The effect of conventional and sustainable agricultural management practices on carbon and water fluxes in a Mexican semi-arid region

PeerJ

article

Gabriela Guillen-Cruz¹  Roberto Torres-Arreola¹  Zulia Sanchez-Mejia²  Dulce Flores-Renteria³ 

[1] Departamento Sustentabilidad de los Recursos Naturales y Energía;Departamento de Ciencias del Agua y Medio Ambiente, Instituto Tecnologico de Sonora;Conacyt-Sustentabilidad de los Recursos Naturales y Energía

关键词: Minimum tillage;    Ecosystem respiration;    Gross primary productivity;    Eddy covariance;    Water use efficiency;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.14542

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAgriculture is essential for food security. However, conventional agriculture alters the water and carbon cycle and soil properties. We investigated the effect of conventional management (CM) and sustainable management (SM) on the carbon and water cycle in crops of nopal (Np) and wheat (Wh).MethodsA micrometeorological eddy covariance tower was installed to measure water use through evapotranspiration (ET) and the net exchange of CO2 during the crop’s development. Gross primary productivity (GPP), water use efficiency (WUE), and soil properties were obtained.ResultsThe results showed that both agricultural managements influenced the carbon flux of the ecosystem, with a lower GPP and Reco in the nopal field (1.85 and 0.99 mmol C m−2 s−1, respectively), compared to the wheat field (6.34 and 1.8 mmol C m−2 s−1, respectively). It was mainly attributed to the metabolic plant differences, phenological stages, and wheat biomass developed during the winter. On the other hand, the accumulated ET in the SM-Wh plots was lower than SM-Np. Therefore, the crops subjected to sustainable practices use water more efficiently with 1.42 and 1.03 g C m−3 H2O for nopal and wheat, respectively. In regard to soil properties, it was observed that tillage alters microbial activity affecting organic matter and carbon. It can be concluded that the differences in agricultural management for both crops altered the carbon and water cycle and soil quality. In addition, implementing good agricultural practices allows more efficient use of water by the plant, higher retention of water in the soil, and less ET.

【 授权许可】

CC BY