Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE
Volume 68, Issue 3, Pages 305-316Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/ejss.12415
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Funding
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BBS/E/C/00005189, BBS/E/C/00005196] Funding Source: researchfish
- BBSRC [BBS/E/C/00005196, BBS/E/C/00005189] Funding Source: UKRI
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The sequestration in soil of organic carbon (SOC) derived from atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) by replacing arable crops with leys, has been measured over 70 years on a sandy loam soil. The experiment was designed initially to test the effect of leys on the yields of arable crops. A 3-year grazed grass with clover (grass+clover) ley in a 5-year rotation with arable crops increased percentage organic carbon (%OC) in the top 25 cm of the soil from 0.98 to 1.23 in 28 years, but with little further increase during the next 40 years with all-grass leys given fertilizer nitrogen (N). In this second period, OC inputs were balanced by losses, suggesting that about 1.3% OC might be near the equilibrium content for this rotation. Including 3-year lucerne (Medicago sativa) leys had little effect on % OC over 28 years, but after changing to grass+ clover leys, % OC increased to 1.24 during the next 40 years. Eight-year leys (all grass with N or grass+ clover) in 10-year rotations with arable crops were started in the 1970s, and after three rotations % OC had increased to ca. 1.40 in 2000-2009. Over 70 years, % OC declined from 0.98 to 0.94 in an all-arable rotation with mainly cereals and to 0.82 with more root crops. Applications of 38 t ha(-1) farmyard manure (FYM) every fifth year increased % OC by 0.13% by the mid-1960s when applications ceased. Soil treated with FYM still contained 0.10% more OC in 2000-2009. Changes in the amount of OC have been modelled with RothC-26.3 and estimated inputs of C for selected rotations. Little of the OC input during the 70 years has been retained; most was retained in the grazed ley rotation, but 9 t ha(-1) only of a total input of 189 t ha(-1). In other rotations more than 98% of the total OC input was lost. Despite large losses of C, annual increases in OC of 4% are possible on this soil type with the inclusion of grass or grass+ clover leys or the application of FYM, but only for a limited period. Such increases in SOC might help to limit increases in atmospheric CO2.
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