• Authors:
    • McGill, W. B.
    • Izaurralde, R. C.
    • Robertson, J. A.
    • Juma, N. G.
    • Grant, R. F.
  • Source: Soil Science Society of America Journal
  • Volume: 65
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2001
  • Summary: Soil C contents can be raised by land use practices in which rates of C input exceed those of C oxidation. Rates of C inputs to soil can be raised by continuous cropping, especially with perennial legumes, and by soil amendments, especially manure. We have summarized our understanding of the processes by which changes in soil C content are determined by rates of soil C input in the mathematical model ecosys. We compared model output for changes in soil C with those measured in a Gray Luvisol (Typic Cryoboralf) at Breton, Alberta, during 70 yr of a 2-yr wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-fallow rotation vs. a 5-yr wheat-oat (Avena sativa L.)-barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)-forage-forage rotation with unamended, fertilized, and manured treatments. Model results indicated that rates of C input in the 2-yr rotation were inadequate to maintain soil C in the upper 0.15 m of the soil profile unless manure was added, but that those in the 5-yr rotation were more than adequate. Consequent changes of soil C in the model were corroborated by declines of 14 and 7 g C m-2 yr-1 measured in the control and fertilized treatments of the 2-yr rotation; by gains of 7 g C m-2 yr-1 measured in the manured treatment of the 2-yr rotation; and by gains of 4, 14, and 28 g C m-2 yr-1 measured in the control, fertilized, and manured treatments of the 5-yr rotation. Model results indicated that soil C below 0.15 m declined in all treatments of both rotations, but more so in the 2-yr than in the 5-yr rotation. These declines were corroborated by lower soil C contents measured between 0.15 and 0.40 m after 70 yr in the 2- vs. 5-yr rotation. Land use practices that favor C storage appear to interact positively with each other, so that gains in soil C under one such practice are greater when it is combined with other such practices.
  • Authors:
    • Ellert, B. H.
    • Janzen, H. H.
    • Carefoot, J. M.
    • Chang, C.
    • Hao, X.
  • Source: Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems
  • Volume: 60
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2001
  • Summary: Nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from farmland is a concern for both environmental quality and agricultural productivity. Field experiments were conducted in 1996-1997 to assess soil N2O emissions as affected by timing of N fertilizer application and straw/tillage practices for crop production under irrigation in southern Alberta. The crops were soft wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in 1996 and canola (Brassica napus L.) in 1997. Nitrous oxide flux from soil was measured using a vented chamber technique and calculated from the increase in concentration with time. Nitrous oxide fluxes for all treatments varied greatly during the year, with the greatest fluxes occurring in association with freeze-thaw events during March and April. Emissions were greater when N fertilizer (100 kg N ha-1) was applied in the fall compared to spring application. Straw removal at harvest in the fall increased N2O emissions when N fertilizer was applied in the fall, but decreased emissions when no fertilizer was applied. Fall plowing also increased N2O emissions compared to spring plowing or direct seeding. The study showed that N2O emissions may be minimized by applying N fertilizer in spring, retaining straw, and incorporating it in spring. The estimates of regional N2O emissions based on a fixed proportion of applied N may be tenuous since N2O emission varied widely depending on straw and fertilizer management practices.
  • Authors:
    • Travis, G. R.
    • Larney, F. J.
    • Chang, C.
    • Hao, X.
  • Source: Journal of Environmental Quality
  • Volume: 30
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2001
  • Summary: The emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) during feedlot manure composting reduces the agronomic value of the final compost and increases the greenhouse effect A study was conducted to determine whether GHG emissions are affected by composting method. Feedlot cattle manure was composted with two aeration methods-passive (no turning) and active (turned six times). Carbon lost in the forms of CO2 and CH4 was 73.8 and 6.3 kg C Mg-1 manure for the passive aeration treatment and 168.0 and 8.1 kg C Mg-1 manure for the active treatment. The N loss in the form of N2O was 0.11 and 0.19 kg N Mg-1 manure for the passive and active treatments. Fuel consumption to turn and maintain the windrow added a further 4.4 kg C Mg-1 manure for the active aeration treatment. Since CH4 and N2O are 21 and 310 times more harmful than CO2 in their global warming effect, the total GHG emission expressed as CO2-C equivalent was 240.2 and 401.4 kg C Mg-1 manure for passive and active aeration. The lower emission associated with the passive treatment was mainly due to the incomplete decomposition of manure and a lower gas diffusion rate. In addition, turning affected N transformation and transport in the windrow profile, which contributed to higher N2O emissions for the active aeration treatment. Gas diffusion is an important factor controlling GHG emissions. Higher GHG concentrations in compost windrows do not necessarily mean higher production or emission rates.
