Abstract
This chapter reviews the main farming practices related with soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in croplands, aimed, simultaneously, at improving soil quality and health, and reducing net emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The reviewed practices include conservation tillage, reduced tillage, no tillage, crop residues management, manuring and fertilizing, and cover cropping. In addition, this manuscript addresses prospects for future development by means of agroforestry, biochar application, and perennial grain crops, aimed at maintaining sustainability of agroecosystems, restoring degraded croplands, and increasing the SOC sink capacity. The data collected supports the conclusion that taking into consideration the prevailing physical conditions, wise integration of various conservation practices may increase the ability of croplands in sequestering SOC while maintaining ecosystem services and enhancing agronomic production.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abbas F, Fares A (2009) Soil organic carbon and carbon dioxide emission from on organically amended Hawaiian tropical soil. Soil Sci Soc Am J 73:995–1003
Adiku SGK, Narh S, Jones JW, Laryea KB, Dowuona GN (2008) Short-term effects of crop rotation, residue management and soil water on carbon mineralization in a tropical cropping system. Plant Soil 311:29–38
Agele SO, Ewulo BS, Oyewusi IK (2005) Effects of some soil management systems on soil physical properties, microbial biomass and nutrient distribution under rainfed maize production in a humid rainforest Alfisol. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 72:121–134
Al-Kaisi MM, Yin XH (2005) Tillage and crop residue effects on soil carbon and carbon dioxide emission in corn-soybean rotations. J Environ Qual 34:437–445
Al-Kaisi MM, Yin XH, Licht MA (2005) Soil carbon changes as affected by tillage system and crop biomass in a corn-soybean rotation. Appl Soil Ecol 30:174–191
Alberts EE, Neibling WH (1994) Influence of crop residues on water erosion. In: Unger PW (ed) Managing agricultural residues. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, pp 19–39
Allmaras RR, Linden DR, Clapp CE (2004) Corn-residue transformations into root and soil carbon as related to nitrogen, tillage, and stover management. Soil Sci Soc Am J 68:1366–1375
Alvarez R (2005) A review of nitrogen fertilizer and conservation tillage effects on soil organic carbon storage. Soil Use Manage 21:38–52
Aneja VP, Schlesinger WH, Erisman JW (2009) Effects of agriculture upon the air quality and climate: research, policy, and regulations. Environ Sci Technol 43:4234–4240
Apezteguía HP, Izaurralde RC, Sereno R (2009) Simulation study of soil organic matter dynamics as affected by land use and agricultural practices in semiarid Córdoba, Argentina. Soil Till Res 102:101–108
Asai H, Samson BK, Stephan HM, Songyikhangsuthor K, Homma K, Kiyono Y, Inoue Y, Shiraiwa T, Horie T (2009) Biochar amendment techniques for upland rice production in Northern Laos. 1. Soil physical properties, leaf SPAD and grain yield. Field Crop Res 111:81–84
Bationo A, Buerkert A (2001) Soil organic carbon management for sustainable land use in Sudano-Sahelian west Africa. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 61:131–142
Blanco-Canqui H, Lal R, Post WM, Izaurralde RC, Owens LB (2006) Rapid changes in soil carbon and structural properties due to stover removal from no-till corn plots. Soil Sci 171:468–482
Blanco-Canqui H, Lal R (2009) Crop residue management and soil carbon dynamics. In: Lal R, Follett RF (eds) Soil carbon sequestration and the greenhouse effect, Soil Science Society of America Special Publication 57, 2nd edn. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, pp 291–309
Bromley J, Brouwer J, Barker AP, Gaze SR, Valentin C (1997) The role of surface water redistribution in an area of patterned vegetation in a semi-arid environment, south-west Niger. J Hydrol 198:1–29
