sustainable crop production through management of soil organic carbon in semiarid and tropical india

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Sustainable Crop Production Through Management ofSoil Organic Carbon in Semiarid and Tropical IndiaM. C. Manna a , P. K. Ghosh a & C. L. Acharya aa Division of Soil Biology , Indian Institute of Soil Science , Nabibagh, Bhopal, Indiab Division of Soil Physics , Indian Institute of Soil Science , Nabibagh, Bhopal, Indiac Indian Institute of Soil Science , Nabibagh, Bhopal, India E-mail:Published online: 22 Oct 2008.

To cite this article: M. C. Manna , P. K. Ghosh & C. L. Acharya (2003) Sustainable Crop Production Through Managementof Soil Organic Carbon in Semiarid and Tropical India, Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 21:3, 85-114, DOI: 10.1300/J064v21n03_07

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Sustainable Crop ProductionThrough Managementof Soil Organic Carbon

in Semiarid and Tropical India

M. C. Manna

P. K. Ghosh

C. L. Acharya

ABSTRACT. Enhancing the long-term sustainability in productivity ofcrops and cropping systems is directly related to maintenance of an ade-quate level of soil organic matter. Indian soils contain about 0.1 to 1% or-ganic carbon. The maintenance of soil organic matter in agricultural soils,particularly of semiarid and subtropical regions of India, is generally gov-erned by annual temperature, precipitation and many interacting factorssuch as soil types, tillage, application of fertilizers, quality and quantity oforganics returned to soil, and the method of residue management. In Indiamost residues used are as feed and fuel and one-third of crop residues is usedas a source of organic matter. Continuous use of the same crops in the crop-ping system, unbalanced and inappropriate use of chemical fertilizer, andminimum or no use of organic matter year after year are a major constraintsto soil organic carbon accumulation. Alternate land use systems, viz., agro-forestry, agro-horticultural, agro-pastoral, and agro-silvipasture are moreeffective for soil organic matter restoration than monocropping systems.The constraints for organic matter management are reviewed, possible so-lution are presented, and future research needed are outlined. [Article copiesavailable for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service:

M. C. Manna is Senior Scientist, Division of Soil Biology, P. K. Ghosh is Senior Sci-

entist, Division of Soil Physics, and C. L. Acharya is Director, Indian Institute of Soil Sci-

ence, Nabibagh, Bhopal, India (E-mail: [email protected]).

Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, Vol. 21(3) 2003http://www.haworthpressinc.com/store/product.asp?sku=J064

� 2003 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 85

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1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <[email protected]> Website:

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KEYWORDS. Soil organic matter, carbon stocks, semiarid and tropicalenvironments, cropping system, crop rotation, soil type, tillage, soil or-ganic carbon storage in degraded land, alternate land use management,shifting cultivation, soil quality, carbon sequestration

INTRODUCTION

India has a long tradition of using organic manures to maintain and im-prove soil fertility. In the early 1960s the industrial model of agriculturewas adopted in the developed countries, and chemical fertilizer was com-paratively inexpensive. It was also in the same period (1966) that thegreen revolution took place in India and intensive use of chemical fertiliz-ers started. Initially, the results of chemical fertilizers application were re-ally spectacular, but later, unfavorable effects emerged: decreasingproductivity, huge neglected areas of poor soils and water resources, andenvironmental impact of fertilizer use. During the 1970s, the adverse ef-fects of high input agriculture were felt both in developed and in the devel-oping countries. As agriculture became more settled, with a permanentlandbase, and as cultivation practices intensified, soil fertility became se-verely depleted. Ironically, this same period also marked the beginning ofa massive global loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) associated with therapid expansion of agriculture onto grassland and forest soils. In India, de-cline in SOC as a result of continuous without application of fertilizer andmanure was confirmed through long-term fertilizers experiments con-ducted over 25 (1971-1996) years in different agro-ecoregions (Table 1)involving a number of cropping systems and soil types (Inceptisols,Vertisols, Mollisols and Alfisols). Long-term fertilizer experiments alsoproved that balanced use of NPK fertilizer either maintain or slightly en-hanced the SOC content over the initial values and application of farm-yard manure improved SOC, which was associated with increased cropproductivity.

“Sustainable agriculture” is an important issue worldwide. The foodand Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Re-search Institutes such as International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), In-

86 JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

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ternational Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT),International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid and Tropics (ICRISAT),etc., and National Agriculture Research Systems (NARS) all over theworld are deeply concerned with sustainability of the intensive agricul-tural system prevalent in several parts of the world. The rapidly increasingpopulation, shrinking good quality land resources for crop production andincreasing concern for declining soil fertility and environmental degrada-tion create awareness that resources are limited and highlight the urgencyof continuously enhancing and sustaining productivity of land in India.For example, before the green revolution era, when generallymonocropping was practiced and the yield potential of the then prevalentvarieties was low, the sustainability of the age-old practiced agriculturalsystems was not raised. However, with the introduction of short duration,high yielding varieties of cereals, the shift to double cropping in the irri-gated regions of the country with a production potential of 5-15 Mgha21year21, and the associated heavy depletion of plant nutrients, even thefertile Indo-Gangetic alluvial belt of India started showing fatigue. Judi-cious management of renewable native soil and water resources, and ac-celerated use of inputs like chemical, and organic and biological fertilizersresources may meet this challenge. An agriculture system to be sustain-able must meet the changing food, fiber, fodder, and fuel needs of a nationand should not be detrimental to its natural base. A sustainable agriculturesystem should rather improve the resource base of a nation.

Research, Reviews, Practices, Policy and Technology 87

TABLE 1. Depletion in organic carbon status over years (1971-96) under inten-sive cropping systems.

