Corn stover harvest reduces soil CO 2 fluxes but increases overall C losses
Abstract
Abstract Harvesting corn ( Zea mays L.) stover for use as bioenergy feedstock may provide short‐term economic benefits and perhaps improve grain yield in continuous corn systems, but excessive stover removal may lead to long‐term depletion of soil C stocks. To better quantify the impacts of stover harvest on the soil C balance, we investigated CO 2 fluxes under three harvest treatments (none, moderate, and high) in three continuous corn systems: (a) no tillage and no biochar applications, (b) chisel plowing with biochar amendments, and (c) chisel plowing without biochar amendments were quantified. We sampled static chambers 14, 13, and 15 times in 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively, and the measurements were used to calibrate the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator model. Although CO 2 ‐C emissions did not differ among the three systems, both moderate (approximately 30%) and high (approximately 60%) stover removal rates reduced simulated CO 2 ‐C emissions by nearly 10% and more than 22%, respectively. Despite these reductions in CO 2 flux, the sum of CO 2 ‐C and stover C exceeded CO 2 ‐C losses in those plots without stover removal. This finding suggested soil C depletion was occurring for the soil and crop management practicesmore »
- Authors:
-
[1];
[2];
- USDA‐ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment Ames IA USA
- Agronomy Department Iowa State University Ames IA USA
- USDA‐ARS DLKarlen Consulting LLC 487 Ashland Ave. St. Paul MN 55102 USA
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- USDA-ARS, Ames, IA (United States); USDA-ARS, St. Paul, MN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1657867
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1786948; OSTI ID: 1836087
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-ANTARES-07088-17
Journal ID: ISSN 1757-1693
- Grant/Contract Number:
- 60‐5030‐6‐007; EE0007088
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Global Change Biology. Bioenergy
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Global Change Biology. Bioenergy Journal Volume: 12 Journal Issue: 11; Journal ID: ISSN 1757-1693
- Publisher:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; APSIM; biochar; biofuel; carbon balance; crop residue; greenhouse gas; soil carbon; soil respiration
Citation Formats
O’Brien, Peter L., Sauer, Thomas J., Archontoulis, Sotirios, Karlen, Douglas L., and Laird, David. Corn stover harvest reduces soil CO 2 fluxes but increases overall C losses. United Kingdom: N. p., 2020.
Web. doi:10.1111/gcbb.12742.
O’Brien, Peter L., Sauer, Thomas J., Archontoulis, Sotirios, Karlen, Douglas L., & Laird, David. Corn stover harvest reduces soil CO 2 fluxes but increases overall C losses. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12742
O’Brien, Peter L., Sauer, Thomas J., Archontoulis, Sotirios, Karlen, Douglas L., and Laird, David. Fri .
"Corn stover harvest reduces soil CO 2 fluxes but increases overall C losses". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12742.
@article{osti_1657867,
title = {Corn stover harvest reduces soil CO 2 fluxes but increases overall C losses},
author = {O’Brien, Peter L. and Sauer, Thomas J. and Archontoulis, Sotirios and Karlen, Douglas L. and Laird, David},
abstractNote = {Abstract Harvesting corn ( Zea mays L.) stover for use as bioenergy feedstock may provide short‐term economic benefits and perhaps improve grain yield in continuous corn systems, but excessive stover removal may lead to long‐term depletion of soil C stocks. To better quantify the impacts of stover harvest on the soil C balance, we investigated CO 2 fluxes under three harvest treatments (none, moderate, and high) in three continuous corn systems: (a) no tillage and no biochar applications, (b) chisel plowing with biochar amendments, and (c) chisel plowing without biochar amendments were quantified. We sampled static chambers 14, 13, and 15 times in 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively, and the measurements were used to calibrate the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator model. Although CO 2 ‐C emissions did not differ among the three systems, both moderate (approximately 30%) and high (approximately 60%) stover removal rates reduced simulated CO 2 ‐C emissions by nearly 10% and more than 22%, respectively. Despite these reductions in CO 2 flux, the sum of CO 2 ‐C and stover C exceeded CO 2 ‐C losses in those plots without stover removal. This finding suggested soil C depletion was occurring for the soil and crop management practices used, even though depletion was not evident after 3 years. Application of biochar increased soil C levels, suggesting it may be able to offset some C losses. We conclude that for sustainable, highly productive agroecosystems that include stover harvest, all agronomic practices must be optimized to minimize C losses and maintain soil quality.},
doi = {10.1111/gcbb.12742},
journal = {Global Change Biology. Bioenergy},
number = 11,
volume = 12,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {Fri Sep 04 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Fri Sep 04 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}
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