Reply to Simpson et al.: Short-term no tillage reduces soil carbon stocks but longer duration can alleviate the initial decline

Editorial Material Soil Science

No-tillage does not on average reduce soil carbon storage compared to conventional tillage. Comment on Declines in soil carbon storage under no tillage can be alleviated in the long run by Cai et al.

Zachary P. Simpson et al.

GEODERMA (2023)

Editorial Material Soil Science

Declines in soil carbon storage under no tillage can be alleviated in the long run

Andong Cai et al.

Summary: Improved management of agricultural soils is crucial in mitigating climate change. A meta-analysis of 1061 pairs of published experimental data comparing no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) showed that in the early years, NT increased soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in the surface layer but decreased it in deeper layers, resulting in an overall decrease in SOC in the entire soil profile. However, these NT-driven SOC losses diminished over time and the net change approached zero after 14 years. This study highlights the importance of long-term NT for the recovery of initial SOC losses and suggests that NT is not a simple solution for carbon sequestration.

GEODERMA (2022)

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Article Environmental Sciences

Variable impacts of reduced and zero tillage on soil carbon storage across 4-10 years of UK field experiments

J. L. Brown et al.

Summary: The study found that deep non-inversion and minimum tillage practices led to higher soil organic carbon levels compared to conventional ploughing in rotational systems, while conventional ploughing had higher soil organic carbon levels than plough compaction, minimum tillage, and zero tillage in a monoculture system in Scotland. Bulk density was also higher in the soil surface of conventional plough compared to minimum tillage after harvest. Overall, the study suggests that there is limited benefit in using shallow minimum tillage and zero tillage practices in the UK to increase soil carbon storage.

JOURNAL OF SOILS AND SEDIMENTS (2021)

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Review Geosciences, Multidisciplinary

Tillage intensity affects total SOC stocks in boreo-temperate regions only in the topsoil-A systematic review using an ESM approach

Katharina H. E. Meurer et al.

EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS (2018)

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Article Environmental Sciences

Limited potential of no-till agriculture for climate change mitigation

David S. Powlson et al.

NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE (2014)

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Article Soil Science

Soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation with long-term no-till versus moldboard plowing overestimated with tilled-zone sampling depths

Anita Gal et al.

SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH (2007)

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Reply to Simpson et al.: Short-term no tillage reduces soil carbon stocks but longer duration can alleviate the initial decline

Related references

No-tillage does not on average reduce soil carbon storage compared to conventional tillage. Comment on Declines in soil carbon storage under no tillage can be alleviated in the long run by Cai et al.

Declines in soil carbon storage under no tillage can be alleviated in the long run

Variable impacts of reduced and zero tillage on soil carbon storage across 4-10 years of UK field experiments

Tillage intensity affects total SOC stocks in boreo-temperate regions only in the topsoil-A systematic review using an ESM approach

Limited potential of no-till agriculture for climate change mitigation

Soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation with long-term no-till versus moldboard plowing overestimated with tilled-zone sampling depths

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