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Linking physical quality and CO2 emissions under long-term no-till and conventional-till in a subtropical soil in Brazil

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Abstract

The decomposition rate of soil organic matter (SOM) is affected by soil management practices and particularly by the physical and hydraulic attributes of the soil. Previous studies have indicated that the SOM decomposition is influenced by the Least Limiting Water Range (LLWR). Therefore, the objective of this study was to relate the C-CO2 emissions to the LLWR of the surficial layer of soil under two management systems: no-tillage (NT), conducted for 20 years, and conventional tillage (CT). Soil in NT presented greater soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks than in CT. Emissions of C-CO2 were greater in the NT than in the CT, because of the greater carbon stocks in the soil surface layer and the greater biological activity (due to the improvement of the soil structure) in NT as compared to CT. The use of LLWR associated with the measurement of C-CO2 emissions from the soil could help to predict the efficacy of the adopted management system for trapping carbon in the soil.

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Acknowledgements

This research work was supported partly by grants and fellowships from CNPq, FAPESP and CAPES.

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  1. Departamento de Ciência do Solo, Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ/USP), Avenida Padua Dias, 11, CEP: 13418-900, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

    João Carlos Medeiros, Alvaro Pires da Silva, Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino Cerri & Getúlio Coutinho Figueiredo

  2. Departamento de Ciência do Solo e Engenharia Agrícola, Campus de Uvaranas, Av. General Carlos Cavalcanti, 4748, CEP: 84030-900, Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil

    Neyde Fabíola Balarezo Giarola

  3. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Microbiologia Agrícola, Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ/USP), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

    Felipe José Cury Fracetto

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  1. João Carlos Medeiros
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Medeiros, J.C., da Silva, A.P., Cerri, C.E.P. et al. Linking physical quality and CO2 emissions under long-term no-till and conventional-till in a subtropical soil in Brazil. Plant Soil 338, 5–15 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0420-4

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