Climate Change and Carbon sequestration in the Mediterranean basin ,contributions of no tillage systems

Climate Change and Carbon sequestration in the Mediterranean basin ,contributions of no tillage systems

1. Climate change and carbon sequestration in the
Mediterranean basin:
Contributions of No-tillage systems
Dr. Rachid MRABET
http://rachidmrabet.googlepages.com
[email protected]
4th Mediterranean Meetings on No-tillage systems
Setif, Algeria, May 3 -5 2010

2. Features of Mediterranean Basin
Myriad of atmospheric and climatic processes
Regional vs global influences
Mistral, Tramontane, Bora, Etesiens, Sirocco
A semi-closed basin
Sea-land interaction & contrasts

4. No More land for production: case of
Morocco 7,4
7,6
7,8
8
8,2
8,4
8,6
8,8
9
9,2
9,4
1971 1982 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2001 2003
Year
Agricultural Area (Millions Ha)


•The land available to
produce this extra food is
shrinking because of
urbanization and use of
agricultural land for other
purposes.

5. Agriculture as driver of global
warming
Carbon Dioxide is the most important GHG
Other GHG (Methane, Nitrous Oxide) more powerful
Still 77% of total GHG in CO
2 equivalent is due to
CO
2
Agricultural land use contributes 32% of all GHG:
24% of all CO
2
61% of all CH
4 and N
2O
The major largest components are:
Deforestation: 18.3%
Nitrogen emissions from soils: 6%
Methane from livestock: 5%

6. Projected Impacts of Climate Change
Source: Stern Review

7. Pressures on Med-countries

•Mitigation of greenhouse gas emission
•Control of desertification & erosion
•Sustainable environment-friendly agricultural
productions

•Reduction in reliance on fossil fuels

8. Air Temperature (°C): 2070-2099 vs. 1961-1990
using AORCM
Winter
Summer
(Somot et al., 2007)
•Increased
temperature

•Global warming

• frequency,
duration and
intensity of hot
periods “canicules”

9. 9

Winter
Summer
(Somot et al., 2007)
Rainfall (mm/d): 2070-2099 vs. 1961-1990
using AORCM

Rainfall totals are likely
to decline between 4 and
27%.



 Frequency of extreme
storm events

10. Drought is Morocco’s leading
natural hazard 0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
mm
year
Total seasonal rainfall measured throughout Meknes
Agourai
Ain Jemaa
Sidi Slimane
609 mm
453 mm

11. Cereal yield trends

12. Focus on Water & Food, Africa & Asia

13. Impact of climate change on crop
productivity for cereals and food legumes
Giannakopoulos et al., 2009

14. Wheat consumption
CHABANE, 2010
Algeria

15. Mediterranean basin is the hotest spot
region

Living with drought and dealing with
climate change are unavoidable
Drought is expected to continue and get
linked to desertification, the longer we wait,
the fewer our options!!!

16. Major Global Challenges with
conventional agriculture

•Poor Energy Efficiency
•Poor Fertilizer Efficiency
•Poor Water Efficiency }
Its not difficult to fix, if we try
All guarantee
poor carbon
balance

17. What is no-tillage?

18. B A
C
NO-TILL SYSTEM
A = Absence of soil tillage: No Mechanical Soil Disturbance
B = Biodiversity: Crop Rotation / Cover Crops;
Integrating Livestock & Farming
C = Cover of the soil: Permanent Cover with Crop Residues
No-tillage is like a three legged stool
Pillars that Sustain
the No-tillage System

19. Conservation agriculture motion

20. Argentina
Brazil
USA
Australia
Conservation Agriculture

21. Before….. Actually

22. C
O
N
S
E
R
V
A
T
I
O
N

A
G
R
I
C
U
L
T
U
R
E

Organisations
Partnerships
Policies
Industries/Technologies
R&D
Training
CA
Capacity
Building
Financing
Knowledge
Management

23. Environmental Impact of CA

24. Question!
Conservation agriculture has large
environmental benefits,

but is it climate-friendly?

