Soil Carbon Sequestration in Long-Term Fertilization Under Jute-Rice-Wheat Agro-Ecosystem

• Published in: Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis Vol. 50; no. 6; pp. 739 - 748
• Main Authors: Singh, A. K., Behera, M. S., Mazumdar, S. P., Kundu, D. K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Taylor & Francis 26-03-2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Agricultural ecosystems; Alluvial soils; Animal wastes; Annual precipitation; Biological fertilization; Carbon; Carbon sequestration; Clay; Clay soils; Climate change; Climate change mitigation; Climate effects; Climatic conditions; Compound fertilizers; Computer simulation; Crop management; Crop residues; Crops; Dynamics; Ecosystem management; Environmental changes; Farmyard manure; Fertilization; Fertilizers; Jute; jute-rice-wheat system; long-term fertilization; Management; Manures; Modelling; Nitrogen; Organic carbon; Organic soils; Phosphorus; Potassium; Retention; Rice; RothC model; Soil; Soil conditions; Soil dynamics; Soil fertility; Soil temperature; Stubble; Wheat
• ISSN: 0010-3624; 1532-2416; 1532-4133
• DOI: 10.1080/00103624.2019.1589483

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in response to long-term fertilizer management practices under jute-rice-wheat agro-ecosystem in alluvial soils was studied using a modeling approach. Fertilizer management practices included nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilization, manure application, and root-stubble retention of all three crops. Soil carbon (C) model RothC was used to simulate the critical C input rates needed to maintain initial soil C level in long timescale (44 years). SOC change was significantly influenced by the long-term fertilizer management practices and the edaphic variable of initial SOC content. The effects of fertilizer combination "100%NPK+FYM" on SOC changes were most significant over "100%NPK" fertilization. If the 100% NPK fertilizer along with manure applied with stubble and roots retention of all crops, alluvial soils of such agro-ecosystem would act as a net C sink, and the average SOC density kept increasing from 18.18 Mg ha
−1
during 1972 to the current average of ∼22 Mg ha
−1
during 2065 s. On an average, the critical C input was estimated to be 5.30 Mg C ha
−1
yr
−1
, depending on local soil and climatic conditions. The critical C input could be effectively estimated using a summary model driven by current SOC level, mean annual temperature, precipitation, and soil clay content. Such information will provide a baseline for assessing soil C dynamics under potential changes in fertilizer and crop residues management practices, and thus enable development of management strategies for effectively mitigating climate change through soil C sequestration.