Potential of conservation agriculture for ecosystem services: A review
![](/public/icon/gor.png)
![](/public/icon/pdf.png)
Keywords:
Carbon sequestration, Conservation agriculture, Ecosystem services, Food security, Residue ManagementAbstract
Conservation agriculture (CA) has emerged as a promising technology for efficient rational use of available resources and sustained productivity in the long run. By saving inputs, reducing energy usage and greenhouse gases emissions, CA-based management practices are quite viable for bringing sustenance in agricultural crop production. The CA system can provide multiple ecosystem services such as provisioning, regulating and supporting services. The regulating services include improving carbon status, and physical, chemical and biological properties of soil, which further lead to provisioning services in terms of sustained crop and water productivity. Increased soil carbon sequestration improves supporting services, namely, soil aggregation that increases available soil moisture and can be helpful for better plant growth and development. It also improves soil biodiversity both above-and below-ground. Here we focus on the potential ecosystem service benefits accrued from CA. Conservation agriculture in the long run can be a strategy for sustainable crop intensification and a climate resilient crop management system.Downloads
References
Arshad M A, Franzluebbers A J, and Azooz R H. 1999. Components of surface soil structure under conventional and no-tillage in northwestern Canada. Soil and Tillage Research 53(1): 41–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-1987(99)00075-6
Bakker M M, Govers G and Rounsevell M D. 2004. The crop productivity–erosion relationship: an analysis based on experimental work. Catena 57(1): 55–76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2003.07.002
Baveye P C, Rangel D, Jacobson A R, Laba M, Darnault C, Otten W, Radulovich R and Camargo F A. 2011. From dust bowl to dust bowl: soils are still very much a frontier of science. Soil Science Society of America Journal 75(6): 2037–48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2011.0145
Behera B, Das T K, Ghosh S, Kaur R and Singh R. 2018. Brown manuring in maize (Zea mays): Effects on weed interference and crop productivity. Indian Journal of Agronomy 63(4): 100–3.
Bhattacharyya R, Das T K, Das S, Dey A, Patra A K, Agnihotri R, Ghosh A and Sharma A R. 2019. Four years of conservation agriculture affects topsoil aggregate-associated 15nitrogen but not the 15nitrogen use efficiency by wheat in a semi-arid climate. Geoderma 337: 333–40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.09.036
Bhattacharyya R, Das T K, Pramanik P, Ganeshan V, Saad A A and Sharma A R. 2013. Impacts of conservation agriculture on soil aggregation and aggregate-associated N under an irrigated agroecosystem of the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 96(2-3): 185–202. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-013-9585-6
Bhattacharyya R, Das T K, Sudhishri S, Dudwal B, Sharma A R, Bhatia A and Singh G. 2015. Conservation agriculture effects on soil organic carbon accumulation and crop productivity under a rice–wheat cropping system in the western Indo-Gangetic Plains. European Journal of Agronomy 70: 11–21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2015.06.006
Bhattacharyya R, Tuti M D, Bisht J K, Bhatt J C and Gupta H S. 2012. Conservation tillage and fertilization impact on soil aggregation and carbon pools in the Indian Himalayas under an irrigated rice-wheat rotation. Soil Science 177(3): 218–28. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/SS.0b013e3182408f1e
Blanco-Canqui H, Lal R, Owens L B, Post W M, and Izaurralde R C. 2005. Strength properties and organic carbon of soils in the North Appalachian region. Soil Science Society of America Journal 69(3): 663–73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2004.0254
Briones M J I and Schmidt O. 2017. Conventional tillage decreases the abundance and biomass of earthworms and alters their community structure in a global meta analysis. Global Change Biology 23(10): 4396–419. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13744
Costanza R, d'Arge R, De Groot R, Farber S, Grasso M, Hannon B, Limburg K, Naeem S, O'neill R V, Paruelo J and Raskin R. G. 1997. The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387(6630): 253–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/387253a0
Dabney S M, Wilson G V, McGregor K C and Foster G R. 2004. History, residue, and tillage effects on erosion of loessial soil. Transactions of the ASAE 47(3): 767–75. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.16108