Chan KY, Van Zweiten L, Meszarosa I, Downiec A, Joseph S (2007) Agronomic values of greenwaste biochar as a soil amendment. Aust J Soil Res 45:629–634
Chivenge PP, Murmira HK, Giller KE, Mapfumo P, Six J (2007) Long-term impact of reduced tillage and residue management on soil carbon stabilization: implication for conservation agriculture on contrasting soils. Soil Till Res 94:328–337
Chatterjee A, Lal R (2009) On farm assessment of tillage impact on soil carbon and associated soil quality parameters. Soil Till Res 104:270–277
Christopher SF, Lal R (2007) Nitrogen management affects carbon sequestration in North American cropland soils. Crit Rev Plant Sci 26:45–64
Christopher SF, Lal R, Mishra U (2009) Regional study of no-till effects on carbon sequestration in the Midwestern United States. Soil Sci Soc Am J 73:207–216
Cisneros JJ, Zandstra BH (2008) Flame weeding effects on several weed species. Weed Technol 22:290–295
Cox TS, Glover JD, Van Tassel DL, Cox CM, DeHaan LR (2006) Prospects for developing perennial grain crops. BioScience 56:649–659
da Silva VR, Reichert JM, Reinert DJ (2006) Soil temperature variation in three different systems of soil management in blackbeans crop. RevBras Ciênc Solo 30:391–399
Dabney SM (1998) Cover crops impacts on watershed hydrology. J Soil Water Conserv 53:207–213
Dabney SM, Delgado JA, Reeves DW (2001) Using winter cover crops to improve soil and water quality. Commun Soil Sci Plan 32:1221–1250
Dendoncker N, Wesemael BV, Rounsevell MDA, Roelandt C, Lettens S (2004) Belgium’s CO2 mitigation potential under improved cropland management. Agric Ecosyst Environ 103:101–116
Dercon G, Deckers J, Govers G, Poesen J, Sánchez H, Vanegas R, Ramírez M, Loaiza G (2003) Spatial variability in soil properties on slow-forming terraces in the Andes region of Ecuador. Soil Till Res 72:31–41
Ding WX, Meng L, Yin YF, Cai ZC, Zheng XH (2007) CO2 emission in an intensively cultivated loam as affected by long-term application of organic manure and nitrogen fertilizer. Soil Biol Biochem 39:669–679
Fargione J, Hill J, Tilman D, Polasky S, Hawthorne P (2008) Land clearing and the biofuel carbon debt. Science 319:1235–1238
Fortuna A, Blevines R, Frye WW, Grove J, Cornelius P (2008) Sustaining soil quality with legumes in no-tillage systems. Commun Soil Sci Plan 39:1680–1699
Franzleubbers AJ (2009) Linking soil organic carbon and environmental quality through conservation tillage and residue management. In: Lal R, Follett RF (eds) Soil carbon sequestration and the greenhouse effect, Soil Science Society of America Special Publication 57, 2nd edn. Soil Science Society of America, Wisconsin, pp 263–289
Franzleubbers AJ, Schomberg HH, Endale DM (2007) Surface-soil responses to paraplowing of long-term no-tillage cropland in the Southern Piedmont USA. Soil Till Res 96:303–315
Fronning BE, Thelen KD, Min DH (2008) Use of manure, compost, and cover crops to supplant crop residue carbon in corn stover removed cropping sytems. Agron J 100:1703–1710
Garner W, Steinberger Y (1989) A proposed mechanism for the formation of ‘fertile islands’ in the desert ecosystem. J Arid Environ 16:257–262
Gaunt JL, Lehmann J (2008) Energy balance and emissions associated with biochar sequestration and pyrolysis bioenergy production. Environ Sci Technol 42:4152–4158
Gentile R, Vanlauwe B, van Kessel C, Six J (2009) Managing N availability and losses by combibing N-fertilizer with different quality residues in Kenya. Agric Ecosyst Environ 131:308–314
Glaser B, Lehmann J, Zech W (2002) Ameliorating physical and chemical properties of highly weathered soils in the tropics with charcoal – a review. Biol Fert Soils 35:219–230
Glover J (2005) The necessity and possibility of perennial grain production systems. Renew Agric Food Syst 20:1–4
Glover JD, Cox CM, Reganold JP (2007) Future farming: a return to roots? Sci Am 297:82–89
Gomez E, Ferreras L, Toresani S, Ausilio A, Bisaro V (2001) Changes in some soil properties in a Vertic Argiudoll under short-term conservation tillage. Soil Till Res 61:179–186
