Does tillage reversal decrease CO2 emissions from the soil?
Newly planted soybeans in corn residue.
Photo courtesy USDA NRCS.
Conservation tillage practices store carbon by preventing the disruption of organic matter in the soil, allowing the organic matter to accumulate in the ground rather than be released as carbon dioxide, as occurs through traditional tilling practices that are still widely used today. Additionally, conservation tillage helps improve soil and water quality, reduces on-farm fuel burn and emissions, and also enhances the ability of food producers to withstand climate extremes.
A short preview:
No-till soybeans growing in wheat stubble. Photo courtesy USDA-ARS
The present study was conducted on two contrasting soil types (Black Chernozems and Gray Luvisols) located at Ellerslie and Breton respectively which were established as research plots by University of Alberta in 1979 (Nyborg et al. 1995). The experiment was designed with combinations of nitrogen fertilizer rates and conventional tillage/no-till treatments. Both treatments were managed under no-till management since their establishment with straw retained and two fertilizers i.e., unfertilized and fertilized @ 100 kg N ha-1 yr-1 since establishment. We aimed to quantify the short term impact of tillage on CO2 emissions from fertilized (100N) and unfertilized (0N) organic matter rich black Chernozemic and relatively organic matter poor Gray Luvisolic soils.
Disclaimer: All datasets, events and parameters have been manipulated and/or randomly generated.