Das T K, Bandyopadhyay K K, Bhattacharyya R, Sudhishri S, Sharma A R, Behera U K, Saharawat Y S, Sahoo P K, Pathak H, Vyas A K, Gupta H S, Gupta R K and Jat M L. 2016. Effects of conservation agriculture on crop productivity and water use efficiency under an irrigated pigeonpea-wheat cropping system in the western Indo-Gangetic Plains. Journal of Agricultural Science (Cambridge) 154(8): 1327–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859615001264
Das T K, Bhattacharyya R, Sharma A R, Das S, Saad A A and Pathak H. 2013. Impacts of conservation agriculture on total soil organic carbon retention potential under an irrigated agro-ecosystem of the western Indo-Gangetic Plains. European Journal of Agronomy 51: 34–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2013.07.003
Das T K, Bhattacharyya R, Sudhishri S, Sharma A R, Saharawat Y S, Bandyopadhyay K K, Sepat S, Bana R S, Aggarwal P, Sharma R K, Bhatia A, Singh G, Datta S P, Kar A, Singh B, Singh P, Pathak H, Vyas A K, Jat M L. 2014. Conservation agriculture in an irrigated cotton–wheat system of the western Indo-Gangetic Plains: Crop and water productivity and economic profitability. Field Crops Research 158: 24-33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2013.12.017
Das T K, Saharawat Y S, Bhattacharyya R, Sudhishri S, Bandyopadhyay K K, Sharma A R, and Jat M L. 2018. Conservation agriculture effects on crop and water productivity, profitability and soil organic carbon accumulation under a maize-wheat cropping system in the North-western Indo- Gangetic Plains. Field Crops Research 215: 222–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2017.10.021
Das T K, Sharma A R, Rana D S, Paul Tarun. 2016. Conservation agriculture, pp. 62-86. Modern Concepts of Agronomy. (Eds) Rana D S, Ghosh P K, Shivay Y S and Singh Gurbachan. Indian Society of Agronomy, New Delhi.
Delgado J A, Dillon M A, Sparks R T, and Essah S Y. 2007. A decade of advances in cover crops. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 62(5): 110A–117A.
Delgado J A, Nearing M A, and Rice C W. 2013. Conservation practices for climate change adaptation. Advances in Agronomy 121: 47–115. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407685-3.00002-5
Dillaha T, Shenk C H, and Moore K M. 2010. Conservation agriculture and ecosystem services. (In) 21st Century Watershed Technology: Improving Water Quality and Environment Conference Proceedings. pp 1. Universidad EARTH, Costa Rica, February 21-24, 2010.
Duiker S W, and Lal R. 1999. Crop residue and tillage effects on carbon sequestration in a Luvisol in central Ohio. Soil and Tillage Research 52(1-2): 73–81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-1987(99)00059-8
Erenstein O and Laxmi V. 2008. Zero tillage impacts in India's rice–wheat systems: a review. Soil and Tillage Research 100(1-2): 1–14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2008.05.001
FAO. 2007. The State of Food and Agriculture. FAO Agriculture Series No. 38, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
Galbally I, Meyer M, Bentley S, Weeks I, Leuning R, Kelly K, and Eckard R. 2005. A study of environmental and management drivers of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions in Australian agro-ecosystems. Environmental Sciences 2(2-3): 133–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15693430500395396
Gupta D K, Bhatia A, Das T K, Jain N, Tomer R, Malyan S K, Fagodiya R K, Dubey R and Pathak H. 2016. Mitigation of greenhouse gas emission from rice-wheat system of the Indo-Gangetic plains: Through tillage, irrigation and fertilizer management. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 230: 1–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.05.023
Hale C M, Frelich L E, Reich P B and Pastor J. 2008. Effects of European earthworm invasion on soil characteristics in northern hardwood forest of Minnesota, USA. Ecosystem 8: 911–27. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-005-0066-x
He J, Wang Q, Li H, Tullberg J N, McHugh A D, Bai Y, Zhang X, McLaughlin N and Gao H. 2009. Soil physical properties and infiltration after long-term no-tillage and ploughing on the Chinese Loess Plateau. New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science 37(3): 157–66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01140670909510261
Hillel D and Rosenzweig C. 2009. Soil carbon and climate change-carbon exchange in the terrestrial domain and the role of agriculture. CSA News 54(6): 4–11.