Location Cropping system Organic carbon %

Initial – – – – – – – – – Treatments* – – – – – – – – –Control N

(100%)NP

(100%)NPK

(100%)NPK

(150%)

Pantnagar(1972-96)

Rice-wheat-cowpea 1.48 0.60 0.97 0.67 0.90 1.14

Barrackpore(1972-96)

Rice-wheat-jute 0.71 0.42 0.48 0.45 0.45 0.47

Bangalore(1986-96)

Fingermillet-maize-cowpea

0.55 0.34 0.39 0.45 0.45 0.51

Ranchi(1973-96)

Soybean-potato-wheat 0.45 0.35 0.33 0.35 0.38 0.35

* NPK applied on reccommed dose of crops, Adapted from: Nambiar (1994)

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The amount of SOC in soils of India is relatively low, ranging from 0.1to 1% and typically less than 0.5%. Its influence on soil fertility and physi-cal condition is of great significance. The maintenance of SOC in tropicalsoils is mainly governed by many interacting factors such as climate, soiltype, tillage, vegetation patterns, fertilizer application, the type andmethod of residues management, etc. (Ali et al., 1966; Das, 1996; Jennyand Raychaudhuri, 1960; Mathan et al., 1978; Acharya and Kapur, 1993;Acharya and Sharma, 1994). The first comprehensive study of SOC statusin Indian soil was conducted by Jenny and Raychaudhuri (1960).

Conversion of land from its natural state to agriculture generally leadsto losses of SOC, because it is sensitive to human activities (e.g., defores-tation, biomass burning, land use changes, and environmental pollution).In agriculture, however, part of the nutrients will always be removed, asconsiderable part of the production is sold or transported from the farm.On this account, fertilizers have to be used to make up for this loss.

India has vast resources of crop residue and farm wastes such as riceand wheat straw, rice husk, sugarcane trash, potato haulms, non-ediblecakes such as neem (Azadiracachta indica), mahua (Madhuca indica),mustard (Brassica juncea) oil cakes, etc., tobacco and tea wastes, cottonwastes, forest litter, water hyacinth, etc. However, most of the residues areused as feed and fuel, and one-third of total residues is used as sources oforganic matter. It is, therefore, extremely important that the huge quantityof agro-based industrial waste, solid city garbage and natural weed bio-mass available be explored for maintaining soil fertility.

Jhum (shifting cultivation) system practiced in northeastern (e.g., oneor two years continuous cultivation followed by one year fallow period) isthe common mode of farming on hill slope. In the jhum ecosystem lossesof SOC are high (702.9 kg ha21year21) mainly through large scale landand environmental degradation resulting in soil erosion in the hills, siltingof river beds, and volatilization of C and N during burning process, lead-ing to a reduction in the quantity of elements in the surface soil layers(Brich and Friend, 1956; Ramakrishnan and Tokey, 1981; Ramakrishnan,1994; Munda et al., 1996). Over several jhum cycles, the extent of SOCdepletion depends upon the length of the cropping period and the ratio ofthe cropping to the fallow period.

Integrated nutrient management (INM) is an alternative to maintain andto enhance organic matter status of Indian soils. Though it is an age-oldpractice, its importance was not very much realized in the pre-green revo-lution era due to the low nutrient demand of the existing subsistence agri-culture. This approach of nutrient management aims at efficient andjudicious use of all the major source of plant nutrients in an integrated


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manner, so as to maintain and improve SOC for sustained crop productiv-ity without any deleterious effect on physico-chemical and biologicalproperties of the soil on a long-term basis. The major components of inte-grated nutrient supply system are fertilizers, farmyard manure(FYM)/compost, green manure, crop residues/recyclable wastes andbiofertilizers. These components possess great diversity in terms of chem-ical and physical properties, nutrient release efficiencies, positional avail-ability, and crop specificity and farmer acceptability. Therefore, thecombination of different components to ensure optimum nutrient supplyof a production system may depend on land use, ecological, andsocio-economic condition.

This paper deals with carbon stocks in Indian soils, various approachesfocussing on the use of available renewable sources of plant nutrients forcomplementing and supplementing the commercial fertilizers for sus-tained productivity and maintenance of soil organic carbon. Input andland use management and global changes, the wider range of alternativetillage and cropping systems and their effects on soil organic matter resto-ration, the constraints for organic matter management, and future researchneeded for significant enhancement of soil carbon storage in tropical zoneagro-ecosystems in India are also outlined.

CARBON STOCKSIN DIFFERENT PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS OF INDIA

Soils of India have long been categorized as low in organic carbon andnitrogen, although there are many variations in genesis, physiography, cli-mate, vegetation, etc. (Ghosh and Hasan, 1980). Villayutham et al. (2000)reported that SOC stock of Indian soils is 10-12% of the tropical regionsand about 3% of the total carbon mass of the world. The share of India inoverall SOC stock of the world is not substantial although it covers 11.9%of total geographical area of the world. The SOC stocks for India in termsof each soil order is estimated at 0-30 cm depths since such quantitativedata reflect the kinds of soil with different amount of organic carbon (Ta-ble 2). Indian soils are commonly classed as Inceptisols which contributeabout 22% of the total SOC stock. Entisols contribute nearly 7% of the to-tal SOC stock of Indian soils. Vertisols are extensive in the central andsouth central parts of India, and contribute about 13% of the total SOCstock. Aridisols are in general poor in organic carbon due to their high rateof decomposition, low rate of plant growth and contribution to SOC.However, a few aridisols belonging to cold (Typic Camoryorthids) as well


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as hot (Typic Camorthids/Natragids/Calciorthids) arid ecosystem contrib-ute about 34% of the total SOC stock. In India, Mollisols contribute nearlyless than 1% of the total SOC stocks due to the fact that only a small por-tion of geographical area of the country is covered by these soils. Most ofAlfisols occur in subhumid to humid regions of the country and contributeabout 20% of the total SOC stocks. Oxisols contribute less than 1% of thetotal SOC stock. Poor accumulation of SOC carbon in Oxisols is due togreater decomposition in tropical humid regions (Murthy et al., 1982).

A perusal of data in Table 3 shows that the maximum amount of SOCstocks is in surface soils of hot semiarid regions covering agro-ecoregions4, 6, 5, 7, and 8 followed by cold arid agro-ecoregions (1), hot arid andsemiarid agro-ecoregions (2, 3, and 4), and hot subhumid regions 9 to 15.The SOC stocks in agro-ecoregions of 16 to 20 is comparatively less thanthose of arid and semiarid regions.

