• Authors:
    • Paustian, K.
    • Williams, S.
    • Easter, M.
    • Breidt, F. J.
    • Ogle, S. M.
  • Source: Ecological Modelling
  • Volume: 205
  • Issue: 3-4
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Simulation modelling is used to estimate C sequestration associated with agricultural management for purposes of greenhouse gas mitigation. Models are not completely accurate or precise estimators of C pools, however, due to insufficient knowledge and imperfect conceptualizations about ecosystem processes, leading to uncertainty in the results. It can be difficult to quantify the uncertainty using traditional error propagation techniques, such as Monte Carlo Analyses, because of the structural complexity of simulation models. Empirically based methods provide an alternative to the error propagation techniques, and our objective was to apply this alternative approach. Specifically, we developed a linear mixed-effect model to quantify both bias and variance in modeled soil C stocks that were estimated using the Century ecosystem simulation model. The statistical analysis was based on measurements from 47 agricultural experiments. A significant relationship was found between model results and measurements although there were biases and imprecision in the modeled estimates. Century under-estimated soil C stocks for several management practices, including organic amendments, no-till adoption, and inclusion of hay or pasture in rotation with annual crops. Century also over-estimated the impact of N fertilization on soil C stocks. For lands set-aside from agricultural production, Century under-estimated soil C stocks on low carbon soils and over-estimated the stocks on high carbon soils. Using an empirically based approach allows for simulation model results to be adjusted for biases as well as quantify the variance associated with modeled estimates, according to the measured "reality" of management impacts from a network of experimental sites.
  • Authors:
    • MacPherson, J. I.
    • Grant, B.
    • Smith, W.
    • Pennock, D. J.
    • Desjardins, R. L.
    • Edwards, G. C.
    • Pattey, E.
  • Source: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
  • Volume: 142
  • Issue: 2-4
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: The importance of constraining the global budget of nitrous oxide (N2O) has been well established. The current global estimate of the contribution of N2O to total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture is about 69%. Considerable progress has been made over the past few years in developing tools for quantifying the emissions from agricultural sources, at the local and field scale (i.e., chamber and tower-based measurements) as well as at the landscape and regional levels (i.e., aircraft-based measurement and modelling). However, aggregating these emissions over space and time remains a challenge because of the high degree of temporal and spatial variability. Emissions of N2O in temperate climate are largely event driven, e.g., in Eastern Canada, large emissions are observed right after snowmelt. The average emissions during the snowmelt period vary considerably, reflecting the influence of many controlling factors. Cumulative emissions reported here range from 0.05 kg N2O-N ha-1 in Western Canada to 1.26 kg N2O-N ha-1in Eastern Canada, values that reflect differences in climatic zones and fertilizer management practices. This paper describes the tools for refining the global N2O budget and provides examples of measurements at various scales. Tower-based and aircraft measurement platforms provide good data for quantifying the variability associated with the measurements. Chamber-based methods lack the temporal and spatial resolution required to follow the event driven nature of N2O fluxes but provide valuable information for evaluating management practices. The model DeNitrification and DeComposition is an example of a technique to estimate N2O emissions when no data is available.
  • Authors:
    • Rose, A. Z.
    • Marland, G.
    • Houghton, R. A.
    • Fairman, D. M.
    • Zimmerman, G. P.
    • Dilling, L.
    • Wilbanks, T. J.
    • King, A. W.
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: North America is currently a net source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, contributing to the global buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and associated changes in the earth's climate. In 2003, North America emitted nearly two billion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. North America's fossil fuel emissions in 2003 (1856 million metric tons of carbon ±10% with 95% certainty) were 27% of global emissions. Approximately 85% of those emissions were from the United States, 9% from Canada and 6% from Mexico. The conversion of fossil fuels to energy (primarily electricity) is the single largest contributor, accounting for approximately 42% of North American fossil emissions in 2003. Transportation is the second largest, accounting for 31% of total emissions. There are also globally important carbon sinks in North America. In 2003, growing vegetation in North America removed approximately 530 million tons of carbon per year (± 50%) from the atmosphere and stored it as plant material and soil organic matter. This land sink is equivalent to approximately 30% of the fossil fuel emissions from North America. The imbalance between the fossil fuel source and the sink on land is a net release to the atmosphere of 1335 million metric tons of carbon per year (± 25%). Approximately 50% of North America's terrestrial sink is due to the regrowth of forests in the United States on former agricultural land that was last cultivated decades ago, and on timber land recovering from harvest. Other sinks are relatively small and not well quantified with uncertainties of 100% or more. The future of the North American terrestrial sink is also highly uncertain. The contribution of forest regrowth is expected to decline as the maturing forests grow more slowly and take up less carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But, this expectation is surrounded by uncertainty because how regrowing forests and other sinks will respond to changes in climate and carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is highly uncertain. The large difference between current sources and sinks and the expectation that the difference could become larger if the growth of fossil fuel emissions continues and land sinks decline suggest that addressing imbalances in the North American carbon budget will likely require actions focused on reducing fossil fuel emissions. Options to enhance sinks (growing forests or sequestering carbon in agricultural soils) can contribute, but enhancing sinks alone is likely insufficient to deal with either the current or future imbalance. Options to reduce emissions include efficiency improvement, fuel switching, and technologies such as carbon capture and geological storage. Implementing these options will likely require both voluntary and policy-driven mechanisms at local, regional, national, and international levels. Meeting the demand for information by decision makers will likely require new modes of research characterized by close collaboration between scientists and carbon management stakeholders.
