Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 3.3.
Changes in carbon stock with time, comparing 2005 with 1980 in selected benchmark spots in
the Indo-Gangetic Plains and the black soil region, India (0-150 cm). (From Bhattacharyya
et al
., 2007b.)
SOC stock
(Mg ha
-1
)
Mean annual
rainfall
(mm)
Production system (further
details in Bhattacharyya
et al
.,
2007b)
SOC
change over
1980 (%)
Bioclimatic
systems
Benchmark
spots
1980
2005
Indo-Gangetic Plains
Semi-arid
550-850
Phaguwala
Irrigated rice-wheat/mustard/
potato/fodder
33.6
54.8
63
Ghabdan
Irrigated rice-wheat/mustard/
wheat-mustard intercropping
26.3
70.4
167
ZarifaViran
Rice-wheat/mustard
41.3
53.8
30
Fatehpur
Rice-wheat for four decades
11. 1
55.0
395
Sakit
Rice-wheat for about
12
years
40.5
85.5
111
Dhadde
Rice-wheat/mustard,
sugarcane
44.7
58.4
31
Subhumid
850-1200
Bhanra
Rice-wheat/mustard, etc
18.1
53.4
197
Jagjitpur
25.2
87.6
248
Haldi
Rice/maize/soybean-wheat
85.5
62.8
-
26
Humid
>1200
Hanrgram
Rice-rice
69.3
110.2
59
Madhpur
Rice-mustard/potato-rice
39.9
49.7
25
Sasanga
Rice-mustard/potato-rice
52.5
84.2
61
Black soil region
Arid
<550
Sokhda
Cotton-pearl millet/sesame
111. 9
92.0
-
18
Semi-arid
550-850
Asra
Rain-fed mustard/intercropping
system
62.9
135.9
116
Teligi
Monocropping of rice; lowland
rice;
7-
8 months fallow
74.1
152.0
105
Semla
Cotton-groundnut rain-fed
system
157.8
132.8
-
16
Vijaypura
Rain-fed groundnut-finger
millet (
3-
year rotation
period)
77.0
77.0
0
Kaukantla
Rain-fed castor + pigeonpea
strip cropping
47.1
102.5
118
Patancheru
Fallow land under continuous
native grassland
83.9
167.2
101
Subhumid
850-1200
Kheri
Irrigated soybean-wheat
production double-cropping
system
56.2
105.1
87
Linga
96.6
129.2
34
SOC, soil organic carbon.
The restoration potential for soil organic
carbon is dependent on soil and climate fac-
tors. In general terms, high-clay soils will
recover more carbon (Riestra
et al
., 2012),
while the capacity of sandy soils to recover
is far more limited and in many cases
will not be able to attain the original levels
of soil organic carbon. Zach
et al
. (2006)
showed that in the semi-arid Pampas, sandy
soils levelled off rapidly in their carbon
sequestration rate: within just a few years
(
Fig. 3.5)
.
In the cases described, the general trend
for soil organic carbon to decrease has come
to a halt due to the introduction of improved
crop management, which includes better
use of mineral and organic fertilizer and
more timely and less aggressive tillage since
herbicides are available to control weeds
that before had to be eliminated by tillage.
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