The organic carbon reserves of Indian soils, either virgin or cultivated,are grater than those of North America, provided sites having equal valuesof temperature and precipitation are being compared, but they are lowerthan those of Central America (Jenny and Raychaudhuri, 1960). The SOCstock losses from management ecosystem of cultivated soils in India aregreater in semiarid environments than in the humid low lands. This indi-cates that a larger portion of organic carbon under natural vegetation ofarid and semiarid regions is less humified than humid tropical soils. Thedecline in SOC in the agro-ecosystem was reduced 2 times faster than thatof the soil in the subhumid woodland forest and plantations (Jenny and


TABLE 2. Organic carbon stock in different soil order in India.

Soil orders Organic carbon (0-30 cm depth) (%)

Entisols 1.36 (6.5)*

Inceptisols 4.67 (22.2)

Vertisols 2.62 (12.5)

Aridisols 7.67 (36.5)

Mollisols 0.12 (0.6)

Alfisols 4.22 (20.0)

Ultisols 0.14 (0.8)

Oxisols 0.19 (0.9)

Total 20.99

*Percentage in parenthesis is proportion of total carbon stocks in different soils order in India. Sources: Deshpande etal. (1972), Murthy et al. (1982), Sehgal and Sharma (1982), NBSS & LUP (1984), NBSS & LUP (1988), Bhatacharyaand Pal (1998), Lal et al. (1994), Krishnan et al. (1996), Shivaprasad et al. (1998).

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TABLE 3. SOC stock in different agro-ecoregions (AER) in India.

Organic C (%)

AERNo.

Agro-Ecoregion Area (M ha) 0-30 0-150– – – (cm depth) – – –

1. Cold arid ecoregion with shallow skeletal soils 15.2 (4.6)* 5.96 10.47

2. Hot arid ecoregion with desert and saline soils

in the western plains

31.9 (9.7) 2.51 10.43

3. Hot arid ecoregion with red and black soils 4.9 (1.5) 1.21 4.21

4. Hot semiarid ecoregion with alluvium-derivedsoils

32.2 (9.8) 3.88 15.24

5. Hot semiarid ecoregion with medium and deepblack soils

17.6 (5.4) 0.61 1.23

6. Hot semiarid ecoregion with shallow andmedium black soils

31.0 (9.4) 0.69 1.35

7. Hot semiarid ecoregion with red and black soils 16.5 (5.0) 0.55 1.72

8 Hot semiarid ecoregion with red and loamy soils 19.1 (5.8) 0.46 1.41

9. Hot subhumid (dry) ecoregion with alluvium-derived soils

12.1 (3.7) 0.15 0.49

10. Hot subhumid ecoregion with red and yellowsoils

22.3 (6.8) 0.62 1.55

11. Hot subhumid ecoregion with red and yellowsoils

14.1 (4.3) 0.14 0.50

12 Hot subhumid ecoregion with red and lateriticsoils

26.8 (8.2) 0.67 1.70

13. Hot subhumid (moist) ecoregion with alluvium-derived soils

11.1 (3.4) 0.17 0.79

14. Warm subhumid to humid with inclusion ofperhumid ecoregion with brown forest andpodzolic soils

31.2 (6.4) 0.52 1.55

15. Hot subhumid (moist) to humid (inclusion ofperhumid) ecoregion with alluvium-derived soils

12.1 (3.7) 0.42 1.20

16. Warm perhumid ecoregion with brown and redhill soils

9.6 (2.9) 0.79 3.76

17. Warm perhumid ecoregion with red and lateriticsoils

10.6 (3.2) 0.45 1.49

18. Hot subhumid to semiarid ecoregion with coastalalluvium-derived soils

8.5 (2.6) 0.23 0.91

19. Hot humid perhumid ecoregion with red lateriticand alluvium-derived soils

11.1 (3.4) 0.84 2.82

20. Hot humid to perhumid island ecoregion with redloamy and sandy soils

0.8 (0.2) 0.12 0.37

Percentage is in parenthesis proportion of total Indian land area occupied by different agro-ecoregionsAdapted from: Sehgal et al. (1992)

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Raychaudhuri, 1960). A tropical rain forest in India (north-east and southplateau) is a closed ecological system which represents a highly efficientproduction form, and a considerable quantity of organic litter falls ontothe soil surface, and decays, providing food for a highly active soil floraand fauna which ultimately stores more SOC than cultivated land.

AVAILABILITY AND USAGE OF ORGANIC MATTER

On the basis of crop production levels, it is estimated that ten majorcrops (rice, wheat, sorghum, maize, pearl millet, barley, finger millet, sug-arcane, potato tuber, and pulses) of India generate about 312.5 milliontones (Mt) of residues that have nutrient potential of about 6.46 Mt (Table4). About two-thirds of total crop residues produced are use as feed andfuel in India and one-third of the total residues is used as source of organicmatter. According to Singh and Gurumurti (1984), the annual productionof non-edible cake is about 3.8 Mt containing 1.69 Mt of NPK. Organicmatter stock from animal, poultry and city refuse available in India is esti-mated to be about 1,424 Mt (Table 5). About 8.2 Mt N, 4.1 Mt P, and 9.5Mt K nutrient potential are reported from the available animal and poultrywaste, city refuse, and sewage-sludge waste which are mostly being lostevery year. About 350 sugar mills and 212 distilleries produce wastewaterevery day. Agro-based industrial wastes in India, namely vegetable oils,tobacco, meat, fish, saw mill, fiber of cotton and jute mills, and tea wastes,etc., generate about 43.8 Mt of wastes annually. The benefits of the utiliz-ing the waste as a soil amendment, which can be set against the cost, in-clude the value of agricultural crop produced, the employment provided,the saving on fertilizer, and the environmental pollution damage avoided(WHO, 1989). Adhikari et al. (1992) reported that use of sewage can leadto excessive concentration of certain heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb) insoils and plants possibly due to the discharge of industrial effluents intothe sewage system.

