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Soil carbon sequestration through adopting sustainable management practices: potential and opportunity for the American countries

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... In agriculture, the main area cultivated with annual crops is soybean (91 million ha), corn (72 million ha), and wheat (35 million ha). With a much lower area, sugarcane (14 million) and coffee (5 million ha) are the main semi-perennial and perennial crops, respectively, cultivated in the continent [6]. The complex matrix of soil, climate, vegetation, and management found across the continent maintains great variability of soil C stocks. ...
... The complex matrix of soil, climate, vegetation, and management found across the continent maintains great variability of soil C stocks. The continental average soil C stocks for 0-30 cm were estimated at 51 Mg ha −1 , ranging from 63 Mg ha −1 in Central America to 48 Mg ha −1 in South America [6]. ...
... Recently, Lal et al. [6] performed an exploratory estimative of the potential soil C storage induced by adopting conservation agriculture in 50% of the continent's area and pasture reclamation in 40% of the continent's area. The results showed that both practices have the potential to accumulate 2.68 Pg C (1. 25-4.11 ...
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Latin America is a region with abundant natural resources and diverse cultures, much of which lies between the tropics. Sustainable agriculture, pasture, and forestry practices can have a reduced environmental impact in this region compared to other parts of the world. These integrated systems practices can create a balanced use of chemical inputs, harmonious relations between humans and soil-plants-livestock, and even provide a nature-based solution to climate change by sequestering carbon emissions and are also less likely to lead to soil degradation. These practices are central to a new economic paradigm focused on a sustainable and circular bioeconomy and depend on public policies, incentives, financial mechanisms, and commitments from the business. Carbon farming sustainable agriculture focused on increasing soil health and reducing emissions can gain scale with market-driven mechanisms to surpass the various challenges. This paper presents condensed information from primary and secondary sources, representing established knowledge in the field of soil carbon sequestration in agricultural lands and its role in carbon neutrality. By implementing these strategies, we can support farmers while contributing to the objectives set by the Paris Agreement and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
... This process involves increasing the amount of organic matter in soil, which in turn increases the amount of carbon stored in the soil. Sustainable management practice is one of way to achieve soil sequestration by the increasing of C (Carbon) stock and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (Cerri et al., 2021). Farm dairy effluent (FDE) can be applied to soil to increase soil carbon and improve soil fertility (Hawke and Summers, 2006) because it contains organic matter and essential elements. ...
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Farm dairy effluent (FDE) contains high level of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) which caused river and groundwater pollution. To reduce those parameters, vermifiltration technique was utilized for dairy effluent treatment. It also could reduce greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions, removing organic and excessive nutrients without odor and recovering manure nutrients in the treated dairy effluent and vermicompost. The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of Vermifiltration in reducing COD, BOD and TSS of the FDE. Samples of wastewater were collected from dairy farm industry from 3,542 of total cow populations located in Bandung regency, Indonesia. The sample characteristics of COD, BOD, TSS, pH, NH3-N, organic carbon, and macro nutrients (total N, P2O5, and K2O) were measured before and after vermifiltration treatment. Vermifiltration treatment will produce two types of products i.e.: tea water and vermicompost. The result showed that Vermifilter removed the COD, BOD, and TSS of 93%, 95%, and 93% respectively. The organic carbon NH3-N, and total macro nutrients generally decreased after treated by Vermifilter (2.01 to 0.0001% of organic carbon, 718 to 3.75 mg L-1 of NH3-N, 0.2 to 0.02% of total N, 0.19 to 004% P2O5, 0.57 to 0.18% of K2O); however, the pH was not significantly changing (from 8.13 to become 8.05). Vermicompost produced by vermifiltration beds by earthworms consumes sewage solids and excreting them in the vermicast which produces high macronutrients (2.4% of total N, 5.5% of P2O5, and 0.75% of K2O), and organic carbon (15.6%), hence beneficial for soil fertilizer. Vermifilter effectively degrades the organic matter in the dairy effluent. Derivatives produced by the Vermifiltration process, namely tea water and Vermicompost, can be used as substitutes for irrigation materials and organic fertilizers on agricultural land, and act as soil conditioners to improve soil properties.
... Fluxo dos compartimentos de carbono nas frações da matéria orgânica do solo (particulada e associada aos minerais). Fonte: Adaptado deCerri et al. (2021), e Cotrufo e Lavallee ...
