Climate change stress alleviation through nature based solutions: A global perspective

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Soil Science
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Global climate change impacts crop production and food security, necessitating nature-based solutions (NBS).
• Soil organic carbon (SOC) is vital for the global carbon cycle and mitigating soil stresses like drought and salinity.
• Understanding how land use patterns affect various SOC fractions is crucial for predicting carbon dynamics.

Approach:

• A meta-analysis of 97 global studies examined SOC fractions (MAOC, MAOM, SOC, EOC, MBC, POC) under different land use patterns.
• Conservation tillage practices, including no-tillage (NT) and reduced tillage (RT), with and without residue retention, were compared to conventional tillage (CT).
• The influence of cropping patterns (multiple vs. mono cropping) and environmental factors on SOC fractions was also investigated.

Key Points:

• No-tillage (NT) and reduced tillage (RT) significantly increased SOC fractions compared to conventional tillage (CT).
• Residue retention, particularly under no-tillage (NTR), showed the most substantial increases in SOC fractions.
• Multiple cropping also positively influenced specific SOC fractions like MAOC, MBC, and EOC.

Conclusions:

• Conservation tillage practices, especially when combined with residue retention and multiple cropping, enhance soil carbon sequestration globally.
• Assessing SOC sequestration requires considering various SOC fractions, not just total SOC, particularly those influencing soil biological activity.
• These findings support the use of conservation tillage as an effective NBS for improving soil health and mitigating climate change.