FACTORS AFFECTING SOIL ORGANIC CARBON

SOC equilibrium is governed by a number of interacting factors such astemperature, moisture, texture, quality and quantity of organic matter,method of application, soil tillage, and cropping systems. The benefits ofmaintaining desired levels of SOC in low input agro-ecosystem are many:retention and storage of nutrient (Gaur, 1990; Russell, 1973), increase in


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buffering capacity of soil (Swift and Sanchez, 1984), better soil aggrega-tion (Oades, 1984; Sahoo et al., 1970; Acharya and Kapur, 1993; Acharyaand Sharma, 1994; Acharya et al., 1988), improvement in moisture reten-tion, increased cation exchange capacity (Ali et al., 1966; Biswas et al.,1961; Biswa, 1982; Sahoo et al., 1970), and acting as a chelating agent(Stevenson, 1982). Other benefits are improvement of soil structure, tex-ture and tilth (Acharya et al., 1988, 1998; Biswas et al., 1971; Gupta andNagarajrao, 1982), activation of inherent organisms (Goyal et al., 1993;Manna et al., 1996, 1997, and 1998), and reduction in toxic effects of pes-


TABLE 4. Organic matter quantity and utilizable nutrient potential from differentsources of crop residues.

Agriculturalwastes

Residue toeconomic

yieldratio*

Residues quantity % NPKNutrient potentialTotal Utilizable**

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Mt – – – –(Mt) N P K NPK NPK

Rice 1.5 110.495 0.61 0.18 1.38 2.39 0.77Wheat 1.5 82.631 0.48 0.16 1.18 1.50 0.50Sorghum 1.5 21.040 0.52 0.23 1.34 0.44 0.15Maize 1.5 12.500 0.52 0.18 1.35 0.26 0.09Pearl millet 1.5 15.580 0.45 0.16 1.14 0.27 0.09Barley 1.5 2.475 0.52 0.18 1.30 0.05 0.02Finger millet 2.0 5.351 1.00 0.20 1.00 0.12 0.04Sugarcane 0.1 40.920 0.40 0.18 1.28 0.76 0.25Potato tuber 0.5 7.867 0.52 0.21 1.06 0.14 0.05Pulses 1.5 13.700 1.60 0.51 1.75 0.53 0.18Total 312.559 -- -- -- 6.46 2.15

*Obtained by multiplying the economic yield with the given residues: economic yield ratio, ** One-third of the total NPKpotential assuming that two-thirds of the total residues is used as animal feed and fuel on total production of national ba-sis. Sources: Bharadwaj (1995), Manna and Ganguly (1998)

TABLE 5. Organic matter quantity and nutrient potential from animal, poultry, cityrefuse and sewage-sludge water.*

Quantity N P K(Mt) – – – – – – -– – Mt – – – – – – -– –

Wet dung cattle and buffaloes 1,227.8 1.84 1.23 0.61Animal urine 800 1.60 0.08 1.60Sheep and goat 45 0.27 0.06 0.45Poultry wastes 1.00 2.17 2.00 4.20Horses 0.48 1.51 0.35 1.80City refuse 150 0.75 0.34 0.63Sewage-sludge water 1,460 Mt m2 year21 0.04 0.01 0.18Total ---- 8.18 4.07 9.47

*Values are on total production of national basis. Adapted from: Manna and Ganguly (1998)

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ticides (Gaur and Prasad, 1970; Gaur, 1975). Different factors affectingSOC are discussed below in brief.

Soil Type

Soil types are one of the major important parameters that regulate or-ganic carbon status of the soil. The major portion of SOC is retainedthrough clay-organic matter interactions indicating the importance of theinorganic part of the soil as substrate to bind the organic carbon. Severalstudies have been made on Indian soils to study the behavior of naturallyoccurring clay organic complex (Bhattacharya and Ghosh, 1986, 1994,and 1996). Recent studies indicate that even in a highly weatheredferruginous soil, the presence of smectite and or vermiculite either in theform of inter stratification or in a discrete mineral form is very common(Pal and Despande, 1987a, 1987b, and 1987c; Pal et al., 1989;Bhattacharya et al., 1993, 1997, and 1998). Presence of these minerals fa-vors the accumulation of organic carbon in these soils. Ali et al. (1966) ob-served that organic carbon contents increased with clay content under red,alluvial, laterite and lateritic soils, saline and black soils, except in moun-tain and forest soils, which had the highest organic carbon at 34.5% clay.This could be possibly due to continuous decomposition of unhumifiedorganic carbon in these soils.

Rainfall and Temperature

Temperature and rainfall exert a significant influence on level of SOCand on the decomposition of crop residues. A rise in mean annual temper-ature reduces the level of SOC of cultivated soil in the humid region of In-dia (Jenny and Roychaudhuri, 1960). In temperate climates, the soils areseveral times richer in SOC than warmer climate. High rainfall and lowtemperature are conductive to accumulation of organic carbon in soilswhile high temperature and low rainfall decrease it.

Rate and Method of Residue and Manure Application

The rate of organic matter application to soil affecting the level of SOCvaries with crop, climate availability, and quality of organic matter. Thecrop residue management and its impact on crop yields and soil propertieshave been reviewed (Prasad and Power, 1991). About 25 Mg ha21 ofFYM is recommended under intensive cropping system for irrigated cropslike sugarcane (Saccherum officinarum L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum


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L.), and rice (Oryza sativa L.), 10 to 15 Mg ha21 for irrigated or rainfedcrops where the potential rainfall is medium to high (about 1250 mm peryear) and 5 to 7 Mg ha21 in dry land crops where the mean annual rainfallis about 250 mm. In dry land farming areas, application of 2.5 Mg ha21 ofcompost can give a significant increase in crop yield (Gaur, 1992).

Cropping Systems

The green revolution in India led to the identification of the most effi-cient crops and cropping systems for different locations to replace the tra-ditional ones. Long-duration crops and varieties were replaced byshort-duration ones in order to escape the terminal drought. To achieveappropriate land use, efficient intercropping and double cropping systemswere recommended depending on the soil type and length of the growingseason. Intercropping systems are recommended in areas receiving rain-fall between 600-800 mm. In high rainfall areas there are greater chancesof success of both the component crops and the total returns are alwayshigher than the sole crops. The row ratio was optimized to minimize com-petition and still realize optimum biological productivity. Forsustainability of an agricultural system, it is desirable not to grow a partic-ular crop or a group of crops on the same soil for a long period. As a corol-lary, productivity of soil can be prolonged if crops are rotated over seasonsor years. The sustainable management of arid agro-ecosystem involvesdrought adopted species and cultivars, short cycle annual crops, specifictillage practices for soil and moisture conservation, timely agricultural op-erations, water conserving crop rotations, efficient water utilization, lowerstocking rates on pasture land, and balanced grazing systems.

