Conservation Agriculture as a System to Enhance Ecosystem Services

Somasundaram Jayaraman, Yash P. Dang, Anandkumar Naorem, Kathryn L. Page and Ram C. Dalal
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Somasundaram Jayaraman: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Nabibagh, Bhopal 462038, Madhya Pradesh, India
Yash P. Dang: School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane 4072, Australia
Anandkumar Naorem: ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Bhuj 370105, Gujarat, India
Kathryn L. Page: School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane 4072, Australia
Ram C. Dalal: School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane 4072, Australia

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: Conservation agriculture (CA) is considered a sustainable practice with the potential to maintain or increase crop productivity and improve environmental quality and ecosystem services. It typically improves soil quality and water conservation; however, its effect on crop productivity is highly variable and dependent on local conditions/management. Crop residue retention plays a crucial role in CA and can help to improve overall soil health and ultimately crop productivity and sustainability. However, weed control, herbicide resistance, and weed shift under residue retained fields is a major challenge. Moreover, CA can increase water infiltration and reduce soil loss and runoff. This reduces the surface transport of nitrate and phosphorus from agricultural fields and the eutrophication of water bodies, although leaching of nitrate to groundwater can potentially increase. In addition, CA has been proposed as one of the components in climate-smart agriculture, owing to its reduced period to seed/plant next crop, reduced soil disturbance and low consumption of fossil fuels. Therefore, compared to the conventional intensive tillage, CA has a greater potential for soil C sequestration, favors higher soil biodiversity, lowers greenhouse gas emission, and can assist in mitigating climate change. However, not all experiments report a positive impact. The understanding and decoding the site-specific complexities of CA system is important and requires a multidisciplinary approach.

Keywords: conservation agriculture; no-till farming; ecosystem services; climate change; soil health; biodiversity; water; greenhouse gas; carbon sequestration (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
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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