Humphreys E, Kukal S S, Christen E W, Hira G S and Sharma R K. 2010. Halting the groundwater decline in north-west India-which crop technologies will be winners?. Advances in Agronomy 19: 155–217. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-385040-9.00005-0
Jacobs A, Rauber R and Ludwig B. 2009. Impact of reduced tillage on carbon and nitrogen storage of two HaplicLuvisols after 40 years. Soil and Tillage Research 102(1): 158–64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2008.08.012
Jat R K, Sapkota T B, Singh R G, Jat M L, Kumar M, and Gupta R K. 2014. Seven years of conservation agriculture in a rice–wheat rotation of Eastern Gangetic Plains of South Asia: yield trends and economic profitability. Field Crops Research 164: 199–210. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2014.04.015
Karlen D L, Cambardella C A, Kovar J L and Colvin T S. 2013. Soil quality response to long-term tillage and crop rotation practices. Soil and Tillage Research 133: 54–64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2013.05.013
Kassam A, Friedrich T and Derpsch R. 2018. Global spread of conservation agriculture. International Journal of Environmental Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207233.20 18.1494927.
Kour S, Arora S and Gupta M. 2011. Conservation tillage a gateway to sustainable soil and crop management: An overview. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 10(3): 242–7.
Kumar V, Saharawat Y S, Gathala M K, Jat A S, Singh S K, Chaudhary N, and Jat M L. 2013. Effect of different tillage and seeding methods on energy use efficiency and productivity of wheat in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Field Crops Research 142: 1–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2012.11.013
Lal R, Reicosky D C and Hanson J D. 2007. Evolution of the plow over 10, 000 years and the rationale for no-till farming. Soil and Tillage Research 93: 1–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2006.11.004
Li H, Gao H, Wu H, Li W, Wang X, and He J. 2007. Effects of 15 years of conservation tillage on soil structure and productivity of wheat cultivation in northern China. Soil Research 45(5): 344–50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/SR07003
Liu C, Lu M, Cui J, Li B. and Fang C. 2014. Effects of straw carbon input on carbon dynamics in agricultural soils: a meta-analysis. Global Change Biology 20: 1366–81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12517
Madejón E, Moreno F, Murillo J M and Pelegrín F. 2007. Soil biochemical response to long-term conservation tillage under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions. Soil and Tillage Research 94(2): 346–52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2006.08.010
Malecka I, Blecharczyk A, Sawinska Z and Dobrzeniecki T. 2012. The effect of various long-term tillage systems on soil properties and spring barley yield. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry 36(2): 217–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3906/tar-1104-20
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis. Island Press, Washington DC.
Mishra J S and Singh V P. 2012. Tillage and weed control effects on productivity of a dry seeded rice–wheat system on a Vertisol in Central India. Soil and Tillage Research 123: 11–20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2012.02.003
Mosier A R, Halvorson A D, Peterson G A, Robertson G P and Sherrod L. 2005. Measurement of net global warming potential in three agro-ecosystems. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 72(1): 67–76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-004-7356-0
Naeem S, Duffy J E and Zavaleta E. 2012. The functions of biological diversity in an age of extinction. Science 336(6087): 1401–6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1215855
Nath C P, Das T K, Rana K S, Bhattacharyya R, Pathak H, Paul S, Meena MC and Singh S B. 2017. Greenhouse gases emission, soil organic carbon and wheat yield as affected by tillage systems and nitrogen management practices. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science 63(12): 1644–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03650340.2017.1300657
Oyeogbe A I, Das T K and Bandyopadhyay K K. 2018. Agronomic productivity, nitrogen fertilizer savings and soil organic carbon in conservation agriculture: efficient nitrogen and weed management in maize-wheat system. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science 64(12): 1635–45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03650340.2018.1446524
Oyeogbe A I, Das T K, Bhatia A and Singh S B. 2017. Adaptive nitrogen and integrated weed management in conservation agriculture: impacts on agronomic productivity, greenhouse gas emissions, and herbicide residues. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 189(4): 198. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5917-3
Palm C, Blanco-Canqui H, DeClerck F, Gatere L and Grace P. 2014. Conservation agriculture and ecosystem services: An overview. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 187: 87–105. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2013.10.010