Under intensive cultivation two or three crops are grown per year andthe grain yield @ 10 to 14 Mg ha21 year21 are achieved (Sinha andSwaminathan, 1979; Prasad, 1983). In India, the major cropping systemsare: cereal-cereal (rice-rice), cereal-cereal-cereal (rice-wheat-maize), andcereal-cereal-legume. The adoption of these cropping systems depends onirrigation facilities, climate, introduction of high yielding cultivars andmanagement practices. The available nutrient status and organic carbonsignificantly varied with cropping system. Data in Table 6 indicate that theorganic carbon content (6.8 g kg21) increased significantly, after 6 yearsin cultivated soil over uncultivated soil (5.1 g kg21). It was also observedthat the content of SOC in rice-wheat-green gram crop sequence washigher than rice-wheat-fodder followed by rice-mustard-green gram andrice-mustard-fodder sequences possibly due to inclusion of legume in ce-real-cereal crop rotation. Singh et al. (1996) showed that over a period of 5


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years the net change in SOC was negative under cereal-cereal sequences,whereas in other sequences having legume component the changes werepositive. Mixed or intercropping systems are also advantageous in manycrops. For example, growing pea (Pisum sativum L.) or pigeonpea(Cajanus cajan) with maize and green gram or blackgram maintainedhigher organic carbon than growing maize (Zea mays) with soybean(glycine max L. merril) (Sharma et al., 1986).

Tillage

Tillage and other mechanical disturbance of soil have been found to de-crease aggregate stability that may result in increase susceptibility to de-composition of physically protected organic matter. Tillage influences anumber of other factors, viz., decomposition rate, soil moisture, tempera-ture, and aeration, the degradation of soil structure and loss of physicalproperties which has been postulated as a major cause of C losses(Cambardella and Elliott, 1992). Carbon loss by tillage is about 20-25% inthe semiarid regions of India and is caused by greater oxidation of SOC(Mutatkar and Raychaudhur, 1959; Acharya et al., 1988 and 1998). In thehumid and subhumid region, mechanical tillage has more adverse effectsthan beneficial. On the other hand, in the arid and semiarid tropics, me-chanical tillage is often beneficial. However, higher C storage has been re-ported in a number of field experiments under no-till compared to tilledsoil (Das, 1996).


TABLE 6. Soil properties and available nutrient status as influenced by differentcropping system (after 6 years).

Cropping system pH ECdSm21

OrganicC g kg21

Available nutrients(kg ha21)

BD(mg m2)

N P2O5 K2O

T1: Rice-wheat- fallow 7.3 0.15 5.8 307 16.15 130 1.34T2: Rice-wheat-fodder 7.5 0.14 6.1 325 18.12 146 1.32T3: Rice-wheat-green gram 7.1 0.13 6.8 346 15.18 127 1.30T4: Rice-mustard-fallow 7.1 0.15 5.6 310 16.42 130 1.34T5: Rice-mustard-fodder 7.6 0.18 6.0 317 17.40 143 1.33T6: Rice-mustard-green gram 7.1 0.13 6.5 338 14.10 138 1.31

Uncultivated soil 6.9 0.11 5.1 288 12.15 123 1.36Initial soil status 6.8 0.10 5.2 295 12.80 125 1.35

L.S.D. at 5% 0.2 0.02 0.5 5.2 2.10 3.2 0.02

The crops were raised under recommended package of practices. The experiment was conducted in the same location( Inceptisols). Adapted from: Sharma and Bali (2000)

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IMPACT OF MANAGEMENT PRACTICESON SOC MAINTENANCE

Management of Crop Residues and Manure Application

The best soil management practices, aimed at optimizing the soil physi-cal environment for plant growth, include incorporating crop residueswhich results in increased moisture storage, SOC built up, and reducedbulk density, runoff, and soil erosion (Das, 1996; Rao et al., 1994).

The usual practice of Indian farmers is to accumulate organic resi-due/FYM in an open space throughout the year and apply it during sum-mer or at pre-monsoon season, thereby resulting in losses of nutrients. Toderive the maximum benefit, organic materials should be applied duringland preparation and incorporated into soil with adequate moisture abouttwo or three weeks before sowing crops. From different studies it has beenobserved that continuous application of FYM and green manuring sub-stantially improved the SOC under different soils and cropping systememployed (Biswas et al., 1971; Hegde, 1996; Khiani and More, 1984;Manna et al., 1996; Mathan et al., 1978; Swarup, 1998). In semiarid regionsof India, utilizing the wastes through composts, amended with mineralssuch as rockphosphate, pyrites, and N application have been recognizedfor improving the crop yields and SOC (Bhardwaj and Gaur, 1985; Hajraet al., 1989; Hajra et al., 1994; Manna et al., 1997 and 1998).

In a six year study on Alfisols, it was observed that continuous applica-tion of crop residues @ 4 Mg ha21 increased SOC from the initial value of0.6 to 0.9% (Hadimani et al., 1982). Concentrated organic manures suchas oilcake are no longer recommended in India because of rapid carbon di-oxide evolution during decomposition in soil, which retards root respira-tion particularly of transplanted rice. However, application of oilcake,decomposed for 10-15 days before application has been found to be effec-tive in terms of crop establishment for some selected crops (Gaur, 1992).In 7 year field experiments, a incorporation of wheat straw @ 6 Mg ha21

in rice and rice straw @ 12 Mg ha21 in wheat in sandy loam soil increasedSOC by about 8% (Bhat et al., 1991).