  • Authors:
    • Williams, S.
    • Schuler, J.
    • Killian, K.
    • Kautza, T.
    • Elliott, T.
    • Easter, M.
    • Cipra, J.
    • Bluhm, G.
    • Paustian, K.
    • Brenner, J.
  • Year: 2001
  • Summary: Land managers have long known the importance of soil organic matter in maintaining the productivity and sustainability of agricultural land. More recently, interest has developed in the potential for using agricultural soils to sequester C and mitigate increasing atmospheric carbon- dioxide by adopting practices that increase standing stocks of carbon in soil organic matter and vegetation. Practices that increase the amount of CO2 taken up by plants (through photosynthesis), which then enter the soil as plant residues, tend to increase soil C stocks. Likewise, management practices that reduce the rate of decay or turnover of organic matter in soils will also tend to increase carbon stocks.
  • Authors:
    • Kayisoglu, B.
    • Yalcn, H.
    • Koc, F.
    • Gonulol, E.
    • Bayhan, Y.
  • Source: Farm work science facing the challenges of the XXI century. Proceedings XXIX CIOSTA-GIGR V Congress, Krakow, Poland, 25-27 June, 2001, p. 30-35
  • Volume: 10
  • Year: 2001
  • Summary: The effect of different tillage methods on silage quality in second crop maize for silage was determined in this study. For this purpose, second crop maize was planted by using the following tillage methods: (1) Direct drilling (no-till) (DRD); (2) Heavy duty disc harrow+pneumatic precision drill (DIS); (3) Plough+disc harrow+roller+pneumatic precision drill (PLO); (4) Rotary tiller+pneumatic precision drill (ROT); (5) Tillage combination+pneumatic precision drill (TIC); and (6) Irrigation+Plough+disc harrow+roller+pneumatic precision drill (conventional) (CON). After harvesting, plant samples were filled into PVC silos (with three replication for each treatment) for fermentation and kept in these silos for 75 days. Significant statistical differences were found between treatments (tillage methods) according to pH, DM (dry matter), CA (crude ash), CF (crude fibre), WSC (water soluble carbohydrate), NH 3-N 3 and LAB (lactic acid batteries). Quality parameters in all treatments remained between the desired levels. No-tillage method with DRD and minimum tillage methods with ROT and TIC can be suggested.
  • Authors:
    • Wu, J. J.
  • Source: American Journal of Agricultural Economics
  • Volume: 82
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2000
  • Summary: Each year, billions of dollars of public funds are expended to purchase conservation easements on farmland. One unintended impact of these programs is that they may bring non-cropland into crop production. Such a slippage effect can be caused by increased output prices and by substitution effects. This article shows that for each one hundred acres of cropland retired under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the central United States, twenty acres of non-cropland were converted to cropland. offsetting 9% and 14% of CRP water and wind erosion reduction benefits, respectively. Implications of these results for the design of conservation programs are discussed.
  • Authors:
    • Hunt, H. W.
    • Elliott, E. T.
    • Six, J.
    • Paustian, K.