Parihar C M, Jat S L, Singh A K, Kumar B, Rathore N S, Jat M L and Kuri B R. 2018. Energy auditing of long-term conservation agriculture based irrigated intensive maize systems in semi-arid tropics of India. Energy 142: 289–302. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.10.015
Power A G. 2010. Ecosystem services and agriculture: tradeoffs and synergies. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 365(1554): 2959–71. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0143
Radford B J, Gibson G, Nielsen R G H, Butler D G, Smith G D and Orange D N. 1992. Fallowing practices affect soil water storage, soil nitrate accumulation and wheat performance in southeast Queensland. Soil and Tillage Research 22: 73–93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-1987(92)90023-5
Rochette P. 2008. No-till only increases N2O emissions in poorly-aerated soils. Soil and Tillage Research 101(1-2): 97–100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2008.07.011
Rost S, Gerten D, Hoff H, Lucht W, Falkenmark M and Rockström J. 2009. Global potential to increase crop production through water management in rainfed agriculture. Environmental Research Letters 4(4): 044002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/044002
Saad A A, Das T K, Rana D S, Sharma A R, Bhattacharyya R and Lal K. 2016. Energy auditing of a maize–wheat–greengram cropping system under conventional and conservation agriculture in irrigated north-western Indo-Gangetic Plains. Energy 116: 293–305. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2016.09.115
Sanderson M A, Archer D, Hendrickson J, Kronberg S, Liebig M, Nichols K and Aguilar J. 2013. Diversification and ecosystem services for conservation agriculture: Outcomes from pastures and integrated crop–livestock systems. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 28(2): 129–44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170512000312
Sapkota T B, Jat M L, Aryal J P, Jat R K and Khatri-Chhetri A. 2015. Climate change adaptation, greenhouse gas mitigation and economic profitability of conservation agriculture: Some examples from cereal systems of Indo-Gangetic Plains. Journal of Integrative Agriculture 14(8): 1524–33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61093-0
Sepat S, Sharma A R, Kumar D and Das T K. 2015. Effect of conservation agriculture practices on productivity and sustainability of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping system in Indo-Gangetic plains of India. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 85(2): 212–6.
Singh G, Bhattacharyya R, Das T K, Sharma A R, Ghosh A, Das S and Jha P. 2018. Crop rotation and residue management effects on soil enzyme activities, glomalin and aggregate stability under zero tillage in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Soil and Tillage Research 184: 291–300. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2018.08.006
Singh V K, Dwivedi B S, Singh S K, Majumdar K, Jat M L, Mishra R P and Rani M. 2016. Soil physical properties, yield trends and economics after five years of conservation agriculture based rice-maize system in north-western India. Soil and Tillage Research 155: 133–48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2015.08.001
Snyder C S, Bruulsema T W, Jensen T L and Fixen P E. 2009. Review of greenhouse gas emissions from crop production systems and fertilizer management effects. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 133(3-4): 247–66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2009.04.021
Thomas G A, Dalal R C and Standley J. 2007. No-till effects on organic matter, pH, cation exchange capacity and nutrient distribution in a Luvisol in the semi-arid subtropics. Soil and Tillage Research 94(2): 295–304. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2006.08.005
Thorn J, Snaddon J, Waldron A, Kok K, Zhou W, Bhagwat S, Willis K and Petrokofsky G. 2015. How effective are on-farm conservation land management strategies for preserving ecosystem services in developing countries? A systematic map protocol. Environmental Evidence 4(1): 11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-015-0036-5
United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/70/1. 2015. Transforming Our World, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. . Accessed 10 December 2018.
Wright J P and Jones C G. 2003. The concept of organisms as ecosystem engineers ten years on: progress, limitations and challenges. Bioscience 56: 203–09. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2006)056[0203:TCOOAE]2.0.CO;2
Yan X, Ohara T and Akimoto H. 2003. Development of region-specific emission factors and estimation of methane emission from rice fields in the East, Southeast and South Asian countries. Global Change Biology 9(2): 237–54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2003.00564.x
Downloads
Submitted
Published
Issue
Section
License
The copyright of the articles published in The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences is vested with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which reserves the right to enter into any agreement with any organization in India or abroad, for reprography, photocopying, storage and dissemination of information. The Council has no objection to using the material, provided the information is not being utilized for commercial purposes and wherever the information is being used, proper credit is given to ICAR.