Short communication. Potential to mitigate anthropogenic CO2 emissions by tillage reduction in dryland soils of Spain

Abstract

Spain is one of the countries with the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the EU-27. Consequently, mitigation strategies need to be reported and quantified to accomplish the goals and requirements of the Kyoto Protocol. In this study, a first estimation of the carbon (C) mitigation potential of tillage reduction in Mediterranean rainfed Spain is presented. Results from eight studies carried out in Spain under rainfed agriculture to investigate the effects of no-tillage (NT) and reduced tillage (RT) compared with conventional tillage (CT) on soil organic carbon (SOC) were used. For current land surface under conservation tillage, NT and RT are sequestering 0.14 and 0.08 Tg C yr -1 , respectively. Those rates represent 1.1% and 0.6% of the total CO 2 emissions generated from agricultural activities in Spain during 2006. Alternatively, in a hypothetical scenario where all the arable dryland was under either NT or RT management, SOC sequestration would be 2.18 and 0.72 Tg C yr -1 representing 17.4% and 5.8% of the total 2006 CO 2 equivalent emissions generated from the agricultural sector in Spain. This is a significant estimate that would help to achieve GHG emissions targets for the current commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.Additional key words: conventional tillage; dryland Spain; greenhouse gas emissions; no-tillage; soil organic carbon sequestration. ResumenComunicación corta. Potencial de mitigación de emisiones de CO 2 de origen antropogénico mediante la reducción del laboreo en suelos de secano españoles Dentro de la Unión Europea, España es uno de los países con mayores emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI). Por tanto, es urgente establecer medidas de mitigación con el fin de alcanzar los objetivos del Protocolo de Kyoto. En este estudio se presenta una primera estimación del potencial de mitigación de carbono (C) a través de la reducción del laboreo en suelos de secano en zonas mediterráneas españolas. Se utilizaron los resultados de ocho estudios llevados a cabo en España en condiciones de secano sobre la influencia del no-laboreo (NL) y del laboreo reducido (LR) frente al laboreo convencional (LC), en el carbono orgánico del suelo (COS). Para la superficie actual bajo laboreo de conservación, NL y LR están secuestrando 0,14 y 0,08 Tg C año -1 , respectivamente. Estas tasas representan el 1,1% y el 0,6%, respectivamente, del total de CO 2 equivalente generado por la actividad agrícola en España durante 2006. Alternativamente, en un hipotético escenario en el que toda la superficie de secano disponible estuviera bajo NL o LR, el secuestro de COS sería 2,18 y 0,72 Tg C año -1 , respectivamente, lo que representa el 17,4% y el 5,8% del total de CO 2 equivalente generado por la actividad agrícola en España durante 2006. Estas estimaciones confirman la idoneidad de la reducción del laboreo para cumplir el objetivo de recortar las emisiones de GEI durante el periodo actual del Protocolo de Kyoto.Palabras clave adicionales: emisiones de gases de efecto

Modelling soil organic carbon stocks and their changes in the northeast of Spain

“…However, the final contribution of MC‐NT to the total SOC storage in the whole area was not considered to be large (Table 5) because the surface area under no‐tillage is small in comparison with conventional tillage (Table 1). Álvaro‐Fuentes & Cantero‐Martínez (2010) estimated that if the entire rain‐fed area of Mediterranean Spain were under no‐tillage, this would offset 17% of the total CO 2 equivalent emissions generated from agricultural soils in Spain. Therefore, despite the potential of no‐tillage for sequestering SOC, the area under this management is still small, limiting the potential storage in these soils.…”

Soil CO 2 Emissions in a Long-Term Tillage Treatment Experiment

“…Therefore soil carbon stocks and CO 2 emissions are important research topics in recent studies. CO 2 mitigation through anthropogenic intervention, such as choosing appropriate management, is a serious challenge nowadays (Alvaro-Fuentes and Cantero-Martinez, 2010).…”

Agrotechnological Fundamentals of Direct Sowing of Grain Crops in Russia’s ARID Conditions

“… Improving the structure of the soil and increasing the content of nutrients in it;  Reduction of soil compaction, water and wind erosion;  Improving the environment by reducing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere;  Saving material and labor costs, cost reduction (Korchagin et all, 2007, Alvarez R., Steinbach H.S. 2009, Alvaro-Fuentes J., Cantero-Martinez, 2010, C. Lordan J., et al 2013.…”

“…The second reason for transition to the modern resource-saving technologies, which is not less important, is strengthening of negative influence of irrational antropogenous activities upon the soil and acceleration of the soil covering degradation processes that are caused, in the first place, by limited application of organic fertilizers and intensive plowing. Against this background, the erosion processes are getting more intense, the degradation grows, the dehumification with manifestation of steadily nonrecompensible humus mineralization and high atmospheric emission of СО 2 take place (Shevtsova et al, 2003;Korchagin et all, 2007;Rouw et al, 2010;Salvo et al, 2010;Alvaro-Fuentes, Cantero-Martinez, 2010;Blanco-Canqui, 2011;Laudicina et all, 2012;Soane et all, 2012;Martín-Lammerding et all, 2013;Goryanin et all, 2019).…”