Effect of tillage on soil carbon sequestration

Abstract

Climate change, because of anthropogenic interventions, can pose a serious threat to the agriculture in coming years. Sequestration of the atmospheric CO2 in soil can serve as one of the potential strategies in mitigation of global warming and improvement in soil health. Soil aggregates enhance C sequestration by physically protecting it from the microbial oxidation. Adoption of recommended management practices (RMPs) on agricultural soils can enhance carbon sequestration and reduce the rate of enrichment of atmospheric CO2 and have positive impacts on soil health, food security and water and environment quality. The global potential of SOC sequestration through these practices is 0.9 ± 0.3 pg C/year, which may offset one-fourth to one-third of atmospheric CO2 increase annually estimated at 3.3 pg C/year. Conservation agriculture involving minimum soil disturbance, residue retention and crop diversification is one of the important RMPs that can improve carbon sequestration. However, there are several constraints for soil carbon sequestration in the tropics and subtropics, which must be taken into consideration in designing carbon sequestration strategies. Site-specific and cost-effective technologies should be developed and disseminated among the farming community for improving carbon sequestration and enhancing input use efficiency for sustainable agricultural production under the changing climatic scenarios.