• Authors:
    • Mielniczuk, J.
    • Vieira, F. C. B.
    • Dieckow, J.
    • Bayer, C.
    • Zanatta, J. A.
  • Source: Soil & Tillage Research
  • Volume: 94
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Conservation management systems can improve soil organic matter stocks and contribute to atmospheric C mitigation. This study was carried out in a 18-year long-term experiment conducted on a subtropical Acrisol in Southern Brazil to assess the potential of tillage systems [conventional tillage (CT) and no-till (NT)], cropping systems [oat/maize (O/M), vetch/maize (V/M) and oat + vetch/maize + cowpea (OV/MC)] and N fertilization [0 kg N ha-1 year-1 (0 N) and 180 kg N ha-1 year-1 (180 N)] for mitigating atmospheric C. For that, the soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation and the C equivalent (CE) costs of the investigated management systems were taken into account in comparison to the CT O/M 0 N used as reference system. No-till is known to produce a less oxidative environment than CT and resulted in SOC accumulation, mainly in the 0-5 cm soil layer, at rates related to the addition of crop residues, which were increased by legume cover crops and N fertilization. Considering the reference treatment, the SOC accumulation rates in the 0-20 cm layer varied from 0.09 to 0.34 Mg ha-1 year-1 in CT and from 0.19 to 0.65 Mg ha-1 year-1 in NT. However, the SOC accumulation rates peaked during the first years (5th to 9th) after the adoption of the management practices and decreased exponentially over time, indicating that conservation soil management was a short-term strategy for atmospheric C mitigation. On the other hand, when the CE costs of tillage operations were taken into account, the benefits of NT to C mitigation compared to CT were enhanced. When CE costs related to N-based fertilizers were taken into account, the increases in SOC accumulation due to N did not necessarily improve atmospheric C mitigation, although this does not diminish the agricultural and economic importance of inorganic N fertilization.
  • Authors:
    • Grace,P.
  • Source: Healthy Soils Symposium
  • Year: 2007
  • Authors:
    • McGregor, A.
    • Slattery, B.
    • Ugalde, D.
    • Brungs, A.
    • Kaebernick, M.
  • Source: Soil & Tillage Research
  • Volume: 97
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2007
  • Authors:
    • Goswami, S. B.
    • Saha, S.
    • Dutta, S.
  • Source: National Seminar on Ecorestoration of Soil and Water Resources Towards Efficient Crop Production
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: On-farm field experiments were undertaken in Chakdah Block, West Bengal, India, to study the impact of surface sowing, sowing by zero till seed drill (ZT) and conventional sowing with normal tillage (CT) in lowland rice fields on the growth and yield performances of wheat cv. 'UP 262', sown in the 1st, 3rd and 4th weeks of November during 2005-06 and 2006-07. For sowing under zero till, the seed rate was high (150 kg/ha). The depth of irrigation for ZT was 4 cm (3 h/bigha) compared to CT of 6 cm (4.5 h/bigha). Three irrigations were applied at crown root initiation, maximum tillering and flowering stages. The wheat plant height, tillering, panicle length, grains per spike and test weight were significantly affected by ZT and surface sowing compared to CT. Effective tiller production was higher under ZT with 3 irrigations than ZT with 2 irrigations or surface sowing. ZT with 3 irrigations (226 mm total water use) recorded the highest grain yield of 24.6 q/ha, which was a 21.8% yield increase over CT with 3 irrigations (243 mm total water use). ZT with 2 irrigations (189 mm total water use) decreased the grain yield by 111.8% over ZT with 3 irrigations. The water use efficiency was higher (8.5-8.71 kg ha -1 mma -1) under ZT with 3 irrigations over ZT with 2 irrigations or CT with 3 irrigations.
  • Authors:
    • Reule, C. A.
