Book Description

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is important not only for improving soil quality but also for contributing to climate change mitigation in agriculture. However, net greenhouse gas (GHG) balances, including methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), need to be considered, as practices that increase SOC might increase GHG emissions. Sustainable use of soil resources needs to be assessed over long time periods and across spatial scales; biogeochemical models are useful tools to estimate GHG emissions and corresponding mitigation potentials. A process-based, ecosystem model DayCent that simulates soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics from diverse agroecosystems, has been applied to observe SOC sequestration, GHG emissions and yield in a contrasting climatic region UK and Bangladesh agriculture. The study mainly focus on determination of GHG mitigation potentials under improved management practices in rice based cropland Bangladesh. We hypothesized that alternative management would increase SOC and reduce net GHG emissions. As crop yield is the most important variable for Bangladesh, it was includes in the simulations. Since site test simulations under different management using the DayCent model were satisfactory, the model was used to simulate GHG covering 64 districts of Bangladesh, considering climate, soil and SOC content for the period 1996-2015. An integrated management scenario consisting of irrigation, tillage with residue management, reduced mineral nitrogen fertilizer and manure application increased annual SOC stocks, and offset net GHG emissions while maintaining yield. The model outcome suggests that the "4 per mille" target is feasible for Bangladesh. It is also possible to contribute to the GHG reduction target by 2030 set by policy makers.