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"No-tillage"
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The organic no-till farming revolution : high-production methods for small-scale farmers
\"The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution is the no-till chemical-free growing roadmap, showing how no-till lowers barriers to starting a small farm, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, increases efficiency and profitability, and promotes soil health. This hands-on manual is specifically written for natural and small-scale farmers.\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Preferential cooling of hot extremes from cropland albedo management
Changes in agricultural practices are considered a possible option to mitigate climate change. In particular, reducing or suppressing tillage (no-till) may have the potential to sequester carbon in soils, which could help slow global warming. On the other hand, such practices also have a direct effect on regional climate by altering the physical properties of the land surface. These biogeophysical effects, however, are still poorly known. Here we show that no-till management increases the surface albedo of croplands in summer and that the resulting cooling effect is amplified during hot extremes, thus attenuating peak temperatures reached during heat waves. Using a regional climate model accounting for the observed effects of no-till farming on surface albedo, as well as possible reductions in soil evaporation, we investigate the potential consequences of a full conversion to no-till agriculture in Europe. We find that the summer cooling from cropland albedo increase is strongly amplified during hot summer days, when surface albedo has more impact on the Earth's radiative balance due to clear-sky conditions. The reduced evaporation associated with the crop residue cover tends to counteract the albedo-induced cooling, but during hot days the albedo effect is the dominating factor. For heatwave summer days the local cooling effect gained from no-till practice is of the order of 2 degrees C. The identified asymmetric impact of surface albedo change on summer temperature opens new avenues for climate-engineering measures targeting high-impact events rather than mean climate properties
Journal Article
Soil erosion and agricultural sustainability
Data drawn from a global compilation of studies quantitatively confirm the long-articulated contention that erosion rates from conventionally plowed agricultural fields average 1-2 orders of magnitude greater than rates of soil production, erosion under native vegetation, and long-term geological erosion. The general equivalence of the latter indicates that, considered globally, hillslope soil production and erosion evolve to balance geologic and climate forcing, whereas conventional plow-based agriculture increases erosion rates enough to prove unsustainable. In contrast to how net soil erosion rates in conventionally plowed fields ([almost equal to]1 mm/yr) can erode through a typical hillslope soil profile over time scales comparable to the longevity of major civilizations, no-till agriculture produces erosion rates much closer to soil production rates and therefore could provide a foundation for sustainable agriculture.
Journal Article
Genotypic variation in maize (Zea mays) influences rates of soil organic matter mineralization and gross nitrification
• Agricultural management practices that increase soil organic matter (SOM), such as notillage (NT) with crop residue retention, together with crop varieties best able to source nutrients from SOM, may help reverse soil degradation and improve soil nutrient supply and uptake by plants in low-input environments of tropical and subtropical areas.
• Here, we screened germplasm representing genetic diversity within tropical maize breeding programmes in relation to shaping SOM mineralization. Then we assessed effects of contrasting genotypes on nitrification rates, and genotype-by-management history interactions on these rates.
• SOM-C mineralization and gross nitrification rates varied under different maize genotypes. Cumulative SOM-C mineralization increased with root diameter but decreased with increasing root length. Strong influences of management history and interaction of maize genotypeby- management history on nitrification were observed. Overall, nitrification rates were higher in NT soil with residue retention.
• We propose that there is potential to exploit genotypic variation in traits associated with SOM mineralization and nitrification within breeding programmes. Root diameter and length could be used as proxies for root–soil interactions driving these processes. Development of maize varieties with enhanced ability to mineralize SOM combined with NT and residue retention to build/replenish SOM could be key to sustainable production.