    • Halvorson, A. D.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 99
  • Issue: 6
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Converting irrigated, conventional-till (CT) systems to no-till (NT) production systems can potentially reduce soil erosion, fossil fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrogen fertilization effects on irrigated corn (Zea mays L.) and malting barley (Hordeum distichon L.) yields in a corn-barley rotation were evaluated for 6 yr on a clay loam soil to determine the viability of using a NT system and N needs for optimum crop yield. Six N treatments were established with N rates varying from 0 to 224 kg N ha(-1) for corn and 0 to 1.12 kg N ha(-1) for barley. Corn and barley grain yields were significantly increased by N fertilization each of 3 yr in the rotation. Three year average corn grain yields were near maximum with an available N (AN) (soil + fertilizer + irrigation water N) level of 274 kg N ha(-1). Barley yields increased linearly with increasing N rate with grain protein content near 130 kg protein Mg-1 grain at the highest N rate. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by corn and barley, based on grain N removal, decreased with increasing AN level and ranged from 204 to 39 and 68 to 31 kg grain kg(-1) AN for the low and high N treatments for corn and barley, respectively. Total plant N uptake required to produce one Mg grain at near maximum yield in this study averaged 21 kg N for corn and 27 kg N for barley. Corn and barley residue production increased with increasing N rate. Irrigated, NT corn yields obtained in this corn-barley rotation were acceptable (>10 Mg ha(-1)) for northern Colorado; however, barley yields did not meet our expected yield goal of 5.4 Mg ha(-1) with the N rates used in this study, but grain protein was near maximum for malting barley. An irrigated, NT corn-barley production system appears to be feasible in northern Colorado.
  • Authors:
    • Jin, H.
    • Hongwen, L.
    • Xiaoyan, W.
    • McHugh, A. D.
    • Wenying, L.
    • Huanwen, G.
    • Kuhn, N. J.
  • Source: Soil & Tillage Research
  • Volume: 94
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Soil compaction caused by random traffic or repetitive tillage has been shown to reduce water use efficiency, and thus crop yield due to reduced porosity, decreased water infiltration and availability of nutrients. Conservation tillage coupled with subsoiling in northern China is widely believed to reduce soil compaction, which was created after many years of no-till. However, limited research has been conducted on the most effective time interval for subsoiling, under conservation tillage. Data from conservation tillage demonstration sites operating for 10 years in northern China were used to conduct a comparative study of subsoiling interval under conservation tillage. Three modes of traditional tillage, subsoiling with soil cover and no-till with soil cover were compared using 10 years of soil bulk density, water content, yield and water use efficiency data. Cost benefit analysis was conducted on subsoiling time interval under conservation tillage. Yield and power consumption were assessed by based on the use of a single pass combine subsoiler and planter. Annual subsoiling was effective in reducing bulk density by only 4.9% compared with no-till treatments on the silty loam soils of the Loess plateau, but provided no extra benefit in terms of soil water loss, yield increase or water utilization. With the exception of bulk density, no-till and subsoiling with cover were vastly superior in increasing water use (+10.5%) efficiency and yield (+12.9%) compared to traditional tillage methods. Four years of no-till followed by one subsoiling reduced mechanical inputs by 62%, providing an economic benefit of 49% for maize and 209% for wheat production compared to traditional tillage. Annual subsoiling reduced inputs by 25% with an increased economic benefit of 23% for maize and 135% for wheat production. Yield and power consumption was improved by 5% and 20%, respectively, by combining subsoiling with the planting operation in one pass compared with multipass operations of subsoiling and planting. A key conclusion from this is that annual subsoiling in dryland areas of northern China is uneconomical and unwarranted. Four years of no-till operations followed by 1 year subsoiling provided some relief from accumulated soil compaction. However, minimum soil disturbance and maximum soil cover are key elements of no-till for saving water and improving yields. Improved yields and reduced farm power consumption could provide a significant base on which to promote combined planter and subsoiling operations throughout northern China. Further research is required to develop a better understanding of the linkages between conservation tillage, soil quality and yield, aimed at designing most appropriate conservation tillage schemes.
  • 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:
    • Gal, A.
    • Hegymegi, P.
    • Smith, D. R.
    • Vyn, T. J.
    • Omonode, R.A.