Cropping Systems

The maintenance of organic matter in rice-wheat cropping system isextremely important to feed the growing population in India. The poten-tial SOC varies with soil texture, which regulates the possibility of form-ing aggregates and with soil mineralogy which effects the strength of


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aggregates (Saha et al., 1998; Rekhi et al., 2000). Application of FYM @20 Mg ha21 was necessary in rice-wheat cropping system to maintain or-ganic carbon at certain levels, and to avoid decline in production potentialof high fertility soil (Ram, 1998). Under intensive cropping andimbalanced fertilizer use particularly application of N alone, SOC contentdeclined over initial values in rice-wheat-jute (Figure 1), and soy-bean-wheat, soybean-wheat-maize fodder, and rice-wheat-cowpea foddersystem (Figure 2). Balanced use of NPK either maintained or slightly im-proved organic carbon over the initial values. Beneficial effect of FYM @10 to 15 Mg ha21 in improving organic carbon over control, N, NP, andNPK fertilizer was much more pronounced on Vertic Ustochrept(Coimbatore), Chromstert (Jabalpur) and Haplustert (Bhubaneswar) (Fig-ures 1 and 2). However, organic carbon content declined from the initiallevel on Eutrochrept (Barrack pore) due to enhanced oxidation of SOC(Jenny and Raychaudhuri, 1960). SOC declined in many semiarid andsubhumid soils of India in rice-rice and soybean-wheat rotation oflong-term fertilizer experiments (Figure 3). This decline in SOC wasprobably one of the causes of the yield decline observed in rice-wheat sys-tem (Swarup, 1998).

The practice of green manuring as catch crop between harvest of wheatand planting of rice is not popular among the Indian farmers mainly due to(i) non-availability of water, and (ii) farmers’ belief that they loose onecrop during the growing season. However, growing summer mung couldbe realistic to the farmers because of its dual function: (i) increase in SOCand (ii) highly profitable yield. Ghosh and Sharma (1996) reported from along-term fertilizer experiments that growing summer mung as a catchcrop in rice-wheat rotation increased SOC and the total productivity ofcrops in the system in Mollisols of Pantnagar.

Tillage and Residue Management

The SOC losses can be reduced by several tillage options such as zerotillage, reduced tillage, stubble mulching and conventional ploughing. In a3 year field experiment, the effects of types of tillage operation and con-tinuous addition of organic matter through use of naturally occurring wildsage (Lantana camara L.) was tested. It was observed that application ofLantana camara L. @ 10 Mg ha21 yr21 improved soil physical propertiesand organic carbon content. Mulch conservation tillage treatments favor-ably moderated the hydrothermal regimes for growing of wheat (Acharyaet al., 1998).


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Initial Control N NP NPK NPK + FYM

Org

anic

C(g

/kg)

A B C D E F

10

8

6

4

2

0

FIGURE 1. Effect of continuous cropping and fertilizer use on organic C contentof inceptisols

A = Bhubaneswar (Haplaquept): rice-rice (1973-94); B = Hyderabad (Tropauept): rice-rice (1972-95); C = Barrckpore(Eutrochrept): rice-wheat-jute (1972-96); D = Ludhiana (Ustochrept): maize-wheat-cowpea fodder (1971-96); E = Delhi(Ustochrept): maize-wheat-cowpea fodder (1971-96); F = Coimbatore (Vertic Ustopept): finge maize-cowpea fodder(1972-95). Adapted from: Swarup (1998)

Initial Control N NP NPK NPK + FYM

Org

anic

C(g

/kg)

A B C D E

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

FIGURE 2. Effect of continous cropping and fertilizer use on organic C of soils

A = Palampur (Hapludalf): maize-wheat (1973-95); B = Bangalore (Haplustalf): fingermillete-maize-cowpea fodder(1986-96); C = Ranchi (Haplustalf): soybean-wheat (1973-96); D = Jabalpur (Chromustert): soybean-wheat-maize fod-der (1971-96); E = Pantnagar (Hapludoll): rice-wheat-cowpea fodder (1972-96). Adapted from: Swarup (1988)

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In a 45 year long-term study, use of farmyard manure, and the type oftillage operations, i.e., harrowing and ploughing improved soil physicalcondition, organic carbon content and crop productivity in cotton-sor-ghum system (Table 7). It was observed that seed yield of cotton wasfailed to improved because of tap root system of cotton which anable ex-traction of nutrients from deeper layer (Khiani and More,1984). In anotherstudy, Tomar et al. (1992) concluded that residue management as surfacemulch and reduced tillage provide a congenial environment for native mi-cro flora and fauna which improving significantly on SOC. In alluvial soil,application of residue mulches or compost often improves organic carbon(Sharma et al., 1986).


12

10

8

6

4

2

0

N NPK NPK + FYM

Soybean-wheat

Rice-wheat

Soybean-wheat

Org

anic

C(g

/kg)

Haplustalf Hapluquept Chromustert

FIGURE 3. Effect of continous cropping and fertilizer use for 25 years on organicC content of semiarid and subhumid soils of India

Adapted from: Swarup (1998)

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SOC Storage in Degraded and Wastes Lands

Degraded Land

Land degradation through erosion results in reduction or complete lossof natural capacity of soil to produce healthy and nutritious crops due toloss of nutrient rich surface soil, leaching of nutrients, reduced water re-tention and formation of hard pan. In India water erosion is the single mostimportant cause of land degradation both in severity and extent. Out of thetotal degraded land (about 167 M ha), 90 M ha is degraded through theprocess of water erosion. However, the effect of water erosion is morepronounced in hills especially where jhum cultivation is the primary landuse system specially in northeast hill states, Bihar, and central India(Prasad and Rao, 1990). The adverse effect of jhum cultivation has furtherincreased with shortening of cultivation cycle from 25-30 years to 5-6years. Because of jhum cultivation, deforestation is proceeding at a muchfaster rate in hill regions (Singh, 1980, 1986, 1987; Singh and Pazo,1981). Alternate land use systems, viz., agro-forestry, agro-horticulture,


TABLE 7. Physico-chemical properties of the soil (0-20 cm depth) and mean yieldof cotton and sorghum grown in rotation under rainfed condition for 45 years.

