Greenhouse gas emissions under conservation agriculture: a synthesis of field observations on integrating conservation tillage and cover crops
Conservation agriculture (CA), which combines conservation tillage and cover crops (CC), has gained increasing attention for its potential to improve soil health and mitigate climate change. Yet, there is limited research on its effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Thus, field studies across d...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica. Section B, Soil and Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/09064710.2025.2515024 |
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| author | Sandhya Karki Rattan Lal Klaus Lorenz |
| author_facet | Sandhya Karki Rattan Lal Klaus Lorenz |
| author_sort | Sandhya Karki |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Conservation agriculture (CA), which combines conservation tillage and cover crops (CC), has gained increasing attention for its potential to improve soil health and mitigate climate change. Yet, there is limited research on its effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Thus, field studies across different geographic locations were synthesised to assess the impact of CA on GHG emissions compared to tilled soil without CC (control). CA did not affect methane (CH4) uptake but had variable effects on CH4 emissions. Of 90 nitrous oxide (N2O) observations, 70% demonstrated no significant difference between CA and control. Although a 6% overall reduction in N2O was observed under CA, the effect was not statistically significant. None of the analysed driving factors (soil properties, CC types, and CA duration) significantly affected N2O emissions. In contrast, CA increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 12%, especially in soil with higher SOC levels (> 20 g kg−1), under legume CCs, and during the first five years of CA adoption. However, the effect diminished with long-term CA implementation. This study highlights the complex interaction of GHG emissions with management practices and soil properties, emphasising the need for site-specific strategies and long-term monitoring under diverse field conditions to understand and optimise CA practice for GHG mitigation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d0c1ddf684ef4307940efbc5b7c9f8ed |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0906-4710 1651-1913 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica. Section B, Soil and Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-d0c1ddf684ef4307940efbc5b7c9f8ed2025-08-20T03:24:16ZengTaylor & Francis GroupActa Agriculturae Scandinavica. Section B, Soil and Plant Science0906-47101651-19132025-12-0175110.1080/09064710.2025.2515024Greenhouse gas emissions under conservation agriculture: a synthesis of field observations on integrating conservation tillage and cover cropsSandhya Karki0Rattan Lal1Klaus Lorenz2CFAES Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USACFAES Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USACFAES Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USAConservation agriculture (CA), which combines conservation tillage and cover crops (CC), has gained increasing attention for its potential to improve soil health and mitigate climate change. Yet, there is limited research on its effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Thus, field studies across different geographic locations were synthesised to assess the impact of CA on GHG emissions compared to tilled soil without CC (control). CA did not affect methane (CH4) uptake but had variable effects on CH4 emissions. Of 90 nitrous oxide (N2O) observations, 70% demonstrated no significant difference between CA and control. Although a 6% overall reduction in N2O was observed under CA, the effect was not statistically significant. None of the analysed driving factors (soil properties, CC types, and CA duration) significantly affected N2O emissions. In contrast, CA increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 12%, especially in soil with higher SOC levels (> 20 g kg−1), under legume CCs, and during the first five years of CA adoption. However, the effect diminished with long-term CA implementation. This study highlights the complex interaction of GHG emissions with management practices and soil properties, emphasising the need for site-specific strategies and long-term monitoring under diverse field conditions to understand and optimise CA practice for GHG mitigation.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/09064710.2025.2515024Conservation agriculturemeta-analysisminimum tillageno tillagereduced tillage |
| spellingShingle | Sandhya Karki Rattan Lal Klaus Lorenz Greenhouse gas emissions under conservation agriculture: a synthesis of field observations on integrating conservation tillage and cover crops Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica. Section B, Soil and Plant Science Conservation agriculture meta-analysis minimum tillage no tillage reduced tillage |
| title | Greenhouse gas emissions under conservation agriculture: a synthesis of field observations on integrating conservation tillage and cover crops |
| title_full | Greenhouse gas emissions under conservation agriculture: a synthesis of field observations on integrating conservation tillage and cover crops |
| title_fullStr | Greenhouse gas emissions under conservation agriculture: a synthesis of field observations on integrating conservation tillage and cover crops |
| title_full_unstemmed | Greenhouse gas emissions under conservation agriculture: a synthesis of field observations on integrating conservation tillage and cover crops |
| title_short | Greenhouse gas emissions under conservation agriculture: a synthesis of field observations on integrating conservation tillage and cover crops |
| title_sort | greenhouse gas emissions under conservation agriculture a synthesis of field observations on integrating conservation tillage and cover crops |
| topic | Conservation agriculture meta-analysis minimum tillage no tillage reduced tillage |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/09064710.2025.2515024 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sandhyakarki greenhousegasemissionsunderconservationagricultureasynthesisoffieldobservationsonintegratingconservationtillageandcovercrops AT rattanlal greenhousegasemissionsunderconservationagricultureasynthesisoffieldobservationsonintegratingconservationtillageandcovercrops AT klauslorenz greenhousegasemissionsunderconservationagricultureasynthesisoffieldobservationsonintegratingconservationtillageandcovercrops |