  • Authors:
    • McConkey, B. G.
    • Angers, D. A.
    • Gregorich, E. G.
    • VandenBygaart, A. J.
  • Source: Canadian Journal of Soil Science
  • Volume: 87
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Accurate predictions of changes in soil organic matter are difficult, at least in part, because of the lack of precision in measurements of soil organic carbon (SOC). This lack of precision is mostly due to the spatial variability in SOC that occurs with depth through the profile and laterally across the soil surface. The objective of this study was to assess the lateral and vertical variability of SOC in several pedologically distinct agricultural soils across Canada. Our goal was to determine the effect of different sampling methods on the precision of SOC measurements, namely: the effect of sampling either by fixed depth or by genetic soil horizon, the influence of compositing samples from different depth increments, and the number of cores required for a minimum detectable difference. Soils were sampled in increments down to 60 cm using a 4 x 3 m grid at six sites: two each from Ontario (Gleysol and Melanic Brunisol), Quebec (Humic Gleysol and Humo Ferric Podzol) and Saskatchewan (Dark Brown Chernozem). At four of the six sites, sampling by genetic soil horizon appeared to increase the precision of SOC measurements, but only when the surface 30 cm of the soil profile was considered. At the other two sites (soil types: Gleysol and Melanic Brunisol) sampling by fixed depth increments was more effective for increasing the precision of SOC measurements than sampling by genetic horizon. The effect of compositing samples from different depth increments had little influence on the precision of SOC measurements for all six soil types. These results suggest that sampling more than two depth increments per soil core has limited advantages for increasing statistical power to detect change in SOC. The high background SOC levels in the Gleysol soil would require a large number of soil cores in order to detect a small change in SOC such as that which would occur in a typical monitoring project. The Chernozem soils had lower spatial variability in SOC than the soil types in eastern Canada. Determining a statistically significant change in SOC of 5 Mg ha(-1) would be difficult with the sampling design used in this study.
  • Authors:
    • Worth, D.
    • Desjardins, R. L.
    • Dyer, J. A.
    • Vergé, X. P. C.
  • Source: Agricultural Systems
  • Volume: 94
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: In order to demonstrate the impact of an increase in production efficiency on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is important to estimate the combined methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per unit of production. In this study, we calculated the GHG emissions from the Canadian dairy industry in 2001 as a fraction of the milk production and per dairy animal. Five regions were defined according to the importance of the dairy industry. N2O and CO2 emissions are directly linked with areas allocated to the dairy crop complex which includes only the crop areas used to feed dairy cattle. The dairy crop complex was scaled down from sector-wide crop areas using the ratios of dairy diet to national crop production of each crop type. Both fertilizer application and on-farm energy consumption were similarly scaled down from sector-wide estimates to the dairy crop complex in each region. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology, adapted for Canadian conditions, was used to calculate CH4 and N2O emissions. Most of the CO2 emission estimates were derived from a Fossil Fuel for Farm Fieldwork Energy and Emissions model except for the energy used to manufacture fertilizers. Methane was estimated to be the main source of GHG, totalling 5.75 Tg CO2 eq with around 80% coming from enteric fermentation and 20% coming from manure management. Nitrous oxide emissions were equal to 3.17 Tg CO2 eq and carbon dioxide emissions were equal to 1.45 Tg. The GHG emissions per animal were 4.55 Mg CO2 eq. On an intensity basis, average GHG emissions were 1.0 kg CO2 eq/kg milk. Methane emissions per kg of milk were estimated at 19.3 l CH4/kg milk which is in agreement with Canadian field measurements.
  • Authors:
    • Voroney, P.
    • Kay, B.
    • Warland, J.
    • von Bertoldi, P.
    • Parkin, G.
    • Wagner-Riddle, C.
