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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 47(3)

Accumulation of soil carbon under zero tillage cropping and perennial vegetation on the Liverpool Plains, eastern Australia

R. R. Young A D , B. Wilson B C , S. Harden A and A. Bernardi A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A NSW Department of Primary Industries, Tamworth Agricultural Institute, 4 Marsden Park Road, Calala, NSW 2340, Australia.

B NSW Department Environment and Climate Change, PO Box U245, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.

C School of Environmental and Rural Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: rick.young@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Australian Journal of Soil Research 47(3) 273-285 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR08104
Submitted: 30 April 2008  Accepted: 2 December 2008   Published: 25 May 2009

Abstract

Australian agriculture contributes an estimated 16% of all national greenhouse gas emissions, and considerable attention is now focused on management approaches that reduce net emissions. One area of potential is the modification of cropping practices to increase soil carbon storage.

Here, we report short–medium term changes in soil carbon under zero tillage cropping systems and perennial vegetation, both in a replicated field experiment and on nearby farmers’ paddocks, on carbon-depleted Black Vertosols in the upper Liverpool Plains catchment.

Soil organic carbon stocks (CS) remained unchanged under both zero tillage long fallow wheat–sorghum rotations and zero tillage continuous winter cereal in a replicated field experiment from 1994 to 2000. There was some evidence of accumulation of CS under intensive (>1 crop/year) zero tillage response cropping. There was significant accumulation of CS (~0.35 Mg/ha.year) under 3 types of perennial pasture, despite removal of aerial biomass with each harvest. Significant accumulation was detected in the 0–0.1, 0.1–0.2, and 0.2–0.4 m depth increments under lucerne and the top 2 increments under mixed pastures of lucerne and phalaris and of C3 and C4 perennial grasses. Average annual rainfall for the period of observations was 772 mm, greater than the 40-year average of 680 mm. A comparison of major attributes of cropping systems and perennial pastures showed no association between aerial biomass production and accumulation rates of CS but a positive correlation between the residence times of established plants and accumulation rates of CS. CS also remained unchanged (1998/2000–07) under zero tillage cropping on nearby farms, irrespective of paddock history before 1998/2000 (zero tillage cropping, traditional cropping, or ~10 years of sown perennial pasture).

These results are consistent with previous work in Queensland and central western New South Wales suggesting that the climate (warm, semi-arid temperate, semi-arid subtropical) of much of the inland cropping country in eastern Australia is not conducive to accumulation of soil carbon under continuous cropping, although they do suggest that CS may accumulate under several years of healthy perennial pastures in rotation with zero tillage cropping.


Acknowledgments

We thank Robert and Edwina Duddy for making the site on ‘Hudson’ available for our work, and Neil Barwick, Brien Cobcroft, and James Badgery for access to their country. We thank Alison Bowman, Brendan George, Yin Chan, and 2 anonymous referees for very helpful comments on earlier drafts, Anthony Ringrose-Voase for his insightful comments on the bulk density calculations, and Ross McLeod and Wayne McPherson for their excellent work in the paddock and in the soil processing shed. This work was funded by a NSW Government Climate Action Grant (T06/CAG/003) made avalilable to NSW Department of Primary Industries on the recommendation of the Namoi Catchment Management Authority. The field experiment and original sampling of farmers’ paddocks was funded by a series of grants from GRDC, Salt Action and Land and Water Australia from 1993 to 2002.


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