Soil Carbon in Agroforestry Systems: An Unexplored Treasure?

Nair, P. K. R.; Nair, Vimala D.; Gama-Rodrigues, Emanuela Forestieri; García, Rasmo; Haile, Solomon G.; Howlett, David Scott; Kumar, B. Mohan; Mosquera‐Losada, M. R.; Saha, Subhrajit; Takimoto, Asako; Tonucci, R. G.

doi:10.1038/npre.2009.4061.1

Cited by 15 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Trees may have a higher potential for SOC sequestration than crop and pasture plant species as trees may be associated with higher proportions of stabilized SOC in deeper mineral soil horizons (Nepstad et al 1994;Jobbágy and Jackson 2000). Trees contribute to more C in the relatively stable silt-+ claysized, i.e., lower than 53 μm diameter, fractions in deeper soil profiles than any other agroforestry species (Nair et al 2009b). Further, in surface soil horizons of intensively managed agricultural landscapes, trees potentially reduce SOC losses by reducing soil erosion (Lal 2005).…”

Section: Effects Of Trees On Soil Organic Carbonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil organic carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems. A review

Lorenz¹,

Lal²

2014

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

380

166

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Soil organic carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences/INRA, 2014, 34 (2), pp.Abstract The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations due to emissions from fossil fuel combustion is contributing to recent climate change which is among the major challenges facing the world. Agroforestry systems can contribute to slowing down those increases and, thus, contribute to climate change mitigation. Agroforestry refers to the production of crop, livestock, and tree biomass on the same area of land. The soil organic carbon (SOC) pool, in particular, is the only terrestrial pool storing some carbon (C) for millennia which can be deliberately enhanced by agroforestry practices. Up to 2.2 Pg C (1 Pg=10 15 g) may be sequestered above-and belowground over 50 years in agroforestry systems, but estimations on global land area occupied by agroforestry systems are particularly uncertain. Global areas under tree intercropping, multistrata systems, protective systems, silvopasture, and tree woodlots are estimated at 700, 100, 300, 450, and 50 Mha, respectively. The SOC storage in agroforestry systems is also uncertain and may amount up to 300 Mg C ha −1 to 1 m depth. Here, we review and synthesize the current knowledge about SOC sequestration processes and their management in agroforestry systems. The main points are that (1) useful C sequestration in agroforestry systems for climate change mitigation must slow or even reverse the increase in atmospheric concentration of CO 2 by storing some SOC for millennia, (2) soil disturbance must be minimized and tree species with a high root biomass-to-aboveground biomass ratio and/or nitrogen-fixing trees planted when SOC sequestration is among the objectives for establishing the agroforestry system, (3) sequestration rates and the processes contributing to the stabilization of SOC in agroforestry soils need additional data and research, (4) retrospective studies are often missing for rigorous determination of SOC and accurate evaluation of effects of different agroforestry practices on SOC sequestration in soil profiles, and (5) the long-term SOC storage is finite as it depends on the availability of binding sites, i.e., the soil's mineral composition and depth. Based on this improved knowledge, site-specific SOC sequestering agroforestry practices can then be developed.

show abstract

Section: Effects Of Trees On Soil Organic Carbonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil organic carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems. A review

Lorenz¹,

Lal²

2014

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

380

166

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Organic matter improves the resilience of the soil resource, so that it is more productive for a wider range of crops and other plants. The positive effects of trees on soil carbon (e.g., Beedy et al 2014;Nair 2009), soil water retention capacity (Mafongoya et al 2006), and soil fauna (Mafongoya and Sileshi 2006) are supported by a large body of evidence.…”

Section: Improved Soil Fertilitymentioning

confidence: 98%

Confronting Drought in Africa's Drylands: Opportunities for Enhancing Resilience

Cervigni¹,

Morris²

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The text of this conference edition is a work in progress for the forthcoming book, Confronting Drought in Africa's Drylands: Opportunities for Enhancing Resilience. A PDF of the final, full-length book, once published, will be available at https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/, and print copies can be ordered at http://amazon.com. Please use the final version of the book for citation, reproduction, and adaptation purposes.

show abstract

“…In the last two to three decades, several land and crop management practices have been advocated to restore soil organic carbon and reduce net emissions of CO 2 from the agricultural systems in the tropics [5,26,27]. Among others, practices that restore soil organic carbon and reduce net emissions of CO 2 include crop rotation, avoiding use of bare fallow, conservation tillage, management of organic inputs such as manure and crop residues, restoration of degraded agricultural lands, water management, and agroforestry (e.g., [28][29][30][31][32][33][34]). Studies demonstrated that smallholder farmers can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and maintain carbon stocks in soil and vegetation at relatively low cost by implementing crop and land management practices (e.g., [27,[35][36][37]).…”

Section: Land and Crop Management Practices For Soil C Sequestrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Biochar in Ameliorating Disturbed Soils and Sequestering Soil Carbon in Tropical Agricultural Production Systems

Mekuria

Noble

2013

Applied and Environmental Soil Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Agricultural soils in the tropics have undergone significant declines in their native carbon stock through the long-term use of extractive farming practices. However, these soils have significant capacity to sequester CO2through the implementation of improved land management practices. This paper reviews the published and grey literature related to the influence of improved land management practices on soil carbon stock in the tropics. The review suggests that the implementation of improved land management practices such as crop rotation, no-till, cover crops, mulches, compost, or manure can be effective in enhancing soil organic carbon pool and agricultural productivity in the tropics. The benefits of such amendments were, however, often short-lived, and the added organic matters were usually mineralized to CO2within a few cropping seasons leading to large-scale leakage. We found that management of black carbon (C), increasingly referred to as biochar, may overcome some of those limitations and provide an additional soil management option. Under present circumstances, recommended crop and land management practices are inappropriate for the vast majority of resource constrained smallholder farmers and farming systems. We argue that expanding the use of biochar in agricultural lands would be important for sequestering atmospheric CO2and mitigating climate change, while implementing the recommended crop and land management practices in selected areas where the smallholder farmers are not resource constrained.

show abstract

Soil Carbon in Agroforestry Systems: An Unexplored Treasure?

Cited by 15 publications

References 13 publications

Soil organic carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems. A review

Soil organic carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems. A review

Confronting Drought in Africa's Drylands: Opportunities for Enhancing Resilience

The Role of Biochar in Ameliorating Disturbed Soils and Sequestering Soil Carbon in Tropical Agricultural Production Systems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About