Treatment Organicmatter

(%)

Totalnitrogen

(%)

Available nutrients– – – – (mg kg21) – – – –

Mean yield ofseed cotton(Mg ha21)

Mean grainyield of

sorghum(Mg ha21)N P K

HM 1.16 0.061 93.8 13.76 320 3.28 9.37PM 1.13 0.059 90.7 15.24 345 2.98 12.30H 0.59 0.047 77.8 10.48 283 1.44 7.15P 0.52 0.045 72.8 11.68 297 1.66 9.73LSD at 5% 0.05 0.017 2.7 0.80 6.66 0.50 3.07

TillageHarrowing 0.9 0.054 85.4 12.12 321 2.36 8.26Ploughing 0.8 0.052 81.8 13.40 321 2.26 11.01LSD at 5% NS NS 2.2 0.56 4.7 NS 2.18

ManuringManuring

with FYM1.14 0.060 92.3 14.50 333 3.09 10.84

No manure 0.56 0.046 75.0 11.08 290 1.53 8.44LSD at 5% 0.04 0.012 2.26 0.56 4.7 0.35 2.18

HM = Shallow tillage, harrowing up to 8-10 cm depth by Deccan blade harrow and manuring @ 6.2 Mg ha21 of FYM;PM = Deep tillage, ploughing up to 18-20 cm by iron plough (Kirloskar) and application of FYM at 6.2 Mg ha21; H =Shallow tillage harrowing only up to 8-10 cm depth with Deccan blade harrow and P = Deep tillage ploughing to 18-20cm with iron plough, NS = Not significant. Adapted from: Khiani and More (1984)

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and agro-silviculture, are more remunerative for SOC restoration as com-pared to sole cropping system. In northeast hill state India, where all theabove three land use systems are existed that reduce soil erosion and SOCloss considerably as reported by Munda et al. (1996) (Table 8). In a 6 yearstudy, Das and Itnal (1994) reported that organic carbon content wasabout double in agro-horticultural and agro-forestry systems as comparedto shifting cultivation (sole cropping).

In a 4 year study, the effect of management practices such as clean cul-tivated plots, cultivation of cereal maize and natural grasses on mean run-off, soil loss, and organic carbon showed that 47.1% of rainfall was lost inrunoff from the clean cultivated plots. However, 11 and 28% reduced itover clean cultivated plots due to cultivation of cereal maize and naturalgrasses, respectively (Yadav et al., 2000). Batra et al. (1997) observed thatgrowing Karnal grass (Leptochloa fusca) in saline-alkali soil increasedSOC by 64% compared with the initial value after 3 years of its cultiva-tion.

The conversion of long-term arable crop land to agro-horticulture re-sulted in a significant increase in SOC, soil biological activities, and fertil-ity status (Table 9). Under a system of different intercropped fruit trees,the cultivation of fruit trees, coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) intercroppedwith guava (Psidium guajava L.) enhanced the soil biological activitiesapproximately 2-fold after 38 years over 10 yrs of the same intercroppedsystem, and SOC increased from 3.4 to 7.8 and 2.4 to 6.2 g kg21 after 38and 10 yrs, respectively. The increase was attributed to greater recyclingof bio-litters. In a 5 year study, Gupta (1995) reported that SOC increased


TABLE 8. Comparison of watershed based alternative land use system (mean of5 years).

Land use Soil and waterconservationmanure

Soil loss(Mg ha21)

Organic carbon loss(kg21 ha21 yr21)

1. Shifting cultivation (maize,tapioca, vegetables) (monocropping)

-- 40.9 702.9

2. Agriculture in 1/3 lower intercroppingfield crops with horticulture in upper2/3 (agri-horticulture)

Partial terrace orhalfmoon terrace

2.6 35.1

3. Agriculture in entire area (rice onlower terrace, maize and tapioca onhigher terrace followed by black gramand mustard (double cropping)

Full bench terrace 2.1 30.8

4. Agriculture in entire area (same as 3) Contour bund 16.0 260.8

Adapted from: Munda et al. (1996)

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from starting value of 0.44 to 0.95, 0.95, 0.88, 0.80 and 0.76% underDalbergia sisso, Pongamia spp., Leucaena leucocephal, Acacia nilotica,and Dalbergia Lalifolia, respectively.

Management practices for agro-forestry are more complex becausemultiple species having varied phonological, physiological and agro-nomic requirements are involved. Singh et al. (1986) studied the perfor-mance of Prosopis juliflora with and without interplanted Leptochloa fuscagrass and found that Prosopis spp., being slow in growth and smaller inheight during establishment stage, was adversely affected due to luxuriantgrowth of Leptochloa fusca. For moderately alkali/ reclaimed alkali soils,Eucalyptus tereticornis, Acacia nilotica, and Dalbergia sisso basedagro-forestry system are more common in India (Singh et al., 1997). Im-provement in terms of build-up of SOC in a period of six years was in theorder: Acacia based > Populus based >Eucalyptus based > sole crop basedsystem. Singh et al. (1994) reported 6-10 fold increases in SOC status of asodic soil when the field had been occupied by trees like Prosopisjuliflora, Acacia nilotica, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Terminalis arjuna andAlbizia lebbek for more than 20 years (Table10).

Waste Land

The steady increase of CO2 in the atmosphere is a serious threat to agri-culture and the environment. A mean level of CO2-C in the atmosphere isincreasing at the rate of 0-3% per year since the 1950s, reaching 350 ppmat present (Houghton and woodwell, 1989). It has been estimated that inIndia the forest cover has been depleted at the rate of 1.3 million ha21 y21

(Yadav, 1990), due to heavy pressures on forest lands for agricultural useand increased felling of trees to meet the requirements of the burgeninghuman and animal population. Such a deforestation trend in the world in-dicates that global climate will become warmer in the near future, due toincreasing CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. One way to face thesechallenges is to restore the ecological balance by planting more trees.Wastelands in India are estimated at about 118 million ha (Sehgal andAbrol, 1994). Many of these soils do not support any kind of vegetationexcept some perennial bushes and grass, which grow during the monsoonperiod. Wastelands being extremely C depleted have a relatively high po-tential for accumulating C in vegetation and soil if suitable trees andgrass/crop species are grown, along with proper soil management prac-tices. Sequestration of C implies not only increasing the amount of C en-tering the soil but also decreasing the amount leaving throughdecomposition or erosion. Establishing permanent vegetative cover of


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trees and herbaceous plants on waste lands will add to the OC levels in thesoil and reduce C loss through decomposition by moderating the tempera-ture. For example, one hectare of new forest will sequester about 6.2 tonesof C annually, whereas 118 million ha wastelands as reported by Sehgaland Abrol, (1994) have the potential to sequester nearly 1165 milliontones of C annually.

