Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Objectives: Characterizing soil organic carbon stock is important for comparing different management systems for sustainability and environmental quality. This study was conducted to perform simulation and analysis of long term soil organic carbon stock of corn-based cropping systems under conservation agriculture practice and plow-based system. Methods/Analysis: Field experiments were conducted in a typical upland agricultural area in Claveria, Misaims Oriental, and Philippines. Five experimental treatments in the form of cropping patterns that included Conservation Agriculture Production Systems (CAPS) and conventional plow-based system with two levels of fertilizer application as subplots were laid in a split plot design and replicated four times. Soil organic carbon stock monitoring at 0-5; 5-15 and 15-30 cm soil layers of the various plots was performed. The variability of soil organic carbon stock was analyzed using the Roth-C model for each of the CAPS treatments and plow-based system. Findings: The Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stock at the uppermost soil layer increases exponentially under CAPS and declines steadily under plow-based system after 50 years of simulation. The best corn based cropping systems under the conservation agriculture practiced in terms of soil organic carbon stock proved to be those corn-cropping systems with cover crops that provide relatively high biomass such as the Stylosanthes guianensis. Novelty/Improvement: This study demonstrated that conservation agriculture has a positive impact on soil organic carbon stock as a result of minimum soil disturbance, continuous mulch cover and diversified crop rotation. Conversely, conventional plow-based systems negatively impact the soil quality and its long-term practice may lead to serious degradation of this important natural resource.

Keywords: Conventional Plow-Based System, Cropping Systems, Minimum Soil Disturbance, Roth-C Model, Soil Quality