Grain legumes and dryland cereals contribute to carbon sequestration in the drylands of Africa and South Asia

Kuyah, S and Muoni, T and Bayala, J and Chopin, P and Dahlin, A S and Hughes, K and Jonsson, M and Kumar, S and Sileshi, G W and Dimobe, K and Öborn, I (2023) Grain legumes and dryland cereals contribute to carbon sequestration in the drylands of Africa and South Asia. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (TSI), 355. 01-11. ISSN 0167-8809

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Abstract

Grain legumes and drylands cereals including chickpea (Cicer arietinum), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), lentil (Lens culinaris), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), soybean (Glycine max), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) are the leading sources of food grain in drylands of Africa and South Asia. These crops can help smallholder agriculture to become more resilient, productive, and profitable, but their quantitative impact on carbon sequestration is unknown. The aim of this review study was to quantify their contribution to carbon sequestration across the drylands of Africa and South Asia based on 437 publications with 1319 observations in studies conducted across 32 countries. Cropping systems with grain legumes showed the greatest increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations, while cereals (and pigeon pea) gave the largest amount of aboveground carbon stock (>2 Mg C ha-1). Estimated carbon stock in post-harvest residues of these crops was 1.51 ± 0.05 Mg C ha-1 in Africa and 2.29 ± 0.10 Mg C ha-1 in South Asia. These crops produced more aboveground carbon, and significantly increased SOC, when grown as intercrops. Soils with low initial SOC (<1%) and high clay content (>32%) showed the greatest potential for carbon sequestration when cropped with grain legumes and dryland cereals. This study is the first of its kind to provide evidence that grain legumes and drylands cereals improve carbon sequestration across Africa and South Asia.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Global Research Program - Enabling Systems Transformation
CRP:	CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals (GLDC)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Aboveground carbon, Crop rotation, Intercropping, Soil organic carbon, Sustainable intensification
Subjects:	Others > Intercropping Mandate crops > Millets Mandate crops > Millets > Pearl Millet Mandate crops > Millets > Finger Millet Mandate crops > Chickpea Mandate crops > Pigeonpea Mandate crops > Groundnut Mandate crops > Sorghum Others > Asia Others > Africa
Depositing User:	Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited:	19 May 2023 05:01
Last Modified:	19 May 2023 05:01
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/12093
Official URL:	https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/...
Projects:	Natural resource management (NRM) evidence for inclusion of grain legumes and dryland cereals in farming systems’
Funders:	CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes and Drylands Cereals (GLDC)
Acknowledgement:	The manuscript is an output from the project ’Natural resource management (NRM) evidence for inclusion of grain legumes and dryland cereals in farming systems’, which was initiated and funded as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes and Drylands Cereals (GLDC), CoA 1.4 of PF 1 and FP 3. The authors would like to express their thanks to the reference group for the project: Katrien Descheemaeker (WUR), Kai Mausch (ICRAF), Steve Boahen (IITA), Dixit Sreenath (ICRISAT), Gajanan L Sawargaonkar (ICRISAT), Kaushal Kishor Garg (ICRISAT), Singh Ramesh (ICRISAT), and Tesfaye Woldeyohanes (ICRAF). The reference group provided inputs during the formulation of the research aims, defining the research questions, determining indicators of natural resource management, developing search strings, and reviewing the preliminary results.
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