Author
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Reicosky, Donald |
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Submitted to: International Soil Tillage Research Organization Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/1997 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: The increase in the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere related to concerns about potential global warming and prospects of using soil as a sink for carbon has attracted interest. The cumulative effect of tillage and many cropping rotations has been a 30-50% decrease in soil carbon that causes undesirable changes in soil physical, chemical and biological properties. Recent studies involving tillage methods indicate major gaseous loss of carbon immediately after tillage. This work describes differences in CO2 losses as a result of tillage methods that were related to tillage intensity or soil fracturing that facilitated movement of carbon dioxide out of and oxygen into the soil. The moldboard plow left very nearly all of the soil in a rough, loose and open condition, that resulted in the maximum CO2 loss. Conservation tillage tools that leave more residue on the surface had only 31% of the CO2 loss caused by the moldboard plow. Progress is being made in developing conservation tillage tools that can further enhance soil carbon management. These results are significant to farmers and policy makers in that intensive tillage results in substantial short-term gaseous losses of CO2. This information will assist scientists and engineers in developing improved tillage methods to minimize the gaseous loss and to improve soil carbon management. Farmers can develop and utilize new management techniques for enhancing soil carbon by increasing the quantity and quality of crop residues and by changing the type and intensity of tillage. This information will be of direct benefit to the farmers to enable them to maintain crop production with minimal impact on air quality and the environment. Technical Abstract: Agricultural ecosystems can play a significant role in production and consumption of greenhouse gases, specifically, carbon dioxide. Information is needed on the mechanism and magnitude of greenhouse gas generation and emission from agricultural soils with specific emphasis on tillage mechanisms. This work evaluated four different tillage methods on the short-term CO2 and water vapor flux from a clay loam soil in the northern Cornbelt of the U.S.A. Moldboard plow only, moldboard plow plus disk harrow twice, disk harrow and chisel plow using standard tillage equipment following a wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) crop was compared with no tillage. The CO2 flux was measured with a large portable chamber commonly used to measure crop canopy gas exchange initiated within minutes after tillage and continued intermittently for 19 days. The carbon dioxide released during the 19 days following the moldboard plow, moldboard plow plus disk harrow, disk harrow, chisel plow and not tilled treatments would account for 134%, 70%, 58%, 54% and 27% respectively of the carbon in the current years' crop residue. The short-term carbon dioxide losses 5 hours after four conservation tillage tools was only 31% of that of the moldboard plow. The moldboard plow lost 13.8 times as much CO2 as the soil area not tilled while different conservation tillage tools lost only 4.3 times. The smaller CO2 loss following conservation tillage tools is significant and suggests progress in developing conservation tillage tools that can enhance soil carbon management. Any effort to decrease tillage intensity and maximize residue return to the surface should result in carbon sequestration for enhanced environmental quality. |
