Do tillage and conversion of grassland to cropland always deplete soil organic carbon?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Conversion of grassland to cropland is widely reported to deplete soil organic carbon (SOC) largely due to tillage effects on the decomposition of SOC. However, most studies report on long-term changes in SOC following the conversion and little is known about the changes in the short term. Net ecosystem carbon budget (NECB) measures the difference between total C input (i.e., manure, above- and below-ground plant residues) and C loss through heterotrophic respiration (RH). However, most studies that report temporal SOC do not report other components of the NECB like RH, total C inputs and often do not include the cumulative annualized change of these components. This review evaluated the change in C input, RH, NECB and SOC after conversion of permanent/continuous grassland to cropland within 5 years after the conversion. We also reviewed and compared no-tillage and conventional tillage on SOC storage and accumulation. Total C input was higher in grassland than cropland largely due to high root biomass, as opposed to aboveground residue, and therefore grassland tended to have higher NECB. Despite higher NECB in grassland, the SOC stocks in cropland (cornfield) converted from grassland were greater than that in continuous grassland within first 2–3 years of conversion. The combination of manure C addition and tillage in cropland showed potential to maintain NECB and increase SOC. Within the continuous grassland C addition alone increased NECB but did not result in a corresponding increase in SOC. Residue retention and manure addition are recognized as good practices for increasing SOC, this study however, shows that combining them with occasional tillage, especially in managed grasslands, could increase the rate of SOC storage in soils.