Short-Term Carbon Sequestration and Changes of Soil Organic Carbon Pools in Rice under Integrated Nutrient Management in India

Mousumi Ghosh, Waqar Ashiq, Hiteshkumar Bhogilal Vasava, Duminda N. Vidana Gamage, Prasanta K. Patra and Asim Biswas
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Mousumi Ghosh: Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia 741221, India
Waqar Ashiq: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada
Hiteshkumar Bhogilal Vasava: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada
Duminda N. Vidana Gamage: Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X3V9, Canada
Prasanta K. Patra: Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia 741221, India
Asim Biswas: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: While the capability of integrated nutrient management (INM) in rice systems has been adequately studied, little is known about the related short-term carbon sequestration and changes in soil carbon fractions. Our study examined the responses of organic carbon pools, carbon sequestration and rice yields after application of different organic manures combined with chemical fertilizers in a rice–rice ( Oryza sativa L.) cropping system in the red and laterite agro-climatic zones of West Bengal, India. The treatments included non-fertilized control; rice straw (RS) + nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer (NPK); Gliricidia (GL) + NPK; farmyard manure (FYM) + NPK; vermicompost (VC) + NPK; and NPK only. Rice straw + NPK treatment resulted in the highest total organic carbon and passive pool of carbon. Vermicompost + NPK treatment resulted in the highest oxidizable organic carbon (0.69%), dissolved organic carbon (0.007%) and microbial biomass carbon (0.01%), followed by FYM + NPK, GL + NPK and RS + NPK as compared to control. Rice straw + NPK sequestered the highest amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) as the total organic carbon (91.10 t ha −1 ) and passive pool of carbon (85.64 t ha −1 ), whereas VC + NPK resulted in the highest amount of CO 2 (10.24 t ha −1 ) being sequestered as the active pool of carbon, followed by FYM + NPK (8.33 t ha −1 ) and GL + NPK (7.22 t ha −1 ). The application of both NPK only and VC + NPK treatments resulted in the highest grain yields over the three cropping seasons. In spite of high carbon sequestration being observed in more recalcitrant carbon pools, RS + NPK resulted in little increase (3.52 t ha −1 ) in rice yield over the short term. The results of this study suggest that the short-term changes of soil carbon fractions and carbon sequestration primarily depend on the type of organic manure used. Vermicompost, FYM and GL provide more labile carbon, which can improve rice yield over the short term. However, it is suggested to explore the dynamics of different carbon fractions, carbon sequestration in different pools and rice yields over longer periods of time.

Keywords: rice soil; organic manure; microbial biomass carbon; climate change; agronomic management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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