Carbon pool in soil under organic and conventional farming systems

Abstract

Changes in the agricultural management and climatic changes within the past 25 years have had a serious impact on soil organic matter content and contribute to different carbon storage in the soil. Prediction of soil carbon pool, validation, and quantification of different models is important for sustainable agriculture in the future and for this purpose a long-term monitoring data set is required. RothC-26.3 model was applied for carbon stock simulation within two different climatic scenarios (hot-dry with rapid temperature increasing and warm-dry with less rapid temperature increasing). Ten years experimental data set have been received from conventional and organic farming of experimental plots of Mendel University School Enterprise (locality Vatín, Czech-Moravian Highland). Average annual temperature in this area is 6.9°C, average annual precipitation 621 mm, and altitude 530 m above sea level. Soil was classified as Eutric Cambisol, sandy loam textured, with middle organic carbon content. Its cumulative potential was assessed as high. Results showed linear correlation between carbon stock and climatic scenario, and mostly temperature and type of soil management has influenced carbon stock. In spite of lower organic carbon inputs under organic farming this was less depending on climatic changes. Conventional farming showed higher carbon stock during decades 2000-2100 because of higher carbon input. Besides conventional farming was more affected by temperature.

Keywords

• crop management and climatic scenarios
• rothc-26.3 model
• soil organic carbon