Journal Article
Elevated Temperature Affects IAvena sterilis/I ssp. Iludoviciana/I Reproductive Biology
The weed Avena sterilis ssp. ludoviciana has a high economic impact in the winter cereal crop production systems of Australia's northern grains region (NGR). In the NGR, the frequency of high-temperature periods at the end of winter is increasing. This shift in climate may modify this weed's maturity time and reproductive biology, and thereby impact on crop production. This study examined the reproductive biology of four A. ludoviciana biotypes in relation to elevated temperature when applied at different times during their seed development. Plants of all four A. ludoviciana biotypes were grown in an ambient temperature glasshouse (23/14 °C day/night). At panicle initiation, a portion of the plants were transferred to an elevated temperature glasshouse (29/23 °C day/night) and remained there until maturity. This process of plant movement was repeated on three further occasions with separate batches of plants, each 10 days apart. The remaining plants were kept under ambient conditions for their whole lifespan. Plants exposed to elevated temperature from panicle initiation to maturity, matured 18 days earlier than plants kept under ambient conditions, had 30% fewer filled seeds, 37% lower seed mass, and 40% less seed dormancy. Depending on the time and duration of plants exposed to elevated temperature, predicted seed longevity was ranged from 1 to 4 years in the soil seedbank. All reproductive traits were less affected when plants were exposed to elevated temperature at a later stage of development. If the frequency of high-temperature periods continues to increase, then it may lead to the development of less dormant populations of this weed that would be ready to germinate and re-infest the next winter crops under no-tillage conservation agriculture (that does not bury seeds deep in the soil profile). However, the seasonal climatic variability of the NGR in addition to the weed's natural genetic variability may contribute to a seedbank of both dormant and less dormant seeds-making this species an even more difficult-to-control weed.
Journal Article
Influence of No-Tillage on Soil COsub.2 Emissions Affected by Monitoring Hours in Maize in the North China Plain
There is still controversy over the influence of no-tillage (NT) on CO[sub.2] emissions in farmland soil. Few studies focus on the impact of monitoring hours on the response of soil CO[sub.2] emissions to NT. Therefore, an in situ experiment was conducted in maize cropland in the Shandong Yucheng Agro-ecosystem National Observation and Research Station in the North China Plain. The soil CO[sub.2] emissions, soil water content (SWC), and soil temperature (ST) were automatically monitored using the morning sampling (MonS) and continuous sampling (multi-hour sampling in one day, DayS) methods during the whole maize growth stages. The results showed that the MonS method decreased the sum of soil CO[sub.2] emissions by 146.39 g CO[sub.2] m[sup.−2] in the wet year 2018 and increased that by 93.69 g CO[sub.2] m[sup.−2] in the dry year 2019 when compared to the DayS method. The influence intensity of NT on soil CO[sub.2] effluxes was decreased with the MonS method. In contrast, the MonS method had no significant effect on the differences in SWC between NT and conventional tillage. However, the MonS method increased the variance in ST between NT and conventional tillage by 0.45 °C, which was higher than that with the DayS method (0.20 °C) across years. Compared to the DayS method, the MonS method increased the regression coefficient of soil CO[sub.2] emissions with SWC but decreased that with ST. This study is beneficial for reducing the artificial impact of monitoring hours on the data accuracy of soil CO[sub.2] effluxes and deepening the understanding of the influence of NT on soil CO[sub.2] emissions.
Journal Article
Carbon debt of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands converted to bioenergy production
Over 13 million ha of former cropland are enrolled in the US Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), providing well-recognized biodiversity, water quality, and carbon (C) sequestration benefits that could be lost on conversion back to agricultural production. Here we provide measurements of the greenhouse gas consequences of converting CRP land to continuous corn, corn–soybean, or perennial grass for biofuel production. No-till soybeans preceded the annual crops and created an initial carbon debt of 10.6 Mg CO2 equivalents (CO2e)·ha–1 that included agronomic inputs, changes in C stocks, altered N2O and CH4 fluxes, and foregone C sequestration less a fossil fuel offset credit. Total debt, which includes future debt created by additional changes in soil C stocks and the loss of substantial future soil C sequestration, can be constrained to 68 Mg CO2e·ha–1 if subsequent crops are under permanent no-till management. If tilled, however, total debt triples to 222 Mg CO2e·ha–1 on account of further soil C loss. Projected C debt repayment periods under no-till management range from 29 to 40 y for corn–soybean and continuous corn, respectively. Under conventional tillage repayment periods are three times longer, from 89 to 123 y, respectively. Alternatively, the direct use of existing CRP grasslands for cellulosic feedstock production would avoid C debt entirely and provide modest climate change mitigation immediately. Incentives for permanent no till and especially permission to harvest CRP biomass for cellulosic biofuel would help to blunt the climate impact of future CRP conversion.
Journal Article
Straw retention and inhibitor application reduce the leaching risk of mineral N in no-tillage systems of Northeast China
Purpose
To clarify the effects of maize straw retention combined with reduced fertilization and urease/nitrification inhibitors on the accumulation and leaching potential of mineral N in the deep soil profile of no-tillage agroecosystem.
