Reduced greenhouse gas mitigation potential of no-tillage soils through earthworm activity

Scientific Reports
Ingrid M LubbersJan Willem van Groenigen

Abstract

Concerns about rising greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations have spurred the promotion of no-tillage practices as a means to stimulate carbon storage and reduce CO2 emissions in agro-ecosystems. Recent research has ignited debate about the effect of earthworms on the GHG balance of soil. It is unclear how earthworms interact with soil management practices, making long-term predictions on their effect in agro-ecosystems problematic. Here we show, in a unique two-year experiment, that earthworm presence increases the combined cumulative emissions of CO2 and N2O from a simulated no-tillage (NT) system to the same level as a simulated conventional tillage (CT) system. We found no evidence for increased soil C storage in the presence of earthworms. Because NT agriculture stimulates earthworm presence, our results identify a possible biological pathway for the limited potential of no-tillage soils with respect to GHG mitigation.

References

Jan 5, 2006·Journal of Environmental Quality·Haydée S Steinbach, Roberto Alvarez
Aug 28, 2007·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Peter R HobbsRaj Gupta
Mar 19, 2013·Global Change Biology·Chris van KesselKees Jan van Groenigen
Jul 23, 2013·Global Change Biology·Todd S RosenstockKlaus Butterbach-Bahl
Oct 24, 2013·Global Change Biology·Javed IqbalTimothy B Parkin
Sep 16, 2014·Scientific Reports·Jan Willem van GroenigenKees Jan van Groenigen
Oct 23, 2014·Nature·Cameron M PittelkowChris van Kessel

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Citations

Jul 21, 2017·Global Change Biology·Diego AbalosGerlinde B De Deyn
Jun 4, 2019·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Yafei GuoAizhen Liang
Oct 7, 2019·Global Change Biology·Ingrid M LubbersJan Willem van Groenigen

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