Abstract
Objectives: Characterizing soil organic carbon stock is important for comparing different management systems for sustainability and environmental quality. This study was conducted to perform simulation and analysis of long term soil organic carbon stock of corn-based cropping systems under conservation agriculture practice and plow-based system. Methods/Analysis: Field experiments were conducted in a typical upland agricultural area in Claveria, Misaims Oriental, and Philippines. Five experimental treatments in the form of cropping patterns that included Conservation Agriculture Production Systems (CAPS) and conventional plow-based system with two levels of fertilizer application as subplots were laid in a split plot design and replicated four times. Soil organic carbon stock monitoring at 0-5; 5-15 and 15-30 cm soil layers of the various plots was performed. The variability of soil organic carbon stock was analyzed using the Roth-C model for each of the CAPS treatments and plow-based system. Findings: The Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stock at the uppermost soil layer increases exponentially under CAPS and declines steadily under plow-based system after 50 years of simulation. The best corn based cropping systems under the conservation agriculture practiced in terms of soil organic carbon stock proved to be those corn-cropping systems with cover crops that provide relatively high biomass such as the Stylosanthes guianensis. Novelty/Improvement: This study demonstrated that conservation agriculture has a positive impact on soil organic carbon stock as a result of minimum soil disturbance, continuous mulch cover and diversified crop rotation. Conversely, conventional plow-based systems negatively impact the soil quality and its long-term practice may lead to serious degradation of this important natural resource. Keywords: Conventional Plow-Based System, Cropping Systems, Minimum Soil Disturbance, Roth-C Model, Soil Quality
Highlights
The Philippines is well-endowed with rich natural resources
Long-term simulation of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stock at 0-5 cm soil layer indicated that SOC increases exponentially over time in all Conservation Agriculture Production Systems (CAPS) treatments with T2 exhibiting the highest SOC stock followed by T1, T4 and T3regardless of fertilizer levels
Model simulation showed that the SOC stock under conventional plow-based system decreases over time in both fertilizer levels
Summary
Its agricultural land is very fertile and productive enabling farmers to plant different crops throughout the year. Because of natural and human-induced factors, the incidence of land degradation soil quality has become a prominent and recurring environmental problem. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification reported that about five [5] million hectares of upland agricultural areas are seriously degraded resulting to a 30%-60% reduction in soil productivity and water capacity. The Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) is one of the primary indicators of soil quality. It is used to characterize sustainable management of the vital natural source which is soil. In1 contended that “if we are to offer farmers a chance to survive on the farm and if sustainable and economically viable-agriculture is to be achieved, the old paradigm of agricultural production and management
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