Track 2-05: Carbon Sequestration and Cycling
Description
Pastures are the main land use systems in the world and in Brazil they occupy 115 M ha. A major part of Brazil´s greenhouse gas emissions are due to land use change and agriculture. Livestock production comprises > 90% of methane and about 55% of CO2-equivalent emissions due to agriculture (Cerri et al. 2009). However, productive, well-managed pastures can improve degraded soils and increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks through humification of grass and root residues. In order to enhance pasture yields and SOC sequestration, nutrient availability in soils must also be improved, especially for N and P. This work aimed to assess how SOC stocks were affected by the combination of grasses and legumes, in comparison to only-grass pastures and other land uses in a clay Oxisol in southeast Brazil.
Included in
Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in a Brazilian Oxisol under Different Pasture Systems
Pastures are the main land use systems in the world and in Brazil they occupy 115 M ha. A major part of Brazil´s greenhouse gas emissions are due to land use change and agriculture. Livestock production comprises > 90% of methane and about 55% of CO2-equivalent emissions due to agriculture (Cerri et al. 2009). However, productive, well-managed pastures can improve degraded soils and increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks through humification of grass and root residues. In order to enhance pasture yields and SOC sequestration, nutrient availability in soils must also be improved, especially for N and P. This work aimed to assess how SOC stocks were affected by the combination of grasses and legumes, in comparison to only-grass pastures and other land uses in a clay Oxisol in southeast Brazil.