25. Emission Mechanisms
Inputs: (energy)
Fuel, Machinery
Herbicides
Fertilisers

Outputs: (losses)
Gaseous Carbon dioxide, nitrous
oxide & methane

Nitrate in runoff and drainage
Carbon & Nitrate in eroded soil
}
}
Easily Quantified
For Known Systems.
Substantial
System Effects
Highly Variable,
Poorly Understood.
Very Large
System Effects,

26. Atmospheric Carbon as CO
2
Plant biomass and
roots left on or in the
soil contribute to Soil
Carbon or Soil
Organic Matter and
all associated
environmental and
production benefits.
Energy from
bio-fuels
CO
2 CO
2
Biological carbon cycle. Fossil carbon cycle.
CO
2
C
Energy from
fossil fuels
Renewable Nonrenewable

27. 60% reduction in fuel
20% reduction in fertilizer/pesticides
50% reduction in machinery
no burning

Conservation Agriculture mitigating
climate change

28. Franzluebbers (2005) Soil Tillage Res. 83:120-147 Nitrogen Fertilization (kg
.
ha
-1 .
yr
-1
)
0 100 200 300
Change
in
Soil
Organic
Carbon
(Mg
.
ha
-1 .
yr
-1
)
0.0
0.4
0.8
1.2
1.6
Conventional Tillage Nitrogen Fertilization (kg
.
ha
-1 .
yr
-1
)
0 100 200 300
Change
in
Soil
Organic
Carbon
(Mg
.
ha
-1 .
yr
-1
)
0.0
0.4
0.8
1.2
1.6
Conventional Tillage
No Tillage
Soil Carbon Sequestration
Nitrogen fertilization effect

29. Nitrous Oxide Emission
Interaction of tillage with soil type
Rochette (2008) Soil Till. Res. 101:97-100 Soil Aeration
N
2
O
Emission
(kg N
.
ha
-1
)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Good Medium
Conventional tillage
No tillage
Poor
p = 0.06
45 site-years of data reviewed
Brazil, Canada, France, Japan,
New Zealand, United Kingdom, USA

30. C
Crop biomass is a critical component of
the biological carbon cycle!
Soil carbon is an important link between sustainability and
productivity within agricultural ecosystems.
Soil Surface
Carbon comes into crop
biomass and system
through photosynthesis.

Carbon goes out of
the soil system
mainly through
respiration.

31. - increased water holding
capacity and use efficiency
- increased cation exchange
capacity
- reduced soil erosion
- improved water quality
- improved infiltration, less
runoff
- decreased soil compaction
- improved soil tilth and
structure
- reduced air pollution

- reduced fertilizer inputs
- increased soil buffer capacity
- increased biological activity
- increased nutrient cycling and
storage
- increased diversity of
microflora
- increased adsorption of
pesticides
- gives soil aesthetic appeal
- increased capacity to handle
manure and other wastes
- more wildlife
Carbon
central hub of environmental
quality.
C
Environmental benefits are spokes that
emanate from the Carbon hub of the
“Environmental Sustainability wheel.”

32. Soil Carbon Sequestration
Soil organic carbon can be sequestered with adoption of conservation
agricultural practices
Enhanced soil fertility and soil quality
Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions
Soil erosion reduction is most notable
Long-term changes are most scientifically defensible

33. Soil C vs Time

34. Carbon in Med-Soils Country Soil order Horizon
(cm)
Years NT CT References
France Alfisol 0-5 4 21.5 17.3 Monnier et al. (1976)
Alfisol 0-5 33 22.6 11.0 Oorts (2006) & Oorts et al. (2007b)
Syria Inceptisol 0-10 10 17.5 11.0 Ryan (1998)
Tunisia Isohumic
Fersialitic
0-20
0-20
4
4
27.5
22.4
24.1
15.5
Ben Moussa-Machraoui et al.
(2010)
Morocco Calcixeroll 0-5 5 17.3 16.6 Mrabet (2008a)
Calcixeroll 0-2.5 11 28.9 23.5 Mrabet et al. (2001)
Italy Cambisol 0-40 3 7.5 7.5 Borin et al. (1997)
Entisol 0-10 - 20.1 14.3 Basso et al. (2002)
Portugal Cambisol 0-20 3 14.82 12.94 Basch et al. (2008)
Vertisol 0-10 - 25.3 19.1 Carvalho & Basch (1995)
Spain Xerocrept 0-5 18 22.5 15 Álvaro-Fuentes et al. (2008)
Xerofluvent 0-5 15 18.81 8.8 Álvaro-Fuentes et al. (2008)
Calciorthid 0-5 16 13.7 8.7 Álvaro-Fuentes et al. (2008)
Calcisol 0-5 7 12.55 10.17 Fernandez-Ugalde et al. (2009)
Haploxeralf 0-5 14 11 7 Hernanz et al. (2002)
Haploxeralf 0-10 8 11.6 8.8 Medeiros et al. (1996)
Xerofluvent 0-5 3 17.2 15.7 López-Garrido et al. (2009)