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Atualmente, a literatura sobre plantas de cobertura aborda o desempenho de cada propriedade do solo (física, química e biológica) individualmente. Assim, atendendo ao conceito de multifuncionalidade tratado por diversos artigos, esse ebook busca sintetizar os achados da literatura sobre os mecanismos pelos quais as plantas de cobertura melhoram o desempenho das funções do solo que potencialmente são afetadas pela inclusão de plantas de cobertura no sistema de produção e suas relações diretas e indiretas. A utilização de plantas de cobertura tem o potencial de efetuar diversas modificações benéficas para as propriedades físicas, químicas e biológicas do solo e manter sua multifuncionalidade.
... As Cerri et al. (29) point out, soil is the most important reservoir of carbon in the biosphere because it contains three times more carbon than vegetation and the atmosphere. In addition, in the study prepared by Huaman et al. (18) It is concluded that as altitude increases, the soil has a greater capacity to store organic carbon. ...
Article
Global warming as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases symbolizes a great threat to life on the planet, with the passage of time it has been reflected in the increase in temperatures causing major disasters and altering physical, biological and human systems, so it is sought mitigate its effects and preserve biodiversity. Therefore, the present research proposed to estimate the content of carbon sequestered in the natural grasslands of the Ichubamba Yasepan protected area, with the purpose of establishing the amount of carbon present in necro mass, biomass and soil stored in the high Andean natural grasslands to have real data for future negotiations of environmental compensations and thus contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with deforestation and environmental degradation. In the grassland and shrub ecosystems 4 plots were established and sampling units of square shape with dimension of 10 x10 m were installed, two circular plots with a radius of 5 and 2.5 m were installed, 8 quadrants of 50 x 50 cm were formed according to the GLORIA methodology, where they were collected 18 necromass samples, 18 aerial biomass samples and 16 soil samples. These were processed in the laboratory of the Faculty of Natural Resources (FRN) of the Polytechnic School of Chimborazo (ESPOCh). For the statistical analysis, a database was built that was processed using the InfoStat statistical package, where values between 6.14 and 7.22 Ton C * ha-1 of biomass, 1.74 and 11.55 Ton C * ha-1 in necro mass and according to the depth of the soil of 30 to 60 cm the amount of 93.98 Ton C * ha-1 was determined , obtaining as total results 170.8 Ton C * ha-1 in the shrub vegetation corresponding to 220,690.68 tons of total carbon in an area of 1292.1 hectares, while the grass vegetation registered 178.7 Ton C * ha-1 corresponding to 625,097.96 tons of total carbon distributed in 3498.03 hectares, which affirms that these ecosystems are huge carbon containers since vegetation cover absorbs CO2 from the environment, stores part of the carbon and returns oxygen to the atmosphere, all this through the process of photosynthesis, which prevents the destruction of the ozone layer and strengthens the mitigation of climate change worldwide.
... Lal (2007) calculated the global mean rate of SOC sequestration for conversion from plow tillage to no-till in 400-600 Kg/ha/year, and 100-200 Kg/ha/year for intensification of agricultural ecosystems. In LAC, sustainable management practices such as pasture recovery and conservation tillage can result in a potential accumulation of 1.3 Pg C over a period of 20 years (Lal et al. 2021; Figure 1). ...
Article
A major challenge in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is to determine how to meet the ever-growing global needs for food while preserving natural ecosystems and contributing to climate change mitigation. In the region, continuing land use is occurring and has caused a significant soil organic carbon (SOC) loss. We estimated the SOC reduction in three representative ecosystems of the region: forests (4.21 petagrams of carbon, Pg C, over 30 years), grasslands (1.86−7.32 Pg C, over different periods) and mangroves (0.36 Pg C over 25 years). Increasing SOC stocks in agricultural lands can help to mitigate the SOC loss due to land use change, but multiple factors influence the dynamics and response of the agricultural production and carbon sequestration. Farmers are pivotal actors that contribute to food production and could maintain SOC stocks; however, incentives or fair compensation must be considered to enable this. Moreover, national, and continental policies are needed for land restoration and sustainable management of soil health as a living entity through adoption of nature-positive practices which enhance soil organic matter (SOM) stocks, increase use-efficiency of inputs, and lead to nutrition-sensitive agriculture.
... A greater need for local, reusable, and diversified knowledge on preservation and restoration of higher SOC stocks has been suggested (Beillouin et al., 2021). A few promising sustainable management options with higher SOC sequestration potential were identified for farmers in America (Cerri et al., 2021). ...
