Differential impacts of regenerative agriculture practices on soil organic carbon: a meta-analysis of studies from India

Patil, M D and Perumal, C and Choudhari, P L and Pasumarthi, R and Sawargaonkar, G L and Singh, R (2025) Differential impacts of regenerative agriculture practices on soil organic carbon: a meta-analysis of studies from India. Scientific Reports (TSI), 15. pp. 1-13. ISSN 2045-2322

PDF - Published Version Available under License ["licenses_description_cc_attribution" not defined]. Download (4MB)

Abstract

Regenerative agriculture (RA) is heralded as a transformative solution to combat climate change, enhance biodiversity, and improve soil health. However, its effectiveness across diverse agroclimatic contexts remains underexplored. This meta-analysis synthesizes results from 147 peer-reviewed studies across India's major agro-ecological and agro-climatic regions. Using a random-effects model, we estimate the soil organic carbon (SOC) change attributable to a suite of RA practices, including organic amendments (farmyard manure, green manure, compost, and biochar), conservation tillage, crop residue retention, and fertilizer management. Biochar application resulted in the highest SOC gain, followed by farmyard manure, green manure, compost, and fertilizer management. Conservation tillage and crop residue retention demonstrated moderate, yet consistent, carbon benefits across time scales. The SOC gains were most significant over durations exceeding five years and varied across agro-ecological regions, with semi-arid and sub-humid regions showing particularly strong responses. The findings affirm that RA practices effectively sequester carbon, particularly when applied over longer durations and in regionally adapted combinations.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Global Research Program - Resilient Farm and Food Systems
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Regenerative agriculture, Meta-analysis, Crop residue, FYM, Compost, Tillage, Carbon sequestration
Subjects:	Others > Soil Others > India
Depositing User:	Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited:	30 Sep 2025 06:25
Last Modified:	30 Sep 2025 06:25
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/13348
Official URL:	https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-12149-6
Projects:	Development and Validation of Carbon Standards for Incentivizing Farmers for Regenerative Agricultural Practices
Funders:	Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha
Acknowledgement:	The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha, through a project on ’Development and Validation of Carbon Standards for Incentivizing Farmers for Regenerative Agricultural Practices’ and the CGIAR Sustainable Farming Science Program.
Links:	Google Scholar

View Statistics

Actions (login required)

View Item