Conservation agriculture revisited: mapping its carbon sequestration potential in African soils
Soil is considered both the source and sink of carbon, depending on management. Conservation agriculture (CA) has been largely implemented to stabilize crop yield but provides the co-benefit of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. Nevertheless, there are controversies surrounding its potential i...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180574 |
| _version_ | 1855523982587985920 |
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| author | Biratu, Gizachew Kebede Getaneh, Fite Moges Kidane Biru Niguse Bekele Dirbaba Gameda, Samuel Thierfelder, Christian Sida, Tesfaye Shiferaw |
| author_browse | Biratu, Gizachew Kebede Gameda, Samuel Getaneh, Fite Moges Kidane Biru Niguse Bekele Dirbaba Sida, Tesfaye Shiferaw Thierfelder, Christian |
| author_facet | Biratu, Gizachew Kebede Getaneh, Fite Moges Kidane Biru Niguse Bekele Dirbaba Gameda, Samuel Thierfelder, Christian Sida, Tesfaye Shiferaw |
| author_sort | Biratu, Gizachew Kebede |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Soil is considered both the source and sink of carbon, depending on management. Conservation agriculture (CA) has been largely implemented to stabilize crop yield but provides the co-benefit of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. Nevertheless, there are controversies surrounding its potential in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using spatially disaggregated approach, we showed that CA can offer a SOC sequestration potential of 26.7 Tg SOC yr⁻¹ across maize and wheat-based systems, with estimated rates ranging from –1.37 to 3.98 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ across SSA. This potential is highly variable depending on the intensity of CA practices, soil texture, and climatic zones. For instance, no-till for maize system alone may sequester about 30.5 Tg yr⁻¹ on medium-textured soils in humid environments, while CA- diversification can lead to negative SOC balances depending on the context. These findings highlight the spatially heterogeneous nature of CA outcomes, underscoring the need for targeted, context-specific strategies to maximize climate mitigation benefits. |
| format | Preprint |
| id | CGSpace180574 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1805742026-01-23T21:44:23Z Conservation agriculture revisited: mapping its carbon sequestration potential in African soils Biratu, Gizachew Kebede Getaneh, Fite Moges Kidane Biru Niguse Bekele Dirbaba Gameda, Samuel Thierfelder, Christian Sida, Tesfaye Shiferaw conservation agriculture carbon sequestration soil organic carbon Soil is considered both the source and sink of carbon, depending on management. Conservation agriculture (CA) has been largely implemented to stabilize crop yield but provides the co-benefit of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. Nevertheless, there are controversies surrounding its potential in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using spatially disaggregated approach, we showed that CA can offer a SOC sequestration potential of 26.7 Tg SOC yr⁻¹ across maize and wheat-based systems, with estimated rates ranging from –1.37 to 3.98 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ across SSA. This potential is highly variable depending on the intensity of CA practices, soil texture, and climatic zones. For instance, no-till for maize system alone may sequester about 30.5 Tg yr⁻¹ on medium-textured soils in humid environments, while CA- diversification can lead to negative SOC balances depending on the context. These findings highlight the spatially heterogeneous nature of CA outcomes, underscoring the need for targeted, context-specific strategies to maximize climate mitigation benefits. 2025 2026-01-23T21:44:22Z 2026-01-23T21:44:22Z Preprint https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180574 en Limited Access Biratu, G.K., Getaneh, F., Moges Kidane Biru, Niguse Bekele Dirbaba, Gameda, S., Thierfelder, C., & Sida, T. S. (2025). Conservation agriculture revisited: mapping its carbon sequestration potential in African soils. [Preprint]. https://mts-ncomms.nature.com/ncomms_files/2025/11/25/00677903/00/677903_0_art_file_247904_t46wfk.pdf |
| spellingShingle | conservation agriculture carbon sequestration soil organic carbon Biratu, Gizachew Kebede Getaneh, Fite Moges Kidane Biru Niguse Bekele Dirbaba Gameda, Samuel Thierfelder, Christian Sida, Tesfaye Shiferaw Conservation agriculture revisited: mapping its carbon sequestration potential in African soils |
| title | Conservation agriculture revisited: mapping its carbon sequestration potential in African soils |
| title_full | Conservation agriculture revisited: mapping its carbon sequestration potential in African soils |
| title_fullStr | Conservation agriculture revisited: mapping its carbon sequestration potential in African soils |
| title_full_unstemmed | Conservation agriculture revisited: mapping its carbon sequestration potential in African soils |
| title_short | Conservation agriculture revisited: mapping its carbon sequestration potential in African soils |
| title_sort | conservation agriculture revisited mapping its carbon sequestration potential in african soils |
| topic | conservation agriculture carbon sequestration soil organic carbon |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180574 |
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