  • Source: Biogeochemistry
  • Volume: 48
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2000
  • Summary: Crop-based agriculture occupies 1.7 billion hectares, globally, with a soil C stock of about 170 Pg. Of the past anthropogenic CO2 additions to the atmosphere, about 50 Pg C came from the loss of soil organic matter (SOM) in cultivated soils. Improved management practices, however, can rebuild C stocks in agricultural soils and help mitigate CO2 emissions. Increasing soil C stocks requires increasing C inputs and/or reducing soil heterotrophic respiration. Management options that contribute to reduced soil respiration include reduced tillage practices (especially no-till) and increased cropping intensity. Physical disturbance associated with intensive soil tillage increases the turnover of soil aggregates and accelerates the decomposition of aggregate-associated SOM. No-till increases aggregate stability and promotes the formation of recalcitrant SOM fractions within stabilized micro- and macroaggregate structures. Experiments using 13C natural abundance show up to a two-fold increase in mean residence time of SOM under no-till vs intensive tillage. Greater cropping intensity, i.e., by reducing the frequency of bare fallow in crop rotations and increasing the use of perennial vegetation, can increase water and nutrient use efficiency by plants, thereby increasing C inputs to soil and reducing organic matter decomposition rates. Management and policies to sequester C in soils need to consider that: soils have a finite capacity to store C, gains in soil C can be reversed if proper management is not maintained, and fossil fuel inputs for different management practices need to be factored into a total agricultural CO2 balance.
  • Authors:
    • Rochette,Philippe
    • Angers,Denis A.
    • Côté, D.
  • Source: Soil Science Society of America Journal
  • Volume: 64
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2000
  • Summary: Agricultural soils often receive annual applications of manure for long periods. The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of 19 consecutive years of pig (Sus scrofa) slurry (PS) application on CO2 emissions and soil microbial biomass. Soil temperature, soil moisture, and extractable soil C were also determined to explain the variations in CO2 emissions and soil microbial biomass. Long-term (19 Sr) treatments were 60 (PS60) and 120 Mg ha(-1) yr(-1) (PS120) of pig slurry and a control receiving mineral fertilizers at a dose of 150 kg ha(-1) yr(-1) each of N, P2O5, and K2O. Very high CO2 emissions (up to 1.5 mg CO2 m(-2) s(-1)) occurred during the first 2 d after PS application. Following that peak, decomposition of PS was rapid, with one-half the total emissions occurring during the first meek after slurry application. The rapid initial decomposition was exponential and was attributed to the decomposition of the labile fraction. of the slurry C. The second phase was linear and much slower and probably involved more recalcitrant C material. Cumulative annual decomposition was proportional to the application rate, with 769 and 1658 kg C ha(-1) lost from the 60 and 120 Mg ha(-1) doses, respectively. Pig slurry application caused a rapid increase in soil microbial biomass (from approximate to 100 to up to 370 mg C kg(-1) soil), which coincided with a peak in the concentration of extractable C and in CO2 emissions. Field estimates of the microbial specific respiratory activity suggested that the difference in soil respiration between the two slurry treatments was due to differences in the size of the induced microbial biomass rather than to differences in specific activity.
  • Authors:
    • Blomert, B.
    • Gregorich, E. G.
    • Roloff, G.
    • Liang, B. -C.
    • Zentner, R. P.
    • Campbell, C. A.
  • Source: Canadian Journal of Soil Science
  • Volume: 80
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2000
  • Summary: Because crop management has a strong influence on soil C, we analyzed results of a 30-yr crop rotation experiment, initiated in 1967 on a medium textured Orthic Brown Chernozem at Swift Current, Saskatchewan, to determine the influence of cropping frequency, fertilizers and crop types on soil organic C (SOC) changes in the 0- to 15-cm depth. Soil organic C in the 0- to 15-cm and 15- to 30-cm depths were measured in 1976, 1981, 1984, 1990, 1993, and 1996, but results are only presented for the 0- to 15-cm depth since changes in the 15- to 30-cm depth were not significant. We developed an empirical equation to estimate SOC dynamics in the rotations. This equation uses two first order kinetic expressions, one to estimate crop residue decomposition and the other to estimate soil humus C mineralization. Crop residues (including roots) were estimated from straw yields, either measured or calculated from grain yields. The parameter values in our equation were obtained from the scientific