Mistra Food Futures report #3 “Effect of ley inclusion in crop rotations on soil carbon stocks in a life cycle perspective” analyses the effects of changes in carbon stocks in topsoil and underground on the overall climate impact of agricultural production systems for two crop rotations in two different locations in Sweden.
Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils has been proposed as an important climate change mitigation strategy. Large amounts of carbon are stored in soils globally and increasing carbon sequestration in agricultural soils through improved cropland management is an important climate mitigation strategy (IPCC, 2020). One of the most promising management strategies is to use more perennial forage crops in crop rotations (Kätterer and Bolinder, 2022).
This study analysed the effects of carbon stock changes in topsoil and subsoil on the overall climate impact of agricultural production systems for two crop rotations (cereal monoculture, ley-dominated) in two different locations in Sweden.
– The largest effect of soil carbon accumulation was observed in the ley rotation at the site with loamy soil where soil carbon accumulation was observed in both the topsoil and subsoil, possibly due to a higher proportion of roots entering the subsoil, says Hanna Karlsson Potter, researcher at Mistra Food Futures.
Authors
Emma Moberg, Hanna Karlsson Potter, Martin Bolinder, Thomas Kätterer, Nargish Parvin, Rong Lang (2022).
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Mistra Food Futures Report #3. Effect of ley inclusion in crop rotations on soil carbon stocks in a life cycle perspective.
