Land Use Changes and Sustainable Land Management Practices for Soil Carbon Sequestration in Sub-Saharan African Agro-ecosystems

A brief historical overview of approaches to study the problem of land use and land degradation in the MAB UNESCO program is provided. Over the past 50 years these issues remain important although the general strategic approach to their research and solving has changed from a multilateral study of land management and land degradation in different geographic and socio-economic conditions with an emphasis on natural diversity, to practices and approaches of sustainable land management in biosphere reserves, as reflected in MAB Strategy (2015-2025) and Lima Action Plan (2016-2025). Many of the MAB initiatives in the field of sustainable land management and combating land degradation have been further reflected and revised in different international programs and conventions. The development of these approaches and the integration of the MAB program with other modern activities can significantly increase the effectiveness of the results of Strategic Direction “A” of the Lima Action Plan on the use of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves as models for sustainable development. Five objectives are proposed for closer cooperation of the MAB program and its network of biosphere reserves with other international and national measures for promoting sustainable land management practices and combating land degradation: 1) using biosphere reserves as priority sites and observatories for comparative assessments of indicators of land degradation neutrality (LDN) for protected areas and adjacent territories in similar bioclimatic conditions; 2) use of data obtained through the series of observations in the territory of protected areas as the most important additional or alternative indicators and measures for the LDN interpretation; 3) biosphere reserves as models for selecting effective solutions reflecting the triad of adaptive actions to avoid degradation, reduce the rate of degradation and restore previously degraded lands; 4) achieving LDN on the territory of biosphere reserves through the implementation of the Aichi biodiversity targets; 5) the use of LDN as a criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of the activities of biosphere reserves. Preliminary results of the LDN assessment for Central Chernozem State Natural Biosphere Reserve and Middle Volga Integrated Biosphere Reserve and their adjacent territories provided to demonstrate the possibility of performing some of the objectives listed.

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Effect of different agricultural practices on carbon emission and carbon stock in organic and conventional olive systems

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr14343 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 54 (2) ◽

pp. 173 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Ramez Saeid Mohamad ◽

Vincenzo Verrastro ◽

Lina Al Bitar ◽

Rocco Roma ◽

Michele Moretti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Carbon Emissions ◽

Carbon Flux ◽

Carbon Emission ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽

Conventional System ◽

Organic System

Agricultural practices, particularly land use, inputs and soil management, have a significant impact on the carbon cycle. Good management of agricultural practices may reduce carbon emissions and increase soil carbon sequestration. In this context, organic agricultural practices may have a positive role in mitigating environmental burden. Organic olive cultivation is increasing globally, particularly in Italy, which is ranked first worldwide for both organic olive production and cultivated area. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of agricultural practices in organic and conventional olive systems on global warming potential (GWP) from a life cycle perspective and to identify the hot spots in each system. The impacts assessed were associated with the efficiency of both systems at sequestering soil in order to calculate the net carbon flux. There was a higher environmental impact on GWP in the organic system because of higher global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from manure fertilisation rather than the synthetic foliar fertilisers used in the conventional system. However, manure was the main reason behind the higher soil organic carbon (SOC) content and soil carbon sequestration in the organic system. Fertilisation activity was the main contributor to carbon emissions, accounting for approximately 80% of total emissions in the organic system and 45% in the conventional system. Conversely, given the similarity of other factors (land use, residues management, soil cover) that may affect soil carbon content, manure was the primary contributor to increased SOC in the organic system, resulting in a higher efficiency of carbon sequestration in the soil following the addition of soil organic matter. The contribution of the manure to increased SOC compensated for the higher carbon emission from the organic system, resulting in higher negative net carbon flux in the organic versus the conventional system (–1.7 vs –0.52 t C ha–1 year–1, respectively) and higher efficiency of CO2 mitigation in the organic system.

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Cultivation of Opuntia ficus-indica under different soil management practices: A possible sustainable agricultural system to promote soil carbon sequestration and increase soil microbial biomass and activity

Land Degradation and Development ◽

10.1002/ldr.2834 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 38-46 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Angélica Bautista-Cruz ◽

Tania Leyva-Pablo ◽

Fernando de León-González ◽

Raúl Zornoza ◽

Verónica Martínez-Gallegos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Microbial Biomass ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Management Practices ◽

Soil Microbial Biomass ◽

Soil Management ◽

Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽

Agricultural System ◽

Opuntia Ficus Indica ◽

Soil Microbial

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Soil carbon sequestration and land-use change: processes and potential

Global Change Biology ◽

10.1046/j.1365-2486.2000.00308.x ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 317-327 ◽

Cited By ~ 1509

Author(s):

W. M. Post ◽

K. C. Kwon

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽

Change Processes

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Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential and Linkages with General Flooding and Erosion Issues, Gisborne/East-Cape Region, North Island, New Zealand

10.26686/wgtn.17011595 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Bridget Ellen O'Leary

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

New Zealand ◽

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Carbon Cycle ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Land Management ◽

Carbon Sequestration Potential ◽

Sequestration Potential

<p>The global carbon cycle has been significantly modified by increased human demand and consumption of natural resources. Billions of tonnes of carbon moves between the Earth’s natural spheres in any given year, with anthropogenic activities adding approximately 7.1 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon (C) to this flux. On a global basis, the sum of C in living terrestrial biomass and soils is approximately three times greater than the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere; with the current soil organic carbon (OC) pool estimated at about 1500 Gt (Falkowski et al. 2000). With total global emissions of CO2 from soils being acknowledged as one of the largest fluxes in the carbon cycle, ideas and research into mitigating this flux are now being recognised as extremely important in terms of climate change and the reduction of green house gases (GHG) in the future. Additional co-benefits of increasing carbon storage within the soil are improvements in a soil’s structural and hydrological capacity. For example, increasing organic carbon generally increases infiltration and storage capacity of soil, with potential to reduce flooding and erosion. There are several management options that can be applied in order to increase the amount of carbon in the soil. Adjustments to land management techniques (e.g. ploughing) and also changes to cropping and vegetation type can increase organic carbon content within the subsurface (Schlesinger & Andrews, 2000). If we are able to identify specific areas of the landscape that are prone to carbon losses or have potential to be modified to store additional carbon, we can take targeted action to mitigate and apply better management strategies to these areas. This research aims to investigate issues surrounding soil carbon and the more general sustainability issues of the Gisborne/East-Cape region, North Island, New Zealand. Maori-owned land has a large presence in the region. Much of this land is described as being “marginal” in many aspects. The region also has major issues in terms of flooding and erosion. Explored within this research are issues surrounding sustainability, (including flooding, erosion, and Maori land) with particular emphasis on carbon sequestration potential and the multiple co-benefits associated with increasing the amount of carbon in the soil. This research consists of a desktop study and field investigations focusing on differences in soil type and vegetation cover/land use and what effects these differences have on soil OC content within the subsurface. Soil chemical and physical analysis was undertaken with 220 soil samples collected from two case-study properties. Particle size analysis was carried out using a laser particle sizer (LPS) to determine textural characteristics and hydraulic capacity. Soil organic carbon (OC) content was determined following the colorimetric method, wet oxidation (Blakemore et al. 1987), with results identifying large difference in soil OC quantification between sampled sites. National scale data is explored and then compared with the results from this field investigation. The direct and indirect benefits resulting from more carbon being locked up in soil may assist in determining incentives for better land-use and land management practices in the Gisborne/East-Cape region. Potentially leading to benefits for the land-user, the environment and overall general sustainability.</p>

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