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To what extent can zero tillage lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from temperate soils?

ABSTRACT: Soil tillage practices have a profound influence on the physical properties of soil and the greenhouse gas (GHG) balance. However there have been very few integrated studies on the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) and soil biophysical and chemical characteristics under different soil management systems. We recorded a significantly higher net global warming potential under conventional tillage systems (26-31% higher than zero tillage systems). Crucially the 3-D soil pore network, imaged using X-ray Computed Tomography, modified by tillage played a significant role in the flux of CO2 and CH4. In contrast, N2O flux was determined mainly by microbial biomass carbon and soil moisture content. Our work indicates that zero tillage could play a significant role in minimising emissions of GHGs from soils and contribute to efforts to mitigate against climate change.

SUBMITTER: Mangalassery S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3975454 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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To what extent can zero tillage lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from temperate soils?

Mangalassery Shamsudheen S Sjögersten Sofie S Sparkes Debbie L DL Sturrock Craig J CJ Craigon Jim J Mooney Sacha J SJ

Scientific reports 20140404

Soil tillage practices have a profound influence on the physical properties of soil and the greenhouse gas (GHG) balance. However there have been very few integrated studies on the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) and soil biophysical and chemical characteristics under different soil management systems. We recorded a significantly higher net global warming potential under conventional tillage systems (26-31% higher than zero tillage systems). Crucially the ...[more]

PMID: 24699273

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Project description:Organic fertilizers have been shown to stimulate CH4 uptake from agricultural soils. Managing fertilizer application to maximize this effect and to minimize emission of other greenhouse gasses offers possibilities to increase sustainability of agriculture. To tackle this challenge, we incubated an agricultural soil with different organic amendments (compost, sewage sludge, digestate, cover crop residues mixture), either as single application or in a mixture and subjected it to different soil moisture concentrations using different amounts of organic amendments. GHG fluxes and in vitro CH4 oxidation rates were measured repeatedly, while changes in organic matter and abundance of GHG relevant microbial groups (nitrifiers, denitrifiers, methanotrophs, methanogens) were measured at the end of the incubation. Overall the dynamics of the analyzed GHGs differed significantly. While CO2 and N2O differed considerably between the treatments, CH4 fluxes remained stable. In contrast, in vitro CH4 oxidation showed a clear increase for all amendments over time. CO2 fluxes were mostly dependent on the amount of organic residue that was used, while N2O fluxes were affected more by soil moisture. Several combinations of amendments led to reductions of CO2, CH4, and/or N2O emissions compared to un-amended soil. Most optimal GHG balance was obtained by compost amendments, which resulted in a similar overall GHG balance as compared to the un-amended soil. However, compost is not very nutrient rich potentially leading to lower crop yield when applied as single fertilizer. Hence, the combination of compost with one of the more nutrient rich organic amendments (sewage sludge, digestate) provides a trade-off between maintaining crop yield and minimizing GHG emissions. Additionally, we could observe a strong increase in microbial communities involved in GHG consumption in all amendments, with the strongest increase associated with cover crop residue mixtures. Future research should focus on the interrelation of plants, soil, and microbes and their impact on the global warming potential in relation to applied organic amendments.

Project description:Straw returns to the soil is an effective way to improve soil organic carbon and reduce air pollution by straw burning, but this may increase CH4 and N2O emissions risks in paddy soils. Biochar has been used as a soil amendment to improve soil fertility and mitigate CH4 and N2O emissions. However, little is known about their interactive effect on CH4 and N2O emissions and the underlying microbial mechanisms. In this study, a 2-year pot experiment was conducted on two paddy soil types (an acidic Utisol, TY, and an alkaline Inceptisol, BH) to evaluate the influence of straw and biochar applications on CH4 and N2O emissions, and on related microbial functional genes. Results showed that straw addition markedly increased the cumulative CH4 emissions in both soils by 4.7- to 9.1-fold and 23.8- to 72.4-fold at low (S1) and high (S2) straw input rate, respectively, and significantly increased mcrA gene abundance. Biochar amendment under the high straw input (BS2) significantly decreased CH4 emissions by more than 50% in both soils, and increased both mcrA gene and pmoA gene abundances, with greatly enhanced pmoA gene and a decreased mcrA/pmoA gene ratio. Moreover, methanotrophs community changed distinctly in response to straw and biochar amendment in the alkaline BH soil, but showed slight change in the acidic TY soil. Straw had little effect on N2O emissions at low input rate (S1) but significantly increased N2O emissions at the high input rate (S2). Biochar amendment showed inconsistent effect on N2O emissions, with a decreasing trend in the BH soil but an increasing trend in the TY soil in which high ammonia existed. Correspondingly, increased nirS and nosZ gene abundances and obvious community changes in nosZ gene containing denitrifiers in response to biochar amendment were observed in the BH soil but not in the TY soil. Overall, our results suggested that biochar amendment could markedly mitigate the CH4 and N2O emissions risks under a straw return practice via regulating functional microbes and soil physicochemical properties, while the performance of this practice will vary depending on soil parent material characteristics.

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To what extent can zero tillage lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from temperate soils?

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To what extent can zero tillage lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from temperate soils?

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