Rothamsted carbon model reveals technical options to maintain soil organic carbon under semi-arid climate

Nakamura, S and Hayashi, K and Omae, H and Fatondji, D and Tabo, R and Shinjo, H and Saidou, A K and Tobita, S (2012) Rothamsted carbon model reveals technical options to maintain soil organic carbon under semi-arid climate. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 32 (4). pp. 865-872. ISSN 1774-0746

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Abstract

Soil organic matter in the Sahel is severely reduced by continuous cultivation. Reductions of soil organic matter decrease in turn soil productivity. Nonetheless, reports show that organic matter application in the Sahel improves crop yield. However, long-term effects of organic matter application on soil fertility have not been fully studied. In particular, it is essential to get information on organic matter decomposition and annual carbon requirement. Model simulation is suitable for evaluating long-term sustainability. The Rothamsted carbon model is convenient and has been recently validated for use in Sahelian conditions. Here, we studied the annual carbon requirement for sustainable soil organic carbon management in the Sahelian zone using datasets of short-term trials conducted in the Sahel. We estimated the long-term effect of various agricultural managements on soil organic carbon dynamics as one of the soil fertility indices. The 10-year soil organic carbon value changes were predicted by the Rothamsted carbon model for 59 treatments. Results show that, contrary to previous short-term experiments that indicated crop yield enhancement, these technical options also cause a decline in soil organic carbon if enough organic resource is not applied. Soil productivity should therefore decrease. The annual carbon requirement to maintain the soil organic carbon level is approximately 0.8 tons of carbon per hectare

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Rothamsted carbon model; Sahel; Niger; Soil organic matter; Millet
Subjects:	Mandate crops > Millets
Depositing User:	Ms K Syamalamba
Date Deposited:	15 Jan 2013 10:18
Last Modified:	07 Feb 2014 05:12
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/6413
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13593-012-0100-2
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	UNSPECIFIED
Links:	Google Scholar

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