Cotton strip assay detects soil microbial degradation differences among crop rotation and tillage experiments on Vertisols.

The cotton strip assay (CSA) is a simple and inexpensive method of evaluating management effects on soil microbial decomposition. The average loss of tensile strength of cotton strips buried 3 to 35 days in soils from two long-term tillage and crop-rotation experiments was of the order: cotton-wheat rotation > minimum-tillage cotton monoculture > maximum-tillage cotton monoculture. The study suggests CSA can be an effective indicator to delineate microbial activity, soil organic carbon or crop biomass as influenced by agricultural practices in cotton fields.

Perennial pastures reduce nitrous oxide emissions in mixed farming systems in a semi-arid environment.

Perennial pastures play a crucial role in mixed farming systems by supplying feed for livestock, restoring soil fertility, reducing deep drainage, providing an opportunity to manage herbicide-resistant weeds and breaking soil-borne disease cycles. However, to our knowledge there is no data on the role of perennial pastures in mitigating NO emissions from the phased crop rotations in semi-arid environments. Two 4-year field experiments were conducted in a semi-arid environment in southern Australia to (a) evaluate the role of perennial pastures in mitigating NO emissions in mixed farming systems, and (b) compare the cumulative NO emissions from different pasture mixes.

Tail-drain sediments are a potential hotspot for nitrous oxide emissions in furrow-irrigated Vertisols used to grow cotton: A laboratory incubation study.

The impacts of soil properties and urea fertigation on nitrous oxide (N O) emissions from uncropped areas of furrow-irrigated Vertisol paddocks are unknown. We sampled soils from the head-ditch end (upslope) and sediments from the tail-drain end (downslope) of 10 Vertisols under irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production in northeastern Australia.

The global warming potential of straw-return can be reduced by application of straw-decomposing microbial inoculants and biochar in rice-wheat production systems.

Straw-return methods that neither negatively impact yield nor bring environmental risk are ideal patterns. To attain this goal, it is necessary to conduct field observation to evaluate the environmental influence of different straw-return methods. Therefore, we conducted a 2-year field study in 2015-2017 to investigate the emissions of methane (CH) and nitrous oxide (NO) and the changes in topsoil (0-20 cm) organic carbon (SOC) density in a typical Chinese rice-wheat rotation in the Eastern China.

Indirect NO emissions from groundwater under high nitrogen-load farmland in eastern China.

Current estimates of global indirect NO emissions are based on a relatively small dataset and remain a major source of uncertainly in the global NO budget. Nitrogen (N)-enriched groundwater from agricultural fields may act as an important source of indirect NO emissions as it discharges to adjacent watershed areas. During 2015-2017, dissolved NO concentrations in groundwater were measured and indirect NO emission factors (EF) calculated under three typical high-N land-use types (vineyard, vegetable field and paddy field) in eastern China.

A comparison of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from inland mixed-fish and crab aquaculture ponds.

Inland aquaculture ponds in China collectively cover 2.57 million ha, so emissions of the greenhouse gases methane (CH) and nitrous oxide (NO) from these ponds may constitute a significant contribution to global warming. During 2016 and 2017, CH and NO fluxes and a range of pond-water and sediment properties were measured in replicated (n = 4) "mixed-fish" and "crab" aquaculture ponds in southeast China.

Modeling the impact of crop rotation with legume on nitrous oxide emissions from rain-fed agricultural systems in Australia under alternative future climate scenarios.

Limited information exists on potential impacts of climate change on nitrous oxide (NO) emissions by including N-fixing legumes in crop rotations from rain-fed cropping systems. Data from two 3-yr crop rotations in northern NSW, Australia, viz. chickpea-wheat-barley (CpWB) and canola-wheat-barley (CaWB), were used to gain an insight on the role of legumes in mitigation of NO emissions.

Climate and soil properties limit the positive effects of land use reversion on carbon storage in Eastern Australia.

Australia's "Direct Action" climate change policy relies on purchasing greenhouse gas abatement from projects undertaking approved abatement activities. Management of soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural soils is an approved activity, based on the expectation that land use change can deliver significant changes in SOC. However, there are concerns that climate, topography and soil texture will limit changes in SOC stocks.