Record Details

Improved management of Vertisols in the semiarid tropics for increased productivity and soil carbon sequestration

OAR@ICRISAT

View Archive Info
 
 
Field Value
 
Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/2305/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.2003.tb00307.x
 
Title Improved management of Vertisols in the semiarid tropics for increased productivity and soil carbon sequestration
 
Creator Wani, S P
Pathak, P
Jangawad, L S
Eswaran, H
Singh, P
 
Subject Soil Science
Fertilizer Appications
 
Description This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that an improved system of catchment management in combination with appropriate cropping practices can sustain increased crop production and improve soil quality of Vertisols, compared with prevailing traditional farming practices. Initiated in 1976, the improved system consisted of integrated land management to conserve soil and water, with excess rainwater being removed in a controlled manner. This was combined with improved crop rotation (legume based) and integrated nutrient management. In the traditional system, sorghum or chickpea was grown in the post-rainy season with organic fertilizers, and in the rainy season the field was maintained as a cultivated fallow. The average grain yield of the improved system over 24 years was 4.7 t ha−1 yr−1, nearly a five-fold increase over the traditional system (about 1 t ha−1 yr−1). There was also evidence of increased organic C, total N and P, available N, P and K, microbial biomass C and N in the soil of the improved system. A positive relationship between soil available P and soil organic C suggested that application of P to Vertisols increased carbon sequestration by 7.4 t C ha−1 and, in turn, the productivity of the legume-based system, thus ultimately enhancing soil quality.
 
Publisher CAB International Publishing
 
Date 2003
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Rights —
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/2305/1/Improved_management_of_Vertisols_in_the_semiarid_tropics_forincreased_productivity_and_soil_carbon_sequestration.pdf
Wani, S P and Pathak, P and Jangawad, L S and Eswaran, H and Singh, P (2003) Improved management of Vertisols in the semiarid tropics for increased productivity and soil carbon sequestration. Soil Use and Management, 19 (3). pp. 217-222. ISSN 1475-2743