Govaerts B, Fuentes M, Mezzalama M, Nicol JM, Deckers J, Etchevers JD, Figueroa-Sandoval B, Sayre KD (2007a) Infiltration, soil moisture, root rot and nematode populations after 12 years of different tillage, residue and crop rotation managements. Soil Till Res 94:209–219
Govaerts B, Mezzalama M, Unno Y, Sayre KD, Luna-Guido M, Vanherck K, Dendooven L, Deckers J (2007b) Influence of tillage, residue management, and crop rotation on soil microbial biomass and catabolic diversity. Appl Soil Ecol 37:18–30
Greene RSB, Tongway DJ (1989) The significance of (surface) physical and chemical properties in determining soil surface condition of red earths in rangelands. Aust J Soil Res 27:213–225
Hatcher PE, Melander B (2003) Combining physical, cultural and biological methods: prospects for integrated non-chemical weed management strategies. Weed Res 43:303–322
Hobbs PR, Sayre K, Gupta R (2008) The role of conservation agriculture in sustainable agriculture. Philos Trans R Soc 363:543–555
Hutchinson JJ, Campbell CA, Desjardins RL (2007) Some perspectives on carbon sequestration in agriculture. Agric Forest Meteorol 142:288–302
Isermann K (1990) Share of agriculture in nitrogen and phosphorous emissions into the surface waters of Western-Europe against the background of their eutrophication. Fert Res 26:253–269
Jackson MA, Baruch SS, Schisler DA (1996) Formulation of Colletotrichum truncatum microsclerotia for improved bioconrol of the weed hemp sesbania (Sesbania exaltata). Biol Control 7:107–113
Johnson TJ, Kaspar TC, Koheler KA, Corak SJ, Logsdon SD (1998) Oat and rye overseeded into soybean as fall cover crops in the upper Midwest. J Soil Water Conserv 53:276–279
Jordan N, Boody G, Broussard W, Glover JD, Keeney D, McCown BH, McIsaac G, Muller M, Murray H, Neal J, Pansing C, Turner RE, Warner K, Wyse D (2007) Sustainable development of the agricultural bio-economy. Science 316:1570–1571
Kettler TA, Lyon DJ, Doran JW, Powers WA, Stroup WW (2000) Soil quality assessment after weed-control tillage in a no-till wheat-fallow cropping system. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:339–346
Kladivko EJ (1994) Residue effects on soil physical properties. In: Unger PW (ed) Managing agricultural residues. Lewis, Boca Raton, FL, pp 123–141
Koh LP, Tan HTW, Sodhi NS (2008) Biofuels: waste not, want not. Science 320:1419
Kuo S, Sainju UM (1998) Nitrogen mineralization and availability of mixed leguminous and non-leguminous cover crop residues in soil. Biol Fert Soils 26:346–353
Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1998) United Nations
Lal R (2003) Soil erosion and the global carbon budget. Environ Int 29:437–450
Lal R, Griffin M, Apt J, Lave L, Morgan GM (2004) Managing soil carbon. Science 304:393
Lal R (2007) Farming carbon. Soil Till Res 96:1–5
Lal R, Follett RF, Stewart BA, Kimble JM (2007) Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change and advance food security. Soil Sci 172:943–956
Lawley Y, Weil R, Teasdale J (2007) Forage radish winter cover crop as an integrated weed management tool in the Mid-Atlantic region. International Annual Meeting of the ASA-CSSA-SSSA, New Orleans, LA
Lehmann J (2007) Bio-energy in the black. Front Ecol Environ 5:381–387
Lichtfouse E (1997) Heterogeneous turnover of molecular organic substances from crop soils as revealed by 13C labeling at natural abundance with Zea mays. Naturwissenschaften 84:22–23. doi: 10.1007/s001140050342
López-Fando C, Dorado J, Pardo MT (2007) Effects of zone-tillage in rotation with no-tillage on soil properties and crop yields in a semi-arid soil from central Spain. Soil Till Res 95:266–276
López-Fando C, Pardo MT (2009) Changes in soil chemical characteristics with different tillage practices in a semi-arid environment. Soil Till Res 104:278–284
Mahler RL, Auld DL (1989) Evaluation of green manure potential of Austrian winter peas in northern Idaho. Agron J 81:258–264
Marris E (2006) Black is the new green. Nature 442:624–626