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South Asia is a global hotspot for climate change with enormous pressure on land and water resources for feeding the burgeoning population . The agricultural production systems are highly vulnerable in the region and is primarily dominated by small and marginal farmers with intensive farming practices that had favored the loss of C from soil. This review discusses the potential of soil and crop management practices such as minimum/reduced/no- tillage, use of organic manure, balanced and integrated plant nutrient application, precision land levelling, precision water and pest management, residue management and cropping system optimization to maintain the C-equilibrium between soil and atmosphere and to enhance the C-sequestration in the long run. Results of meta-analysis show a potential 36% increase in soil organic C stock in the top 0-15 cm layer in this region which amounts to ∼18 Mg C stocks ha⁻¹. Improved management practices across crops and environment may reduce methane emission by 12% resulting in an 8% reduction in global warming potential (GWP), while non-submerged condition led to a 51% GWP reduction in rice. Conservation agriculture and precision fertilization also reduced GWP by 11 and 14%, respectively. Although several innovative climate resilient technologies having significant potential for C-sequestration have been developed, there is an urgent need for their scaling and accelerated adoption to increase soil C-sequestration. Policies and programs need to be devised for incentivizing farmers to adopt more C-neutral or C-positive agricultural practices. The national governments and other agencies should work towards carbon farming together with global initiatives such as the 4p1000 Initiative and Global Soil Partnership, in addition to research and policy changes. This will be vital for the success of soil C sequestration in South Asia.
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The main chemical, physical, and biological limitations on soil production in western Ethiopia include low soil fertility, nutrient unavailability, and acidity. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to evaluate how specific physico-chemical properties of soil were influenced by the combined application of vermicompost and NPS fertilizer rates at Bako Agricultural Research Center. Four vermicompost levels (0, 2.32, 3.48, and 4.64 tons ha − 1 ) and four NPS fertilizer levels (0, 50, 75, and 100 kg ha − 1 ) were combined in a factorial manner were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The study's findings demonstrated that while bulk density decreased below the control due to different levels of organic fertilizer application, all treatments applied increased soil moisture and total porosity relative to the control or NPS fertilizer alone. The results showed that the combination of vermicompost and NPS fertilizer rates significantly affected organic carbon, organic matter, total nitrogen, basic cations (Ca 2+, Mg ²⁺ , K ⁺ ), and available phosphorous. Nevertheless, the experiment indicated the integration of organic and inorganic fertilizers to enhance nutrient availability by maintaining soil fertility and health because the pH of the soil was significantly influenced by the primary effects of vermicompost levels (P ≤ 0.01).
Article
Mitigating yield-scaled greenhouse gas emissions (YSE) is beneficial for enhancing crop yield, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and advancing climate-smart agronomic management practices. This study aims to evaluate the impact of different crop residue rates– 100% (R100), 50% (R50), and residue removal (R0) – on the YSE indicator within a maize-wheat cropping rotation under both conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT) systems in a semi-arid region. In the NT system, crop residues had a notable effect on the YSE indicator for wheat. Specifically, R0 exhibited a 39% and 20% decrease in YSE for wheat compared to R100 and R50, respectively. Interestingly, crop residue did not significantly influence YSE for maize under the NT system. On the other hand, in the CT system, YSE for maize in R0 was 33% and 25% lower than that in R100 and R50, respectively. Additionally, compared to R0, there were observed increases of 28% and 20% in YSE for wheat in R100 and R50 under the CT system, respectively. Our findings show that crop residue removal decreases YSE under both CT and NT systems. However, given that this practice degrades soil quality and results in lower yields, it is not considered a sustainable management practice compared to residue retention options. This research highlights the importance of evaluating GHG mitigation strategies by concurrently considering both emissions and crop production. Nevertheless, it is essential to conduct off-site assessments of GHG emissions from crop residue application and also engage in long-term studies to comprehend the full potential of crop residue management on YSE.
Article
Bioenergy production from sugarcane can be one of the sustainable means of mitigating climate change. This was the central idea of the Conference, “Carbon Balance in the Sugar-Energy Sector,” held in Brazil on September 14, 2021. The various panels showed that sugarcane stakeholders, including scientists, farmers, industrialists, and investors, are committed to making large-scale sugarcane production a key ingredient in the mitigation of climate change. Their strategies include sustainable land use and management practices to increase soil carbon sequestration; the large-scale production of biofuel, bioelectricity and bioproducts; negative emission industrial technologies; industrial waste recycling; and sector-specific policies rewarding farmers with carbon credits for avoided greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the sugarcane sector is not only key to promoting the social-economic development of Brazil, but also to promoting energy transition, curbing greenhouse gas emissions and consequently, reducing global warming and climate change.
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