  • Source: Soil & Tillage Research
  • Volume: 95
  • Issue: 1-2
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Although the Midwestern United States is one of the world's major agricultural production areas, few studies have assessed the effects of the region's predominant tillage and rotation practices on greenhouse gas emissions from the soil surface. Our objectives were to (a) assess short-term chisel (CP) and moldboard plow (MP) effects on soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes relative to no-till (NT) and, (b) determine how tillage and rotation interactions affect seasonal gas emissions in continuous corn and corn-soybean rotations on a poorly drained Chalmers silty clay loam (Typic Endoaquoll) in Indiana.
  • Authors:
    • Nicolardot, B.
    • Labreuche, J.
    • Grehan, E.
    • Merckx, R.
    • Oorts, K.
  • Source: Soil & Tillage Research
  • Volume: 95
  • Issue: 1-2
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: The greenhouse gases CO2 and N2O emissions were quantified in a long-term experiment in northern France, in which no-till (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) had been differentiated during 32 years in plots under a maize-wheat rotation. Continuous CO2 and periodical N2O soil emission measurements were performed during two periods: under maize cultivation (April 2003-July 2003) and during the fallow period after wheat harvest (August 2003-March 2004). In order to document the dynamics and importance of these emissions, soil organic C and mineral N, residue decomposition, soil potential for CO2 emission and climatic data were measured. CO2 emissions were significantly larger in NT on 53% and in CT on 6% of the days. From April to July 2003 and from November 2003 to March 2004, the cumulated CO2 emissions did not differ significantly between CT and NT. However, the cumulated CO2 emissions from August to November 2003 were considerably larger for NT than for CT. Over the entire 331 days of measurement, CT and NT emitted 3160 +/- 269 and 4064 +/- 138 kg CO2-C ha(-1) respectively. The differences in CO2 emissions in the two tillage systems resulted from the soil climatic conditions and the amounts and location of crop residues and SOM. A large proportion of the CO2 emissions in NTover the entire measurement period was probably due to the decomposition of old weathered residues. NT tended to emit more N2O than CTover the entire measurement period. However differences were statistically significant in only half of the cases due to important variability. N2O emissions were generally less than 5 g N ha(-1) day(-1), except for a few dates where emission increased up to 21 g N ha(-1) day(-1). These N2O fluxes represented 0.80 +/- 0.15 and 1.32 +/- 0.52 kg N2O-N ba(-1) year(-1) for CT and NT, respectively. Depending on the periods, a large part of the N2O emissions occurred was probably induced by nitrification, since soil conditions were not favorable for denitrification. Finally, for the period of measurement after 32 years of tillage treatments, the NT system emitted more greenhouses gases (CO2 and N2O) to the atmosphere on an annual basis than the CT system. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
  • Authors:
    • Torbert, H. A.
    • Scopel, E.
    • Velazquez-Garcia, I.
    • Potter, K. N.
  • Source: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
  • Volume: 62
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: While no-till management practices usually result in increased soil organic carbon (SOC) contents, the effect of residue removal with no-till is not well understood, especially in warmer climates. A multi-year study was conducted at six locations having a wide range of climatic conditions in central Mexico to determine the effect of varying rates of residue removal with no-till oil SOC. Mean annual temperatures ranged from 16 degrees C to 27 degrees C (61 degrees F to 81 degrees F). Mean annual rainfall ranged from 618 to 1099 min yr(-1) (24 to 43 in yr(-1)). Treatments consisted of annual moldboard plowing under residue and no-till with 100%, 66%, 33%, and no corn (Zea mays L.) residue retained oil the no-till surface. At five of the six locations, no-till with all surface residues removed maintained SOC levels above that of moldboard plowing which incorporated all residues. Retaining 100% of the crop residues with no-till always increased or maintained the SOC content. SOC increased in cooler climates, but as mean annual temperature increased, more retained crop residues were needed to increase the SOC. In tropical (mean annual temperature > 20 degrees C) conditions, 100% corn residue retention with no-till only maintained SOC levels. Mean annual temperature ad a greater impact oil SOC than did annual rainfall. It appears that, in warmer climates, residue in excess of that needed for erosion control may be used for animal fodder or energy production. At the higher temperatures, most of the residue will decompose if left oil the soil surface Without improving soil carbon contents.