Agricultural Practices to Mitigate Soil Degradation and Increase Carbon Capture

Abstract

The implementation of new practices and their results to prevent or mitigate soil degradation and increase carbon capture were presented in this paper. The study was made on "Los Barzaga" farm, in the province of Guantanamo, where poor drainage conditions, low soil fertility and erosion affect 90% of the area, causing greater degradation and reduction of production. Several soil preservation and improvement procedures were established, considering the limiting factors identified. The physical and chemical indexes were evaluated, and the carbon reserves were monitored. The practices implemented (live and dead barriers, rill and reservoir correction), contributed to a 62 t. ha-1 reduction of soil loss, with positive changes in apparent density, infiltration and compacting velocity, and nutrient contents. Additionally, soil carbon increased to 20.67%.

Keywords

• degradation
• preservation
• carbon reserves
• erosion
• live barriers