What are the management strategies to improve the soil organic dynamics as catalyst of crop resource capture in climate smart agriculture?
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key component of soil health in agro ecosystems. Improving SOC reserves increases soil fertility and thus largely leads to soil ability to sustain biodiversity, soil structure maintenance, regulation of pests and disease, and ensure food security. Moreover, it has been widely accepted that SOC may have great potential for climate change mitigation on a global scale, as well as the dynamics of soil carbon storage and actions to promote it. The management of SOC implies relevant strategies including different farming systems, conservation agriculture, integrated agriculture, and the application of organic fertilizers that are necessary to achieve a positive C balance and provide better nutrient control for the recovery of soil functions. Therefore, it is only through conservation agricultural practices and their effects on SOC dynamics that soil health is safeguarded. Soil organic matter affects many soil chemical, physical, and biological properties and their interactions. It affects soil nutrient and water availability, soil aggregation, resistance to erosion, porosity, water infiltration, and the amount and diversity of soil microorganisms and their activity. Improvement of SOM may require an increase in crop species diversity and/or increased biomass production, especially in the root system. The SOC reserves for different types of soils in NT adoption. The take advantage of NT technology leads to the sequestration of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, carbon deposition in soil humus and an increase in the profitability of cultivating crops. Management practices that promote SOM reduce water logging by accelerating water infiltration and may promote aeration in non-saturated soils. Compaction as a restriction to root development manifests in drying soils, when mechanical impedance (MI) inflates photosynthetic required extending root tips, leading to short, thick, and shallow roots. SOM reduces MI in dry soils and is associated with root channels to subsoil, granting crops access to deep soil water. Crop response to SOM depends on interactions of crop susceptibility to inadequate aeration or compaction, soil moisture, and “baseline” soil aeration and compaction status. Techniques such as zero or minimum tillage, mulching, cultivating cover crops, and hedgerow intercropping can be used to increase SOM and sustain soil health.
Practices such as using cover crops, applying manure and compost, rotating crops, and controlling erosion for soil conservation, can maintain or increase soil organic matter. Other practices, especially plowing, tilling and cultivating, can decrease the amount of organic matter in the soil. In order to minimize crop damage created by pests and maintain soil health, farmers apply different protection measures: crop rotation, crop isolation, tillage, mixed farming, proper planting time, cover crop and barriers, mulching and green manure, chemical, and natural soil and plant. There are several ways of improving aggregate stability: Retain surface cover to slow down the rate of wetting and lessen raindrop impact. Minimize tillage and traffic that damages existing soil structure. Increase root and biological activity by maintaining healthy vegetation growth. Improving soil management through practices like cover cropping and optimizing grazing patterns can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by increasing carbon uptake and reducing carbon losses from agricultural soils.Land uses and management that reduce carbon inputs or increase losses compared to natural vegetation result in reductions in SOC over time, creating a soil carbon deficit relative to the levels of carbon that previously existed in the soil. Rainfall and temperature have by far the strongest influence on soil organic matter levels. Soil organic matter content is usually higher where rainfall is higher and temperatures are cooler.
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