Matsumoto N, Paisancharoen K, Hakamata T (2008) Carbon balance in maize fields under cattle manure application and no-tillage cultivation in northeast Thailand. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 54:277–288
Moebius-Clune BN, van Es HM, Idowu OJ, Schindelbeck RR, Moebius-Clune DJ, Wolfe DW, Abawi GS, Thies JE, Gugino BK, Lucey R (2008) Long-term effects of harvesting maize stover and tillage on soil quality. Soil Sci Soc Am J 72:960–969
Oades JM, Waters AG (1991) Aggregate hierarchy in soils. Aust J Soil Res 29:815–828
Ogunwole JO (2008) Soil aggregate characteristics and organic carbon concentration after 45 annual application of manure and inorganic fertilizer. Biol Agric Hortic 25:223–233
Olson KR, Lang JM, Ebelhar SA (2005) Soil organic carbon changes after 12 years of no-tillage and tillage of Grantsburg in southern Illinois. Soil Till Res 81:217–225
Overstreet LF, Hoyt GD (2008) Effects of strip tillage on soil biology across a spatial gradient. Soil Sci Soc Am J 72:1454–1463
Overstreet LF (2009) Strip tillage for sugarbeet production. Int Sugar J 111:292–+
Paulitz TC, Smiley RW, Cook RJ (2002) Insights into the prevalence and management of soilborne cereal pathogens under direct seeding in the Pacific Northwest USA. Can J Plant Pathol 24:416–428
Perdomo C, Irisarri P, Ernest O (2009) Nitrous oxide emission from an Uruguayan argiudoll under different tillage and rotation treatments. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 84:119–128
Pierce FJ, Fortin MC, Staton MJ (1994) Periodic plowing effects on soil properties in a no-till farming system. Soil Sci Soc Am J 58:1782–1787
Polyakov V, Lal R (2004) Modeling soil organic matter dynamics as affected by soil water erosion. Environ Int 30:547–556
Purakayastha TJ, Chhonkar PK, Bhadraray S, Patra AK, Verma V, Khan MA (2007) Long-term effects of different land use and soil management on various organic carbon fractions in an Inceptisol of subtropical India. Aust J Soil Res 45:33–40
Quincke JA, Wortmann CS, Mamo M, Franti T, Drijber RA (2007) Occasional tillage of no-till systems: carbon dioxide flux and changes in total and labile soil organic carbon. Agron J 99:1158–1168
Reicosky DC, Forcella F (1998) Cover crop and soil quality interactions in agroecosystems. J Soil Water Conserv 53:224–229
Rice CW (2002) Organic matter and nutrient dynamics. In: Lal R (ed) The encyclopedia of soil science. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 925–928
Ruddiman WF (2003) The anthropogenic greenhouse era began thousands of years ago. Clim Change 61:261–293
Sedjo RA (2008) Boifuels: think outside the cornfield. Science 320:1420–1421
Smith P, Goulding KW, Smith KA, Powlson DS, Smith JU, Falloon P, Coleman K (2001) Enhancing the carbon sink in European agricultural soils: including trace gas fluxes in estimates of carbon mitigation potential. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 60:237–252
Singer JW (2008) Corn Belt assessment of cover crop management and preferences. Agron J 100:1670–1672
Six J, Elliot ET, Paustin K (2000) Soil macroaggregate turnover and microaggregate formation: a mechanism for C sequestration under no-tillage agriculture. Soil Biol Biochem 32:2099–2103
Six J, Feller C, Denef K, Ogle SM, de Moraes Sa JC, Albrecht A (2002) Soil organic matter, biota and aggregation in temperate and tropical soils – effects of no-tillage. Agronomie 22:755–775
Scheinost PL, Lammer DL, Cai X, Murray TD, Jones SS (2001) Perennial wheat: the development of a sustainable cropping system for the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Am J Altern Agric 16:147–151
Stavi I, Ungar ED, Lavee H, Sarah P (2008a) Grazing-induced spatial variability of soil bulk density and content of moisture, organic carbon and calcium carbonate in a semi-arid rangeland. Catena 75:288–296
Stavi I, Ungar ED, Lavee H, Sarah P (2008b) Surface microtopography and soil penetration resistance associated with shrub patches in a semiarid rangeland. Geomorphology 94:69–78