    • Jayasundara, S.
  • Source: Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems
  • Volume: 79
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Best management practices are recommended for improving fertilizer and soil N uptake efficiency and reducing N losses to the environment. Few year- round studies quantifying the combined effect of several management practices on environmental N losses have been carried out. This study was designed to assess crop productivity, N uptake from fertilizer and soil sources, and N losses, and to relate these variables to the fate of fertilizer 15N in a corn ( Zea mays L.)- soybean ( Glycine max L.)- winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) rotation managed under Best Management ( BM) compared with conventional practices ( CONV). The study was conducted from May 2000 to October 2004 at Elora, Ontario, Canada. Cumulative NO3 leaching loss was reduced by 51% from 133 kg N ha(-1) in CONV to 68 kg N ha(-1) in BM. About 70% of leaching loss occurred in corn years with fertilizer N directly contributing 11 - 16% to leaching in CONV and < 4% in BM. High soil derived N leaching loss in CONV, which occurred mostly ( about 80%) during November to April was attributable to 45 - 69% higher residual soil derived mineral N left at harvest, and on-going N mineralization during the over-winter period. Fertilizer N uptake efficiency ( FNUE) was higher in BM ( 61% of applied) than in CONV ( 35% of applied) over corn and wheat years. Unaccounted gaseous losses of fertilizer N were reduced from 27% of applied in CONV to 8% of applied in BM. Yields were similar between BM and CONV ( for corn: 2000 and 2003, wheat: 2002, soybean: 2004) or higher in BM ( soybean: 2001). Results indicated that the use of judicious N rates in synchrony with plant N demand combined with other BMP ( no- tillage, legume cover crops) improved FNUE by corn and wheat, while reducing both fertilizer and soil N losses without sacrificing yields.
  • Authors:
    • Desjardins, R. L.
    • Campbell, C. A.
    • Hutchinson, J. J.
  • Source: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
  • Volume: 142
  • Issue: 2-4
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: One of the main options for greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation identified by the IPCC is the sequestration of carbon in soils. Since the breaking of agricultural land in most regions, the carbon stocks have been depleted to such an extent, that they now represent a potential sink for CO, removal from the atmosphere. Improved management will however, be required to increase the inputs of organic matter in the top soil and/or decrease decomposition rates. In this paper we use data from selected regions to explore the global potential for carbon sequestration in arable soils. While realising that C sequestration is not limited to the selected regions, we have, however, focussed our review on two regions: (i) Canadian Prairies and (ii) The Tropics. In temperate regions, management changes for an increase in C involve increase in cropping frequency (reducing bare fallow), increasing use of forages in crop rotations, reducing tillage intensity and frequency, better crop residue management, and adopting agroforestry. In the tropics, agroforestry remains the primary method by which sequestration rates may be significantly increased. Increases in soil C may be achieved through improved fertility of cropland/pasture; on extensive systems with shifting cultivation cropped fallows and cover crops may be beneficial, and adopting agro forestry or foresting marginal cropland is also an alternative. In addition, in the tropics it is imperative to reduce the clearing of forests for conversion to cropland. Some regional analyses of soil C sequestration and sequestration potential have been performed, mainly for temperate industrialized North America where the majority of research pertaining to C sequestration has been carried out. More research is needed, especially for the Tropics, to more accurately capture the impact of region-specific interactions between climate, soil, and management of resources on C sequestration, which are lost in global level assessments. By itself, C sequestration in agricultural soils can make only modest contributions (3-6% of fossil fuel contributions) to mitigation of overall greenhouse gas emissions. However, effective mitigation policies will not be based on any single 'magic bullet' solutions, but rather on many modest reductions which are economically efficient and which confer additional benefits to society. In this context, soil C sequestration is a significant mitigation option. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
  • Authors:
    • Verge, X. P.
    • Worth, D. E.
    • Campbell, C. A.
    • Desjardins, R. L.
    • Smith, W. N.
    • Grant, B. B.
    • Hutchinson, J. J.
