Impact of agronomic practices on soil organic carbon dynamics: A review

Abstract

Climate change is one of the important factors for growing concern over food security, since accelerated increase in green house gas concentration especially carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by manmade activities, resulted in global warming. In this context, soil, considered to be the largest terrestrial sink for organic carbon through carbon dioxide sequestration from the atmosphere and simultaneously it also acts as a source of organic carbon through decomposition of organic residues. Consequently, even minor changes in soil organic carbon have a significant impact on global warming. To mitigate the global warming, it is essential to focus on increasing carbon sequestration and to reduce carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere. Soil organic carbon cannot be dealt as a single entity it is usually composed of different fractions with varying degrees of rate of decomposition and stability. Further, each of which is influenced by different management practices. Hence, clear understanding of these fractions as influenced by different agronomic interventions became more crucial to recommend the most appropriate agronomic intervention to maintain the carbon equilibrium in any ecosystem.