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Cropland Soil Carbon Dynamics

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Abstract

Humans began thousands of years ago to cultivate land for growing crops after clearing the previous vegetation cover and plowing the soil. The soil disturbance altered soil carbon (C) dynamics which has been recently exacerbated by the increase in crop intensification (i.e., fertilization, irrigation, mechanization). For example, conversion to croplands may release up to 36% of soil organic carbon (SOC) to 27-cm depth in temperate regions, and up to 30% of SOC to 48-cm depth in tropical regions. In 2000, about 12% of Earth’s ice-free land surface or 15 million km2 were covered by croplands. Climate, geology and land and crop management practices control the size of the cropland soil C pool. A major fraction (25–70%) of the carbon dioxide (CO2) fixed during plant photosynthesis in croplands by gross primary production (GPP) is respired autotrophically (Ra) back to the atmosphere. Globally, cropland GPP is about 14.8 Pg C year−1 (1 Pg = 1015 g). The remaining net primary production (NPP = GPP−Ra) is the main natural C input into cropland soils aside addition of manure and organic residues. Cropland NPP includes the production of biomass in foliage, shoots and roots, weed and seed production, root exudation, the C transfer to microorganisms that are symbiotically associated with roots, and the volatile organic carbon (VOC) emissions that are lost from leaves to the atmosphere. NPP enters soil by rhizodeposition and decomposition of plant litter but the major fraction is heterotrophically converted back to CO2 by soil respiration and some lost as methane (CH4). Aside decomposition, C losses from croplands occur also by fire, erosion, leaching, and most importantly harvest removing about 2.2 Pg C year−1 in the 1990s. Thus, a small amount of fixed C remains in cropland soils and accumulates in the SOC pool due to a combination of short- and long-term stabilization processes. Stabilization processes include physical protection of organic matter (OM) against decomposers and their enzymes, stabilization by organomineral complexes and organo-metal interactions, and some as biochemically recalcitrant black carbon (BC). Soil aggregation, in particular, may be the most important stabilization process in cropland topsoils. Site-specific factors including climate, physicochemical characteristics, soil and vegetation management determine the balance between C input and losses. Cropland soils can be recarbonized to some extent through adoption of recommended management practices (RMPs) such as conservation tillage, residue mulching and use of cover crops, practices which all contribute to soil C accumulation and sequestration by an additional transfer of C from the atmosphere to the soil. Whether cultivation of SOC-accreting crops can also contribute to the recarbonization of cropland soils needs additional research.

Keywords

Soil organic carbon Gross primary production Net primary production Recommended management practices 

Abbreviations

AM

Arbuscular mycorrhiza

AUR

Acid-unhydrolyzable residue

BC

Black carbon

BIO

Microbial biomass

CQT

Carbon quality-temperature

DIC

Dissolved inorganic carbon

DOC

Dissolved organic carbon

DPM

Decomposable plant material

ECM

Ecto-mycorrhiza

ERM

Ericoid mycorrhiza

EU

European Union

FAO

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

GPP

Gross primary production

HI

Harvest index

HUM

Humified organic matter

NBP

Net biome production

NPP

Net primary production

NT

No-tillage

OM

Organic matter

PT

Plow tillage

PTF

Plant functional type

Ra

Autotrophic respiration

RMP

Recommended management practices

RothC

Rothamsted carbon model

RPM

Resistant plant material

SIC

Soil inorganic carbon

SOC

Soil organic carbon

SOM

Soil organic matter

UK

United Kingdom

USA

United States of America

VOC

Volatile organic carbon

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Global Soil ForumIASS Institute for Advanced Sustainability StudiesPotsdamGermany
  2. 2.Carbon Management and Sequestration CenterThe Ohio State UniversityColumbusUSA

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