Soil management systems and short term CO2 emissions in a clayey soil in southern Spain

The soil in general and that destined for agricultural use, more specifically, can act as a source or sink of carbon, hence its direct involvement in strategies for mitigating climate change. A large proportion of this mitigation potential is produced by the sequestration of carbon by soils and, to a lesser extent, by a reduction in emissions from the soil.The most effective practices for increasing the organic carbon in the soils are generally those linked to conservation agriculture, which includes practices of no tillage or minimum tillage and the use of cover crops. During the farming seasons of 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10, a trial was conducted in which the carbon dioxide emissions in soil with a high percentage of clay in the Vega de Carmona (Seville) were estimated, and it was determined how climate conditions and the adoption of conservation agriculture practices vs. the use of traditional tillage influenced the flux of gas into the atmosphere.

Research highlights
► The study highlights the contribution of the agriculture to GHG emission.
► We study the influence of managing soil and climatic conditions in the flow of atmospheric CO2.
► We compare two different managing soil: no tillage and traditional tillage.
► Results show that no tillage is especially favorable to reduce the CO2 emitted by soils.
► The increases in emissions have arrived at being over 80% higher in the tilled soils.