  • Source: Canadian Journal of Soil Science
  • Volume: 87
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Using a revised Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology and the process-based model DeNitrification and DeComposition (DNDC), we estimated N2O emissions from agroecosysterns in Canada for each census year from 1981 to 2001. Based on the IPCC methodology, direct emissions of N2O ranged from 12.9 to 17.3 with an average of 15.1 Tg CO2 equivalents, while the DNDC model predicted values from 16.0 to 24.3 with an average of 20.8 Tg CO2 equivalents over the same period, and showed a large interannual variation reflecting weather variability. On a provincial basis, emissions estimated by IPCC and DNDC methods were highest in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, intermediate for Manitoba and Quebec and lowest in British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces. The greatest source of emissions estimated by the IPCC method was from N fertilizer (avg. 6.32 Tg CO2 equiv. in Canada), followed by crop residues (4.24), pasture range and paddocks (PRP) (2.77), and manure (1.65). All sources of emissions, but especially those from fertilizers, increased moderately over time. Monte Carlo Simulation was used to determine the uncertainty associated with the 2001 emission estimates for both IPCC and DNDC methodologies. The simulation generated most likely values of 19.2 and 16.0 Tg CO2 equivalents for IPCC and DNDC, respectively, with uncertainties of 37 and 41%, respectively. Values for the IPCC estimates varied between 28% for PRP and manure and 50% for N fertilizer and crop residues. At the provincial level, uncertainty ranged between 15 and 47% with higher values on the prairies. Sensitivity analyses for IPCC estimates showed crop residues as the most important source of uncertainty followed by synthetic N-fertilizers. Our analysis demonstrated that N2O emissions can be effectively estimated by both the DNDC and IPCC methods and that their uncertainties can be effectively estimated by Monte Carlo Simulation.
  • Authors:
    • Alberta Agriculture and Food
  • Year: 2007
  • Authors:
    • Lemke, R.
    • Malhi, S.
  • Source: Soil & Tillage Research
  • Volume: 96
  • Issue: 1/2
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: An 8-yr (1998-2005) field experiment was conducted on a Gray Luvisol (Boralf) soil near Star City, Saskatchewan, Canada, to determine the effects of tillage (no-tillage - NT and conventional tillage - CT), straw management (straw retained - R and straw not retained - NR) and N fertilizer (0, 40, 80 and 120 kg N ha -1, except no N to pea ( Pisum sativum L.) phase of the rotation) on seed and straw yield, mass of N and C in crop, organic C and N, inorganic N and aggregation in soil, and nitrous oxide (N 2O) emissions for a second 4-yr rotation cycle (2002-2005). The plots were seeded to barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) in 2002, pea in 2003, wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) in 2004 and canola ( Brassica napus L.) in 2005. Seed, straw and chaff yield, root mass, and mass of N and C in crop increased with increasing N rate for barley in 2002, wheat in 2004 and canola in 2005. No-till produced greater seed (by 51%), straw (23%) and chaff (13%) yield of barley than CT in 2002, but seed yield for wheat in 2004, and seed and straw yield for canola in 2005 were greater under CT than NT. Straw retention increased seed (by 62%), straw (by 43%) and chaff (by 12%) yield, and root mass (by 11%) compared to straw removal for barley in 2002, wheat in 2004, and seed and straw yield for pea in 2003. No-till resulted in greater mass of N in seed, and mass of C in seed, straw, chaff and root than CT for barley in 2002, but mass of N and C were greater under CT than NT for wheat in 2004 and for canola in 2005 in many cases. Straw retention had greater mass of N and C in seed, straw, chaff and root in most cases compared to straw removal for barley in 2002, pea in 2003 and wheat in 2004. Soil moisture content in spring was higher under NT than CT and with R than NR in the 0-15 cm depth, with the highest moisture content in the NT + R treatment in many cases. After eight crop seasons, tillage and straw management had no effect on total organic C (TOC) and N (TON) in the 0-15 cm soil, but light fraction organic C (LFOC) and N (LFON), respectively, were greater by 1.275 Mg C ha -1 and 0.031 Mg N ha -1 with R than NR, and also greater by 0.563 Mg C ha -1 and 0.044 Mg N ha -1 under NT than CT. There was no effect of tillage, straw and N fertilization on the NH 4-N in soil in most cases, but R treatment had higher NO 3-N concentration in the 0-15 cm soil than NR. The NO 3-N concentration in the 0-15, 15-30 and 30-60 cm soil layers increased (though small) with increasing N rate. The R treatment had 6.7% lower proportion of fine (38.0 mm) dry aggregates, and 4.5 mm larger mean weight diameter (MWD) compared to NR treatment. This suggests a lower potential for soil erosion when crop residues are retained. There was no beneficial effect of elimination of tillage on soil aggregation. The amount of N lost as N 2O was higher from N-fertilized (580 g N ha -1) than from zero-N (155 g N ha -1) plots, and also higher in CT (398 g N ha -1) than NT (340 g N ha -1) in some cases. In conclusion, retaining crop residues along with no-tillage improved some soil properties and may also be better for the environment and the sustainability of high crop production. Nitrogen fertilization improved crop production and some soil quality attributes, but also increased the potential for NO 3-N leaching and N 2O-N emissions, especially when applied in excess of crop requirements.