literature or were based on various assumptions. Carbon lost by wind and water erosion was estimated using the EPIC model. We found that (i) SOC was increased most by annual cropping with application of adequate fertilizer N and P; (ii) that frequent fallowing resulted in lowest SOC except when fall-seeded crops, such as fall rye (Secale cereale L.), that reduce erosion were included in the rotation, and (iii) the fallow effects are exacerbated when low residue yielding flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) was included in the rotation. Some of the imprecision in SOC values we speculated to be related to variations in soil texture at the test site. In the first 10 yr of the experiment, SOC was low and constant for fallow-spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (F-W) and F-W-W rotations because this land was managed in this manner for the previous 50 yr. However, in rotations that received N + P fertilizer and were cropped annually [continuous wheat (Cont W) and wheat-lentil (Lens culinaris L.)], or that included fall-seeded crops (e.g., F-Rye-W),SOC appeared to increase sharply in this period. In the drought period (1984–1988) SOC was generally constant, but large increases occurred in the wet period (1990 to 1996) in response to high residue inputs. The efficiency of conversion of residue C to SOC for the 30-yr experimental period was about 10–12% for F-W, F-W-W and Cont W (+P) systems, and it was about 17–18% for the well fertilized F-Rye-W, Cont W, and W-Lent systems. The average annual SOC gains (Mg ha–1 yr–1) between 1967 and 1996 were 0.11 for F-W (N + P), 0.09 for the mean of the three F-W-W rotations (N + P, + N, + P), 0.23 for F-Rye-W (N + P), 0.32 for Cont W (N + P), 0.12 for Cont W (+ P), and 0.28 for W-Lent (N + P). The corresponding mean estimated (by our equation) annual SOC gains for these rotations, were 0.06, 0.10, 0.16, 0.22, 0.14, and 0.22 Mg ha–1 yr–1, respectively. Because soil C measurements are usually so variable, we recommend that calculations such as ours may be employed to assist in the interpretation of measured C trends and to test if they seem reasonable.
  • Authors:
    • Dowdy, R. H.
    • Linden, D. R.
    • Layese, M. F.
    • Allmaras, R. R.
    • Clapp, C. E.
  • Source: Soil & Tillage Research
  • Volume: 55
  • Issue: 3-4
  • Year: 2000
  • Summary: Long-term field experiments are among the best means to predict soil management impacts on soil carbon storage. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and natural abundance 13C ([delta]13C) were sensitive to tillage, stover harvest, and nitrogen (N) management during 13 years of continuous corn (Zea mays L.), grown on a Haplic Chernozem soil in Minnesota. Contents of SOC in the 0-15 cm layer in the annually-tilled [moldboard (MB) and chisel (CH)] plots decreased slightly with years of corn after a low input mixture of alfalfa (Medicago sativum L.) and oat (Avena sativa L.) for pasture; stover harvest had no effect. Storage of SOC in no-till (NT) plots with stover harvested remained nearly unchanged at 55 Mg ha-1 with time, while that with stover returned increased about 14%. The measured [delta]13C increased steadily with years of corn cropping in all treatments; the NT with stover return had the highest increase. The N fertilization effects on SOC and [delta]13C were most evident when stover was returned to NT plots. In the 15-30 cm depth, SOC storage decreased and [delta]13C values increased with years of corn cropping under NT, especially when stover was harvested. There was no consistent temporal trend in SOC storage and [delta]13C values in the 15-30 cm depth when plots received annual MB or CH tillage. The amount of available corn residue that was retained in SOC storage was influenced by all three management factors. Corn-derived SOC in the 0-15 cm and the 15-30 cm layers of the NT system combined was largest with 200 kg N ha-1 and no stover harvest. The MB and CH tillage systems did not influence soil storage of corn-derived SOC in either the 0-15 or 15-30 cm layers. The corn-derived SOC as a fraction of SOC after 13 years fell into three ranges: 0.05 for the NT with stover harvested, 0.15 for the NT with no stover harvest, and 0.09-0.10 for treatments with annual tillage; N rate had no effect on this fraction. Corn-derived SOC expressed as a fraction of C returned was positively biased when C returned in the roots was estimated from recovery of root biomass. The half-life for decomposition of the original or relic SOC was longer when stover was returned, shortened when stover was harvested and N applied, and sharply lengthened when stover was not harvested and N was partially mixed with the stover. Separating SOC storage into relic and current crop sources has significantly improved our understanding of the main and interacting effects of tillage, crop residue, and N fertilization for managing SOC accumulation in soil.