatpur catchment, Chitwan District, Nepal

Murindangabo,

Kopecký,

Hoang

et al. 2023

Carbon Balance Manage

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No relationship between outputs of simple humus balance calculators (VDLUFA and STAND) and soil organic carbon trends

Rainford,

Leifeld,

Siegl

et al. 2024

European J Soil Science

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Simple humus balance calculators were developed for farmers and consultants to determine the best crop rotation and amount of organic fertilizer required to improve soil quality and prevent nutrient leaching in croplands. Although the potential of these tools to infer the impact of different agricultural practices on soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics in croplands is not well studied, they have been integrated in several farm‐level climate or environmental impact assessment calculators. Here we examine the correlation between humus balance values estimated with two different tools developed in Germany/Central Europe and observed changes in SOC content at 14 long‐term sites in Switzerland. The first tool was developed by the Association of German Agricultural Investigation and Research Institutes and is referred to as the VDLUFA. The humus balance calculator STAND is a descendent of the VDLUFA that accounts for pedoclimatic factors in Central Europe. Crop rotations were distinguished based on cultivation practice, whereby those with mixed fertilization were supplied with mineral fertilizer alone and in combination with organic materials, while those with organic fertilization include unfertilized and organic fertilizer treatments. An analysis of 133 short‐term observations (i.e. individual crop rotations of five and 6‐year duration) and 26 long‐term observations (i.e. several crop rotations with a total duration of ≥10 years) showed that humus balance values (kg C ha−1 year−1) of short‐term crop rotations were not or only poorly correlated with the observed change in SOC content (%) (R2 = 0.06 in STAND and R2 = 0.05 in VDLUFA for crop rotations with organic fertilization, and R2 < 0.01 for crop rotations with mixed fertilization). The correlation did not improve when the humus balance values of long‐term observations with mixed fertilization were compared with decadal SOC development (R2 = 0.04 for STAND and R2 = 0.06 for the VDLUFA). Stronger correlations were found only for long‐term observations with organic fertilization (R2 = 0.68 for STAND and R2 = 0.64 for the VDLUFA). These findings underline that while the studied humus balance calculators are able to distinguish the effect of different fertilizers (organic vs. mineral) on a farm's humus supply on the longer term, neither are suited for predicting SOC trends over single crop rotations. Although this study was carried out in Switzerland, the results should apply to any region with temperate climate and similar soil properties.

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The content and quality of soil carbon and nitrogen as well as enzymatic activity in soils with diverse texture following different land use and management practices

Dębska,

Długosz,

Piotrowska‐Długosz

2024

Soil Use and Management

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A detailed knowledge concerning the responses of different carbon pools and the activity of soil enzymes to various land uses is critical for maintaining soil health and quality. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of different soil uses and management practices on the contents of total, dissolved and microbial biomass C and N as well as the fractional composition of humus and the set of enzyme activities. This study was conducted to compare the status of soil properties in the surface horizons of 24 soils with diverse textures, following the different land uses. Thus, arable lands, short‐term cultivation, vineyards, orchards, hop plantations and grasslands were compared. The contents of total and dissolved carbon and nitrogen, the fractional composition of humus, the content of microbial biomass C and N and the enzymatic activity were assessed. The application of various land uses affects the C and N content of the soils and their humus fractions as well as their enzymatic activities differently. Generally, both grass‐based systems (grasslands and orchards) revealed the most positive effects in most of the studied properties as compared to other land use systems. By contrast, long‐term tillage and/or the lack of permanent plant cover (cereals, grapevine and hop cultivation) adversely affects the studied properties of the soils. No clear pattern of changes was detected in terms of the fractional composition of the SOM. The enzymatic activity changed because of their different functions in SOM transformation and because of the differences in the complexities of the enzymatic substrates occurring in the soil. Most of the studied properties were significantly higher in soils with a loamy texture as compared to the sandy loam and loamy sand soils. Differently managed soils presented a distinctive response in terms of organic matter content and quality as well as extracellular enzyme activity as a function of the tillage regime applied and different cultivated plants. In general terms, both land uses which were based on permanent grass cultivation revealed that the most positive effects occurred on these studied properties as compared to other land use systems. Therefore, we may conclude that permanent grasslands play a special role in the status of soil organic matter, microbial content and enzymatic activity.

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Quantitative Approaches in Assessing Soil Organic Matter Dynamics for Sustainable Management

Cited by 8 publications

References 142 publications

Comparative analysis of soil organic matter fractions, lability, stability ratios, and carbon management index in various land use types within bharatpur catchment, Chitwan District, Nepal

Comparative analysis of soil organic matter fractions, lability, stability ratios, and carbon management index in various land use types within bharatpur catchment, Chitwan District, Nepal

No relationship between outputs of simple humus balance calculators (VDLUFA and STAND) and soil organic carbon trends

The content and quality of soil carbon and nitrogen as well as enzymatic activity in soils with diverse texture following different land use and management practices

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