Methods
A
15
N-tracing micro-plot experiment was conducted with four treatments (
NPK
, traditional NPK fertilization;
NPKS
, NPK with maize straw retention;
RNPKS
, NPKS with 20% fertilizer-N reduction; and
RNPKSI
, RNPKS with inhibitors application) in the Mollisol of Northeast China. We analyzed fertilizer-N transformation dynamics in different soil N pools, quantified the fertilizer N use efficiency in crops, and evaluated fertilizer-derived nitrate leaching losses throughout the complete maize growing period.
Results
Our analyses revealed that, compared to the NPK treatment, NPKS, RNPKS, and RNPKSI remarkably reduced the accumulation of urea-derived mineral-N during maize seedling stage by enhancing the transformation of urea-N into fixed NH
4
+
-N and organic-N pools, both of which could be quickly released for maize uptake following the extension of crop growth periods. At the maize ripening stage, soil NO
3
−
-N and
15
N-labeled urea-derived NO
3
−
-N, which migrated vertically to a depth of 80–100 cm, were significantly reduced by treatments of RNPKS and RNPKSI without minimizing crop yields when compared with NPK.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that combining maize straw retention with reduced fertilization and the application of urease/nitrification inhibitors can be efficient management practices for lowering urea N leaching risk, improving N use efficiency, and maintaining or even increasing crop yields by enhancing soil N retention and supply in the croplands of Northeast China.
Journal Article
Productivity limits and potentials of the principles of conservation agriculture
One of the primary challenges of our time is to feed a growing and more demanding world population with reduced external inputs and minimal environmental impacts, all under more variable and extreme climate conditions of the future. Conservation agriculture (CA) represents a set of three crop management principles (direct planting of crops with minimum soil disturbance (i.e. no-till), permanent soil cover by crop residues or cover crops, and crop rotation) that has received strong international support to help address this challenge, with recent CA efforts focusing on smallholder farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. However, CA is highly debated, both with respect to its effects on crop yields and its applicability in different farming contexts. Here, we conducted a global meta-analysis of 5551 paired yield observations from 613 studies comparing no-till, the original and central concept of CA, to conventional tillage practices across 33 crops and 60 countries. Overall, our results show that no-till reduces yields on average by 4.7% (95% CI: -5.7 to -3.7%) . Importantly, we found that when the other two CA principles are implemented, the negative impacts of no-till are minimized and it takes less time for no-till to match conventional yields following no-till adoption. Moreover, in rainfed agroecosystems under dry climates, no-till in combination with the other two principles significantly increases productivity. While farming systems are multifunctional and both environmental and socio-economic factors need to be considered, our meta-analysis indicates that no-till is an effective longer-term climate change adaptation strategy in ever-becoming-drier regions of the world, but only when it is integrated with residue retention and crop rotation.
Journal Article
Soil microbiome in long-term onion cropping systems
The soil microbiome is essential for ecosystem functions and food production; however, it undergoes structural and functional changes due to management practices. This study describes the microbial community associated with long-term onion systems: conventional tillage (CT), no-tillage (NT), and no-tillage vegetable system (NTVS). The long-term experiment was conducted over 17 years in Ituporanga, SC, Southern Brazil. The treatments included: CT (soil turned over before planting onions, followed by corn in summer and a fallow period in winter), NT (similar to CT but with restricted soil turnover), and NTVS (similar to NT but with greater species diversity grown in a consortium during summer, including millet + velvet-bean + sunflower). The soil microbiome (16S and ITS gene) was analyzed by next-generation sequencing - NGS of soil samples collected after the onion cycle. Soil management influenced microbiome structure, with each system exhibiting distinct compositional patterns. NTVS had a higher proportion of bacteria, fewer unclassified groups, and a greater abundance of taxa linked to nutrient cycling and beneficial plant relationships. NT showed a higher relative presence of archaea, particularly nitrifying groups such as Nitrososphaeraceae. In CT, Firmicutes and Bacillaceae were more prevalent, indicating a typical response to more disturbed environments. At all taxonomic levels, NTVS reduced the occurrence of unidentified taxa, suggesting a more stable environment with clearer ecological selection. For fungi, similar trends were observed, with higher richness in NTVS and lower in CT, favoring microorganisms adapted to stressful, fast-growing conditions and readily available nutrients. Both NT and NTVS showed increased abundance of microorganisms involved in nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and symbiosis, which are vital for soil health. Therefore, conservation-oriented tillage systems, especially NTVS, foster a more diverse, functional, and potentially growth-promoting microbiome in the onion, whereas CT directs the community toward opportunistic and less functional groups.
Journal Article