Contribution of Integrated Crop Livestock Systems to Climate Smart Agriculture in Argentina

Juan Cruz Colazo (), Juan de Dios Herrero, Ricardo Sager, Maria Laura Guzmán and Mohammad Zaman
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Juan Cruz Colazo: EEA San Luis, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Villa Mercedes 5730, Argentina
Juan de Dios Herrero: EEA Anguil, INTA, Anguil 6326, Argentina
Ricardo Sager: EEA San Luis, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Villa Mercedes 5730, Argentina
Maria Laura Guzmán: EEA San Luis, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Villa Mercedes 5730, Argentina
Mohammad Zaman: Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Section, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 1400 Vienna, Austria

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-11

Abstract: Integrated crop-livestock system (ICLS) is a useful practice to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) compared to continuous cropping systems (CC). However, robust data from different regions around the world remain to be collected. So, our objectives were to (i) compare SOC and its physical fractions in ICLS and CC, and (ii) evaluate the use of δ 13 C to identify the source of C of SOC in these systems in the Pampas region of Argentina. For that, we compared two farms, an ICLS and a CC having the same soil type and landscape position. The ICLS farm produces alfalfa grazed alternatively with soybean and corn, and the CC farm produces the latter two crops in a continuous sequence. Soil samples (0–5, 5–20, 20–40, and 40–60 cm) were collected and analyzed for SOC, its physical fractions, and their isotopic signature (δ 13 C). Soils under ICLS showed an increment of 50% of SOC stock compared to CC in the first 60 cm. This increase was related to 100–2000 µm fractions of SOC. The shift in δ 13 C signature is more in ICLS than in CC, suggesting that rotation with C3 legumes contributed to C sequestration and, therefore, climate-smart agriculture. The combination of on-farm research and isotopic technique can help to study deeply the effect of real farm practices on soil carbon derived from pasture.

Keywords: soil organic carbon; pastures; on-farm research; isotopic techniques; alfalfa; continuous cropping systems; humid pampas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:11:p:2060-:d:975327

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