35. Temporal SOC dynamics from 2010 to 2100
for the different management scenarios
Alavaro-Funentes and Paustian, 2010

36. Re-building soil organic matter
Ogle et al., 2005

37. No-Till: CO
2 emission!
Reicosky and Lindstrom, 1993

38. Reicosky y = 0,0792x + 9,7647
R
2
= 0,9698
0
30
60
90
120
150
180
025050075010001250150017502000
Severity of disturbance (cm
2
)
CER (g CO
2
m
-2
)
MP
SS
RM
MK
NT L128
Cumulative Carbon Dioxide Loss after 24 hours

39. Alvaro-Fuentes et al., 2007
No-Till: CO
2 emission!

40. Akbolat et al., 2009
No-Till: CO
2 emission!

41. Oorts et al., 2007
No-Till: CO
2 emission!

42. Runoff projections with respect to
climate change scenarios

43. Runoff reduction !
Jordán et al., 2010

44. Soil loss reductions!
Fleskens & Stroosnijder (2008)
Portugal & Italie

45. Sediment loss reductions!

0 40 80 120
0
100
200
300
400
500
0 40 80 120
0
100
200
300
400
500
Y = X
0 40 80 120
Sediments. Cover, g m
-2
0
100
200
300
400
500
S
e
d
i
m
e
n
t
s
.

T
il
l
a
g
e
,

g
m
-
2
Y = 2X
In 80,3% of cases the relation
between N/C has been greater to 2
In 92,4% of cases the relation
between N/C has been greater to 1 0 20 40 60 80 100
Cover, %
0
20
40
60
80
100
S
e
d
im
e
n
t
c
o
n
c
e
n
tr
a
t
io
n
,
g

L
-
1
Tillage
Plant cover
Espejo-Pérez et al. 2006

47. Water capture & movement in soils with
No-Tillage systems
.1Improved water entry in place
of water runoff

.2Reduced water evaporation

.3Channels and macropore in
place of crust and slacking for
improved water distribution
and movement in soil profile

.4Water storage for seasonal
availability and use by crops

Ruan et al., 2001

48. NT vs CT for Cereals in Med-Basin

49. Yield variability vs climate! yield CT = 0,0033 Rainfall + 1,4116
R
2
= 0,1823
yield NT = 0,0028 Rainfall + 2,01
R
2
= 0,1457
0
0,5
1
1,5
2
2,5
3
3,5
4
150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Rainfall (mm)
Grain Yield (Mg/ha)
No-tillage
Conventional Tillage
Mrabet, 2010

50. Yield Variability vs climate!

De Vita et al., 2007

51. Drought Management!

52. Water evaporation suppression
or
water management with crop residues!


0
10
20
30
40
50
60
C u m u l a ti v e s o il e v a p o r a ti o n ( m m )
0 100 200 300 400 500
Cumulative potential evaporation (mm)
OD SW DP CH RT NT-0 NT-80
Mrabet, 1997
Seasonal Carry over of soil water to crop critical stages
Water
gain

53. No-till Residue Cover Suppression of Soil
Water Evaporation
0
10
20
30
40
50
60

Cumulative Soil Evaporation (mm)

0 100 200 300 400 500
Cumulative Potential Evaporation (mm)
0 50 60 80 100
No-till Residue Cover Percent
Mrabet (1997)

54. Water Conservation: securing
water against drought 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
0 50 60 80 100
Residue cover under no-tillage
Time to wilting point (days) 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Disk plowStubble
Mulch
ChiselRotary
tiller
Off-set
disk
No-tillage
w ith 60%
cover
Tillage System
Time to wilting point (days)
Keeping the soil moist longer as residue cover increase!
Halting evaporation process in semi-arid areas!
Mrabet, 1997

55. Precipitation storage efficiency
•Low and highly variable rainfall
are major sources of risk for
farms of drylands!

•Precipitation storage efficiency
increases as tillage intensity is
reduced during the summer
fallow period.

•The increased soil water storage
is a result of both maintained
crop residues at the surface and
no-turing and mixing of the soil
moisture.

56. Conservation agriculture:
mitigating climate change through
Drought
management

High reduction
in CO
2
emission

High
environmental
resilience

Carbon
sequestration

57. Lets finish this talk with these important
statements!
.1The fact is no one has ever advanced a
scientific reason for plowing (Edward H.
Faulkner, 1943).

.2No-tillage systems are means for capturing
the synergy between climate change
adaptation and mitigation and prevention of
desertification (Virdin, 2001).

58. Transforming research efforts and development
(farmers) achievement s on policy issues
Think Thank
To get all elites and leaders in research, development
and education with international organisations and
NGOs for the same objectives.
Lobbying
Transform weakness on strenghts to convince policy
and industries.
« Climate change is a shared responsability
and the future is no longer as it used to be »

59. Merci

“You’ve got to be very careful
if you don’t know where you’re going,
because you might not get there.”