Increasing soil organic carbon of agricultural land（增加土壤有机碳的农业用地）.pdf

JANUARY 2008 PRIMEFACT 735 Increasing soil organic carbon of agricultural land Dr Yin Chan Principal Research Scientist (Soils), Richmond • Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) can improve soil health and can help to mitigate climate change. • Although there is a limit on the amount of organic carbon that can be stored in soils, the large losses in the past means that many Australian agricultural soils have the potential for large increases. • SOC levels are influenced by management practices. Many management practices that are effective in increasing SOC are also effective in improving crop and pasture yields. • The actual amount of soil carbon that can be stored is dependent on the farming system (management practices), soil type and climatic conditions, as well as the initial soil carbon level of the site. Figure 1. Soil organic carbon forms part of the natural carbon cycle (see Table 1). What is soil organic carbon? (White arrows indicate additional human outputs) Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the carbon associated with soil organic matter. Soil organic matter is the Minerals are released into the soil and carbon organic fraction of the soil that is made up of dioxide back to the atmosphere. decomposed plant and animal materials as well as microbial organisms, but does not include fresh There is a continuous turnover of organic carbon and un-decomposed plant materials, such as straw materials in soil, and SOC is not a uniform material and litter, lying on the soil surface. Soil carbon can but rather a complex mixture of organic compounds also be present in inorganic forms, e.g. lime or at different stages of decomposition. carbonates i