Does North Appalachian agriculture contribute to soil carbon sequestration?

作者：Lopez Bellido Rafael J^*; Lal Rattan; Owens Lloyd B; Lopez Bellido Luis

来源：Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 2010, 137(3-4): 373-376.

DOI：10.1016/j.agee.2010.03.012

• Soil carbon sequestration
• Long-term field experiment
• Tillage
• Rotation
• Watershed

Agricultural systems are important for world ecosystems. They can be managed to moderate CO(2) emissions. World soils can be both a sink and source of atmospheric CO(2), but it is a slow process. Data from long-term soil management experiments are needed to assess soil carbon (C) sink capacity through a complete life cycle analysis of direct and hidden C changes. Eight commonly used agricultural systems in northern Appalachia (OH, USA) were tested after 38 year to assess the magnitude of the soil C pool. Only a forest ecosystem and a no-tillage corn (Zea mays L.) crop plus manure increased soil organic carbon (SOC) by 37.3 and 33.3 Mg C ha(-1), respectively; meanwhile monoculture corn and/or no-tillage practices maintained the SOC level over the period. Thus, most of north Appalachian agriculture, with current practices, does not contribute to C sequestration. Improved agricultural practices for no-tillage continuous corn should include cultivars with higher residue production (above- and belowground) and slower decomposition rates in order to increase SOC sequestration.

• 出版日期2010-5-15