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ullrika at the uncertainty show

Ullrika Sahlin

Senior lecturer

ullrika at the uncertainty show

Synergistic effects of multiple “good agricultural practices” for promoting organic carbon in soils : A systematic review of long-term experiments

Author

  • Raül López i Losada
  • Katarina Hedlund
  • Neal Robert Haddaway
  • Ullrika Sahlin
  • Louise E. Jackson
  • Thomas Kätterer
  • Emanuele Lugato
  • Helene B. Jørgensen
  • Per Erik Isberg

Summary, in English

Loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) from farmland is a key threat to the capacity of soils to provide ecosystem services and exacerbates climate change. In alignment with a published protocol, we conducted a review and meta-analysis of time series of SOC measurements in long-term agricultural experiments to study absolute SOC changes under different agricultural management regimes. Our results show that SOC in the upper 30 cm layer generally declined across long-term experiments (214 time data series in arable land across 23 sites in temperate to cold regions), but reducing tillage, adding organic amendments, diversifying crop rotations and avoiding bare fallows reduced losses. Furthermore, a net increase in SOC content is achieved when combining all four interventions. Applying multiple strategies for SOC preservation can unleash the potential for agricultural land to become a carbon sink while safeguarding agricultural yields for future generations.

Department/s

  • Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC)
  • BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
  • Biodiversity and Evolution
  • LU Profile Area: Nature-based future solutions
  • Soil Ecology
  • Computational Science for Health and Environment
  • Department of Statistics

Publishing year

2025

Language

English

Pages

1715-1728

Publication/Series

Ambio

Volume

54

Issue

11

Document type

Review article

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media B.V.

Topic

  • Soil Science
  • Environmental Sciences and Nature Conservation (including Biodiversity)
  • Climate Science

Keywords

  • Amendment
  • Carbon sequestration
  • Crop rotation
  • Fertiliser
  • Meta-analysis
  • Tillage
  • SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action
  • SDG 15 - Life on Land

Status

Published

Project

  • Production potential of agricultural biomass and policy instruments to promote a fossil-free society while meeting food production and environmental objectives

Research group

  • Soil Ecology
  • Computational Science for Health and Environment

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0044-7447