CO2 Flux and C Balance due to the Replacement of Bare Soil with Agro-Ecological Service Crops in Mediterranean Environment

Authors

Emanuele Radicetti, University of TusciaFollow
O. Adewale Osipitan, Northeast Research and Extension Center, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Ali Reza Safahani Langeroodi, Payame Noor University, TehranFollow
Sara Marinari, University of TusciaFollow
Roberto Mancinelli, University of TusciaFollow

ORCID IDs

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8654-3177 E. Radicetti

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8202-4270 O.A. Osipitan

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0187-8264 S. Marinari

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8396-6307 R. Mancinelli

Date of this Version

4-2-2019

Citation

Agriculture 2019, 9, 71; doi:10.3390/agriculture9040071

Comments

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license

Abstract

Intensive agriculture practices often results in decomposition of organic matter, thus causing soil CO₂ emissions. Agro-ecological service crop could be profitably cultivated to improve soil characteristics and reduce CO₂ emissions under Mediterranean environment. Two-year field trials were conducted in central Italy. The treatments were three agro-ecological service crops (hairy vetch, oat, and oilseed rape) and a no-service cover. Plant development, soil characteristics, and CO₂ emissions were measured. Oat and oilseed rape showed a rapid growth, while hairy vetch started to grow rapidly only after the cold period. Soil CO₂ emissions trend was similar among the agro-ecological service crops and tended to decrease during the cold period, then gradually increased until April when warm temperatures were observed. The high soil CO₂ emissions and respiration index observed in hairy vetch probably stimulated mineral nutrients, especially nitrogen, to become more available in the soil compared to oat and oilseed rape throughout the decomposition of soil organic matter. These results confirmed that the cultivation of agro-ecological service crops, especially hairy vetch, could represent a suitable strategy for enhancing carbon sequestration and lead to a mitigation of CO₂ emissions during the fallow period and could thus contribute to the climate change mitigation.