Abstract
Nonsustainable agricultural practices often lead to soil carbon loss and increased soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere. A research study was conducted on arable fields in central lowland Croatia to measure soil respiration, its seasonal variability, and its response to agricultural practices. Soil C-CO2 emissions were measured with the in situ static chamber method during corn (Zea mays L.) and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growing seasons (2012 and 2013, n = 288) in a field experiment with six different tillage treatments. During corn and winter wheat growing season, average monthly soil C-CO2 emissions ranged, respectively, from 6.2–33.6 and 22.1–36.2 kg ha−1 day−1, and were decreasing, respectively, from summer > spring > autumn and summer > autumn > spring. The same tillage treatments except for black fallow differed significantly between studied years (crops) regarding soil CO2 emissions. Significant differences in soil C-CO2 emissions between different tillage treatments with crop presence were recorded during corn but not during winter wheat growing season. In these studied agroecological conditions, optimal tillage treatment regarding emitted C-CO2 is plowing to 25 cm along the slope, but it should be noted that CO2 emissions involve a complex interaction of several factors; thus, focusing on one factor, i.e., tillage, may result in a lack of consistency across studies.
Highlights
Carbon dioxide is an important compound that affects the processes of global warming and is considered as an initiator of global climate change
The soil as a potential sink for carbon can be a key factor in addressing climate change; it is the second- largest carbon reservoir, and contains twice as much carbon in relation to the atmosphere [2,3], three times more carbon compared to vegetation [4] and is an important sink of atmospheric CO2 [5]
The reduction of CO2 emissions by soil carbon sequestration is of primary importance, as agricultural and forestry practices could remove atmospheric carbon by sequestration and mitigate climate change by maintaining and/or increasing the amount of carbon stored in the soil and plant material [6]
Summary
Carbon dioxide is an important compound that affects the processes of global warming and is considered as an initiator of global climate change. The soil as a potential sink for carbon can be a key factor in addressing climate change; it is the second- largest carbon reservoir, and contains twice as much carbon in relation to the atmosphere [2,3], three times more carbon compared to vegetation [4] and is an important sink of atmospheric CO2 [5]. The reduction of CO2 emissions by soil carbon sequestration is of primary importance, as agricultural and forestry practices could remove atmospheric carbon by sequestration and mitigate climate change by maintaining and/or increasing the amount of carbon stored in the soil and plant material [6]. Excessive tillage, burning of crop residues, application of large amounts of fertilizers or changes in soil-air-water relation lead to higher CO2 emissions into the atmosphere and reduction of soil carbon content [9]. Studies have shown that factors such as agrotechnical measures, agroclimatic factors, physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil, presence and type of vegetation and many other factors have great influence on soil CO2 emissions [2,8,10,11,12]
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