Sustainable intensification of China's agroecosystems by conservation agriculture

Lal, Rattan

doi:10.1016/j.iswcr.2017.11.001

Cited by 63 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 69 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Where yield decreases are observed, these are commonly associated with greater waterlogging in response to the greater water infiltration and lower evaporation in CA systemswith higher rainfall areas and poorly drained soils the most significantly affected (Rusinamhodzi et al, 2011;Nyagumbo et al, 2016;Lal, 2018;Steward et al, 2018). Decreased soil temperatures can also delay plant maturity, particularly in cooler, high latitude regions, and negatively affect yield (Hatfield et al, 2001;Wang et al, 2007;Rusinamhodzi et al, 2011;Soane et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2014;Lal, 2015b).…”

Section: Impact On Yield Yield Stability and Farm Profitability Yieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ability of Conservation Agriculture to Conserve Soil Organic Carbon and the Subsequent Impact on Soil Physical, Chemical, and Biological Properties and Yield

Page

Dang

Dalal

2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

214

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Increases in human populations and the emerging challenges of climate change mean that the world's agricultural systems will need to produce more food in an environment that is increasingly variable and where the quality of our natural resource base is declining. One central measure of an agricultural system's capacity to do this is its ability to preserve soil organic carbon (SOC), due to the pivotal role that this plays in maintaining soil physical, chemical, and biological properties and ultimately yield. This narrative review examines the literature published worldwide over the last 30 years to assess the impact of one widely applied agricultural management system, conservation agriculture (CA), on its ability to maintain SOC and the subsequent impacts on soil physical, chemical and biological properties, and yield. While the effects of CA on SOC worldwide are variable, with both increases and decreases observed, in regions where soil and climatic conditions are favorable for biomass production and where the system does not negatively impact yield, then CA can lead to higher amounts of SOC relative to conventionally managed systems, particularly in the surface of the soil profile. Where greater SOC occurs, these are also often accompanied by improvements in soil structure, water infiltration and soil water storage, plant nutrient availability, microbial biomass and diversity, and yield. However, where CA is used in certain environments (e.g., cold, wet environments with poorly drained soils) or where the CA system has not been well-adapted to local conditions, taking into account the specific agronomic, social, and environmental challenges present, then it may not be a successful system of management. Farmers require access to a range of tools and resources to allow them to identify if the principles of CA are likely to lead be appropriate for their situation and well-designed, locally adapted systems to successfully overcome the agronomic, social and economic challenges that can be associated with its use.

show abstract

Section: Impact On Yield Yield Stability and Farm Profitability Yieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ability of Conservation Agriculture to Conserve Soil Organic Carbon and the Subsequent Impact on Soil Physical, Chemical, and Biological Properties and Yield

Page

Dang

Dalal

2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

214

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…With CnT, plant residues are allowed to accumulate (Diaz‐Zorita & Grove, 2002; Franzluebbers, 2002; Zuber, Behnke, Nafziger, & Vilamil, 2015) due to minimal soil disturbance (Hunt, Bauer, Matheny, & Quisenberry, 1996; Novak, Bauer, & Hunt, 2007). One consequence of CnT is that SOC becomes vertically stratified (Lal, 2018; Nath & Lal, 2017; Zhao et al., 2015) because crop residues are not mechanically mixed throughout the Ap horizon. This may or may not be a problem since some have identified vertical SOC stratification as a soil quality benefit (Franzluebbers, 2002) because it can increase SOC and TN contents (Karlen et al., 1994; Nath & Lal, 2017; Zuber et al., 2015) and enhance soil aggregate formation (Mitchell et al., 2017; Nath & Lal, 2017; Zheng et al., 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loamy sand soil approaches organic carbon saturation after 37 years of conservation tillage

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Conservation tillage is reported to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents, but long-term (>30 yr) field results quantifying the responses in Coastal Plain Ultisols are sparse. The distribution, accumulation, and topsoil storage of SOC and TN after 37 yr of crop production using conventional (CvT) or conservation tillage (CnT) on a Norfolk loamy sand (fine-loamy, kaolinitic, thermic, Typic Kandiudults) were quantified. Soil samples were collected annually from the 0−5-, 5−10-, and 10−15-cm depth increments beneath corn (Zea mays L.), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) crops. Overall, SOC and TN accumulation in the 0−5-cm depth were highest for Norfolk soil under CnT. Focusing on total long-term changes for the 0−15-cm sampling depth beneath various corn crops shows that CnT and CvT sequestered 24.7 and 21.4 Mg C ha −1 , respectively. Between 1978 and 2016, there was a highly significant (P < .0001) exponential increase in SOC within the top 5-cm soil depth. However, the exponential curves began to plateau suggesting the Norfolk topsoil was approaching its organic carbon (OC) storage capacity. These field measurements strongly indicate that additional topsoil SOC increases with current tillage and crop management practices are limited. or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

show abstract

“…About 45% of the European soils exhibit low organic matter contents which is considered one of the major threats to soils (Rusco et al, 2001). Therefore, SI measures aimed at increasing soil organic carbon have high potential in the European context, with potential synergies of carbon storage and agricultural production benefits (Pretty and Bharucha, 2014;Lal, 2018). Double or multiple cropping systems and soil mulching could be among the measures to achieve SI in this context, but are, so far, hardly implemented in Europe (Thomsen and Christensen, 2004;Lehtinen et al, 2014;Reckling et al, 2016;Prestele et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the environmental impacts of production- and consumption-side measures in sustainable agriculture intensification in the European Union

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sustainable agricultural intensification (SI) is an important strategy to respond to the combined challenge of achieving food security and providing public goods and ecosystem services to society, including mitigation and adaptation of climate change. Sustainable intensification includes a wide range of measures at both the supply and demand-side of agricultural production. However, currently, it is unclear what are the most effective and priority measures. This study assesses the potential of different SI measures for reducing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and increasing land use efficiency in the European Union's agriculture sector. A scenario approach was combined with life cycle analysis to quantify the environmental impacts of a number of different SI measures. The sustainable intensification measures assessed in this study are: 1) changing human diet; 2) using food waste in livestock diets; 3) shifting from monoculture cropping to crop rotation, and, 4) incorporating crop residues into the soil. The results reveal that the studied SI measures have the potential to increase land use savings, ranging from 0.06 to 3.32 m 2 /person/day, while GHG emission savings ranging from 71 to 1872 g CO 2-eq/ person/day can be achieved at EU level. Among these SI measures, changing human diet showed a remarkably high reduction of environmental impacts. On the contrary, increased GHG emission savings in the other SI measures (i.e. crop residue incorporation in the field and replacing soybean meal in conventional feed by food waste-based feed) are counter effected by increased GHG emissions in the energy sector due to reduction of feedstock availability for bioenergy production. The approach used in this study allows the assessment of both the production and consumption-side SI measures and allows the identification of the most effective SI measures and their potential trade-offs.

show abstract

Sustainable intensification of China's agroecosystems by conservation agriculture

Cited by 63 publications

References 69 publications

The Ability of Conservation Agriculture to Conserve Soil Organic Carbon and the Subsequent Impact on Soil Physical, Chemical, and Biological Properties and Yield

The Ability of Conservation Agriculture to Conserve Soil Organic Carbon and the Subsequent Impact on Soil Physical, Chemical, and Biological Properties and Yield

Loamy sand soil approaches organic carbon saturation after 37 years of conservation tillage

Assessing the environmental impacts of production- and consumption-side measures in sustainable agriculture intensification in the European Union

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About