A review on the role of organic inputs in maintaining soil carbon pool of the terrestrial ecosystem

Authors: BHATTACHARYA, SATYA - Tezpur University; KIM, KI-HYUN - Hanyang University; DAS, SUBBASISH - Tezpur University; Uchimiya, Sophie; JEON, BYONG-HUN - Hanyang University; KWON, EILHANN - Sejong University; SZULEJKO, JAN - Hanyang University

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Management
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/29/2015
Publication Date: 3/30/2016
Citation: Bhattacharya, S.S., Kim, K.H., Das, S., Uchimiya, M., Jeon, B.H., Kwon, E., Szulejko, J.E. 2016. A review on the role of organic inputs in maintaining the soil carbon pool of the terrestrial ecosystem. Journal of Environmental Management. 167:214-227.

Interpretive Summary: Soil organic carbon (SOC) cycles face a new era of inputs and mineralization processes maneuvered by the agricultural and industrial sectors. Best management practice on demand to mitigate climate change and to enable sustainable agriculture. This article will critical review available management practices including the crop residue management, conservation tillage practices, legume based cropping systems, mulching, and integrated nutrient management. Influence of current and emerging land uses on the SOC dynamics will be described, and recommendations will be given for restoring stable SOC pools.

Technical Abstract: Among the numerous sources of greenhouse gases, emissions of CO2 are affected considerably by changes in the extent of and type of land use, e.g., intensive agriculture, deforestation, urbanization, conversion of natural agricultural ecosystems, soil erosion, and wetland drainage. As a feasible option to control its emissions, the scientific community has explored the possibility of enhancing soil C storage capacity. Thus, restoration of damaged lands through conservation tillage, crop rotation, cover cropping, and reforestation, sub-soiling of compacted lands, sustainable water management practices, and organic manuring should be one of the major antidotes against the attenuation of soil organic C (SOC) stocks. In this review, we particularly focused on the effect of various man-made activities on soil biotic organics (e.g., green-, farm-yard manure, and composts) in soil to understand how C fluxes from various sources contribute to the establishment of a new equilibrium. Although such inputs substitute a portion of chemical fertilizers (without compromising the crop yields), they all undergo such activities that augment the rate and extent of decay to deplete the SOC bank. Here, we provide perspectives on the balancing factors that control the mineralization rate of organic matter. Our arguments has been placed in the background of different land use types and their impacts on forests, agriculture, urbanization, soil erosion, and wetland destruction.