Abstract
The Agave tequilana Weber is an important commercial crop in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. However, the agave cultivation generates significant soil loss. For that reason, knowledge about the implementation of the agriculture management practices, such as manure application and the combination of inorganic fertilizers and manure, are relevant. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of agricultural management practices on the total organic carbon (TOC) in the soil in three study locations: Arandas, Tepatitlán, and Acatic in the Altos Sur region of Jalisco. A random sampling was carried out in each study location, 12 samples were obtained for each location at 0–30 cm deep, and a total of 36 samples were analyzed. The evaluated parameters were the potential hydrogen (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), bulk density (BD), soil-water saturation (SWS), total nitrogen (TN), and total organic carbon (TOC). Basic statistics and correlations between parameters were generated. In addition, to estimate TOC from a multivariate analysis, models were developed based on the lowest Akaike information criterion (AIC) and of the classification and regression trees (CART). ANOVA and Tukey test were determined. Results demonstrated a significant difference in the TOC percentages between the study locations. The Tukey test showed that there is no difference in TOC content between the Tepatitlán and Arandas sites, but there is a difference between these two sites and the Acatic. The latter resulted with the lowest values of TOC. Long-term studies are recommended to develop crop management strategies.
Highlights
The importance of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is recognized as a main component of plant and animal physiology [1]
The results coincide with those reported by Srinivasarao et al [48], where a trend was found in the increase of saturation point (SP) and the increase of organic matter in the soil, when applying organic amendments, compared with the use of inorganic fertilizers
Results obtained in this research demonstrated that agronomic management practices have an impact in the total organic carbon (TOC) amount in soils cultivated with Agave tequilana Weber
Summary
The importance of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is recognized as a main component of plant and animal physiology [1]. In recent decades, its relevance is associated with climate change because the increase in its concentration in the atmosphere is responsible for the increase in the planet’s temperature [1]. It is currently recognized that soils function as carbon sinks, in addition to representing a cheap, safe, and easy solution to mitigate anthropic CO2 emissions into the atmosphere [2,3]. Sustainability 2021, 13, 208 some land use practices are important sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere, within which agriculture contributes approximately 16% of GHGs [4]. Crop management practices are associated with the concentration of total organic carbon in the soil (TOC) [5], as these practices can cause changes in the soil properties [6]
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