Book ChapterDOI
Conservation agriculture, improving soil quality for sustainable production systems?
Nele Verhulst,Bram Govaerts,Els Verachtert,A. Castellanos-Navarrete,Monica Mezzalama,Patrick C. Wall,A. Chocobar,Jozef Deckers,Ken D. Sayre +8 more
- pp 137-208
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TLDR
In this article, a comparative soil quality evaluation is performed in which the performance of the system is determined in relation to alternatives, and the results show that the effect of a reduction in tillage on the variation in total porosity with depth may be related to differences in traffic on different sites, or on soil quality at the time tillage was reduced or stopped.Abstract:
Conservation agriculture has been proposed as a widely adapted set of management principles that can assure more sustainable agricultural production. Conservation agriculture removes the emphasis from the tillage component alone and addresses a more enhanced concept of the complete agricultural system. Applying conservation agriculture essentially means altering literally generations of traditional farming practices and implement use. Within the framework of agricultural production, high soil quality equates to the ability of the soil to maintain a high productivity without significant soil or environmental degradation. A comparative soil quality evaluation is one in which the performance of the system is determined in relation to alternatives. Inconsistent effects of a reduction in tillage on the variation in total porosity with depth may be related to differences in traffic on different sites, or on soil quality at the time tillage was reduced or stopped.read more
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Dissertation
Assessing the potential of conservation agriculture to off-set the effects of climate change on crop productivity using crop simulations model (APSIM)
TL;DR: The experimental design used was a split plot with CA and CT treatments as main. as discussed by the authors showed a significant difference of 1802 kg ha-1 on observed grain yield in 2014/15 season compared between conventional Tillage (CPM2) ridge and furrow and conservation agriculture (DS-MC) treatments.
Dissertation
Environmental sustainability assessment of the primary school catering sector
TL;DR: The Environmental Assessment Tool of School meals (EATS) as discussed by the authors is a tool that enables catering companies and local authorities to self-assess the environmental impact of a meal in terms of its carbon and water footprint, with the purpose of identifying hotspot meals and comparing alternatives.
Dissertation
Dynamics of soil organic carbon and available nutrients in maize-based cropping systems under conservation agriculture
TL;DR: In this paper, a long-term study was conducted to evaluate the impact of tillage practices and maize-based cropping systems on soil organic carbon pools, mineral N (NO3 and NH4 + ), available macroand micronutrients along with some indicators of soil biological health like soil microbial biomass carbon (SMB-C) and dehydrogenase activity (DHA) in a sandy loam soil of north-western Indo-Gangetic plain region.
Dissertation
Tillage, Crop Residue and Inorganic Nitrogen Effects on Crop Yields, Soil Carbon and Nitrogen in Kirimari Ward in Embu County, Kenya
TL;DR: A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment for The Degree of Master of Environmental Studies (Agroforestry and Rural Development) In the School of Environmental studies of Kenyatta University, June, 2019 as mentioned in this paper.
Book ChapterDOI
No-till farming systems for sustainable agriculture: an overview
TL;DR: The adoption of no-till farming systems has increased at an exponential rate since the 1990s and they are now used on 12.5% of global croplands.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Organic matter and water-stable aggregates in soils
Judith. Tisdall,J.M. Oades +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the effectiveness of various binding agents at different stages in the structural organization of aggregates is described and forms the basis of a model which illustrates the architecture of an aggregate.
Journal ArticleDOI
Stabilization mechanisms of soil organic matter: Implications for C-saturation of soils
TL;DR: The relationship between soil structure and the ability of soil to stabilize soil organic matter (SOM) is a key element in soil C dynamics that has either been overlooked or treated in a cursory fashion when developing SOM models as discussed by the authors.
Journal ArticleDOI
Soil structure and management: a review
C.J. Bronick,Rattan Lal +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, soil organic carbon (SOC), biota, ionic bridging, clay and carbonates are associated with aggregation by rearrangement, flocculation and cementation.
Journal ArticleDOI
A history of research on the link between (micro)aggregates, soil biota, and soil organic matter dynamics
TL;DR: In this article, Tisdall and Oades [J. Soil Sci. 62 (1982) 141] coined the aggregate hierarchy concept describing a spatial scale dependence of mechanisms involved in micro- and macroaggregate formation.
Journal ArticleDOI
Environmental and Economic Costs of Soil Erosion and Conservation Benefits
David Pimentel,Celia A. Harvey,P. Resosudarmo,K. Sinclair,D. Kurz,M. McNair,S. Crist,L. Shpritz,L. Fitton,R. Saffouri,R. Blair +10 more
TL;DR: With the addition of a quarter of a million people each day, the world population's food demand is increasing at a time when per capita food productivity is beginning to decline.