An agricultural practice with a profound positive effect on SOC is wa-ter management, soil fertility, tillage, land-use management and croppingsystems (Figure 4). On the otherhand, agriculture activities such asdeforestration, burning, plowing and intensive grazing contribute consid-erably to the atmospheric C pools. Three aspects of water managementare: in-situ conservation, water harvesting, and drainage management(Figure 4). Both in-situ water conservation and water harvesting are im-portant for improving plant biomass production and increasing SOC insemiarid and tropic regions. In contrast to drainage of excessively wetsoils may decrease SOC content by increasing biological activities. Soilfertility management is equally important in maintenance of SOC. Fertil-ity maintenance may involve use of inorganic fertilizers and supplementof inorganic through organics. Beneficial effects of organic materials onSOC are well known (Swarup, 1998). Soil tillage affects SOC through itsinfluence on both aggrading and degrading processes. Soil aggrading pro-cesses that enhance non-labile fraction of SOC and increase its stable ag-gregation. Soil degrading processes that enhance SOC losses througherosion, leaching, and mineralization. Conservation tillage usually has apositive impact on increases SOC through enhancement of soil aggradingprocesses. Improving traditional cropping systems through incorporationof leguminous crops in rotation, growing deep rooted crops and trees, inassociation of food crops, horticultural and pastures are good strategies toenhance SOC content (Figure 4).


TABLE 10. Ameliorating effects of mesquite and other plantations on an alkalisoil.

Initial After 20 years

pH Organic (%) pH Organic C

Eucalyptus tereticornis 10.3 0.12 9.18 0.33Acacia nilotica 10.3 0.12 9.03 0.55Albizia lebbek 10.3 0.12 8.67 0.47Terminalia arjuna 10.3 0.12 8.15 0.47Prosopis juliflora 10.3 0.12 8.03 0.58

Adapted from: Singh et al. (1994)

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PROBLEMS AND MANAGEMENT OF ORGANIC MATTERRECYCLING IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE

The following limitations are predominant in Indian agriculture.

• The most universal loss of SOM brought under intensive cultivationis central to the issue of agricultural sustainability. The utmost limi-tation is resources management. For example, farmers use about 2/3parts of available FYM manure and crop residues for fuel, or theysell it off-farm. Future scope to increase FYM and crop residuesavailability is limited. Green manuring is not success in a dominat-ing rice-wheat crop sequence because farmers are reluctant to loseone crop. Crop residues should be returned to the field either through


Water management

Water conservation

Water harvesting

Drainage

Soilfertility

Chemicalfertilizer use

Organicmanure use

Integrated use oforganic andchemical fertilizer

Soil tillage

Tillagemethods

Residuemanagement

Trafficmechanization

Land usemanagement

Plantation

Agro-forestry

Agro-horticulture

Agro-pastoral

Croppingsystems

Croppingintensity

Cultivationduration

Fallowing

Inter andmixedcropping

Soil and water management

Soil surface management

FIGURE 4. Schematic representation of various soil water management systemson C-sequestration

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composting or in-situ decomposition in the field during transition pe-riod of two crops (Manna and Ganguly, 2000). The period should notbe less than two months.

• Growing industrialization and urbanization is generating plentyof solid wastes, sewage, and effluents that are alternate source ofC as well as plant nutrients. But farmers are avoiding use of thesewastes because they believe them to be unhygienic, contain toxic el-ements, and their transport cost is higher than chemical fertilizers.There are no governmental requirements to reuse these valuablesources, whereas some countries like China (Jiyun and Portch, 1994)force to reuse of these waste for sustainable crop production and forimprovement in SOC. The agro-based industrial wastes, and citygarbage could be processed by mechanical plant composting or anyother existing techniques of composting. Use of this composts to soilcould increase SOC and minimize environmental pollution.

• Continuous use of the same crops and cropping systems likerice-wheat system in the Indo-Genetic plains, unbalanced and inap-propriate use of chemical fertilizers, and minimal or no use of or-ganic matter is a major constraint to SOC restoration.

• Lack of integration and co-ordination between farmers, demonstra-tor, and particularly participatory researcher exists. Research insti-tutes already employ participatory research techniques, butbottom-up and also top-down research hardly reach to the farmers.More field demonstration at farmers field are required to solve theseproblems.

FUTURE RESEARCH NEEDS

• There is a need for developing technologies to optimize the qualityand quantity of organic matter along with chemical fertilizer underdifferent soil crop management systems on SOC restoration.

• Greater pragmatism is required from policy makers to safeguard theuse of different solid wastes generated from agro-based industriesfor ecological sustainability.

• Research should be established on beneficial and harmful efforts ofsolid city wastes, sewage water and industrial effluents under differ-ent soil crop management systems.

• For sequestering C through agro-forestry, our research strategiesshould concentrate on: (i) development of silvi-pastoral, horti-pas-toral, agri-pastoral and silvi-cultural models for all kinds of waste-


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lands in different agro-climatic regions of the country and(ii) estimation of C sequestration potential of different land use sys-tems, viz., arable farming, forest plantations and agro-forestry in pi-lot scale studies may be initiated at selected places where above threesystems already exist.

• Identifying sustainable systems for C sequestration and increasedproductivity in semiarid and subtropical environment. There arethree potential ways to increase SOC storage rate: (i) by increasingcarbon inputs, (ii) by decreasing decomposition rate of organics, and(iii) by reducing the amount of CO2 produced per unit of organicmatter decomposition. Intensive research on these process should beevaluated by management practices in tropical zone agro-ecosys-tems.

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RECEIVED: 05/14/01REVISED: 12/05/01

ACCEPTED: 01/14/02


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sustainable crop production through management of soil organic carbon in semiarid and tropical india

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