Stavi I, Lavee H, Ungar ED, Sarah P (2009) Eco-geomorphic feedbacks in semi-arid rangelands: a review. Pedosphere 19:217–229
Steiner C, Teixeira WG, Lehmann J, Nehls T, de Macedo JLV, Blum WEH, Zech W (2007) Long term effects of manure, charcoal and mineral fertilization on crop production and fertility on a highly weathered Central Amazonian upland soil. Plant Soil 291:275–290
Su YZ, Wang F, Sou DR, Zhang ZH, Du MW (2006) Long-term effect of fertilizer and manure application on soil-carbon sequestration and soil fertility under the wheat-wheat-maize cropping system in northwest China. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 75:285–295
Tenbergen B, Günster A, Schreiber KF (1995) Harvesting runoff - the minicatchment technique – an alternative to irrigated tree plantations in semiarid regions. Ambio 24:72–75
Thiagalingam K, Dalgliesh NP, Gould NS, McCown RL, Cogle AL, Chapman AL (1996) Comparison of no-tillage and conventional tillage in the development of sustainable farming systems in the semi-arid tropics. Aust J Exp Agric 36:995–1002
Theng BKG (1991) Soil science in the tropics – the next 75 years. Soil Sci 151:76–90
Tisdall JM, Cockroft B, Uren NC (1978) The stability of soil aggregates as affected by organic materials, microbial activity and physical disruption. Aust J Soil Res 16:9–17
Tisdall JM, Oades JM (1979) Stabilization of soil aggregates by the root systems of ryegrass. Aust J Soil Res 7:429–441
Tongway DJ, Ludwig JA (2003) The nature of landscape dysfunction in rangelands. In: Ludwig JA, Tongway DJ, Freudenberger D, Noble J, Hodgkinson K (eds) Landscape ecology function and management. CSIRO Publishing, Canberra, Australia, pp 49–61
Unger PW, Vigil MF (1998) Crop cover effects on soil water relationships. J Soil Water Conserv 53:200–206
Ussiri DAN, Lal R (2009) Long-term tillage effects on soil carbon storage and carbon dioxide emissions in continuous corn cropping system from an alfisol in Ohio. Soil Till Res 104:39–47
Vågen TG, Lal R, Singh BR (2005) Soil carbon sequestration in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review. Land Degrad Dev 16:53–71
Venkateswarlu B, Srinivasarao C, Ramesh G, Venkateswarlu S, Katyal JC (2007) Effects of long-term legume cover crop incorporation on soil organic carbon, microbial biomass, nutrient build-up and grain yields of sorghum/sunflower under rain-fed conditions. Soil Use Manage 23:100–107
Vetsch JA, Randall GW, Lamb JA (2007) Corn and soybean production as affected by tillage systems. Agron J 99:952–959
Wagger MG, Cabrera ML, Ranells NN (1998) Nitrogen and carbon cycling in relation to cover crop residue quality. J Soil Water Conserv 53:214–218
Wagoner P (1989) Philosophy and theory: why the need for perennial grain crops, vol 108, North Dakota Research Report. North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, pp 2–4
Wang XB, Cai DX, Hoogmoed WB, Oenema O, Perdok UD (2005) Scenario analysis of tillage, residue and fertilization management effects on soil organic carbon dynamics. Pedosphere 15:473–483
Wang XB, Cai DX, Hoogmoed WB, Oenema O, Perdok UD (2006) Potential effect of conservation tillage on sustainable land use: a review of global long-term studies. Pedosphere 16:587–595
Weik L, Kaul HP, Kübler E, Aufhammer W (2002) Grain yields of perennial grain crops in pure and mixed stands. J Agron Crop Sci 188:342–349
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) for funding the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stavi, I., Lal, R. (2010). Challenges and Opportunities of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration in Croplands. In: Lichtfouse, E. (eds) Biodiversity, Biofuels, Agroforestry and Conservation Agriculture. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9513-8_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9513-8_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-9512-1
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-9513-8
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)