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- Geoff Whiteley
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, UK
- g.m.whiteley@leeds.ac.uk
- www.biology.leeds.ac.uk
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- What is iron stabilization?
- Current uses of the technology in horticulture
- Some effects on earthworm feeding and nitrogen mineralisation
- Scaling up – how a farm process might work
- Carbon sequestration potential in agricultural soils
- Economic feasibility – treatment costs in relation to amount of net
carbon stored in soils and litter
- Conclusions
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- Over the 15 year projection, the net increase in stored carbon ranged
from 0.33 metric tons per metric ton of treated crop residue in the high
scenario with conservation tillage to 0.082 metric tons per metric ton
of treated crop residue in the low scenario with conventional tillage.
- Increased residue cover in the first year after treatment accounted for
between 38% and 52% of the total increase in carbon retention under
conservation tillage and net storage remains correspondingly higher
under conservation tillage than conventional tillage.
- Rental values never exceeded $2.50 per metric ton of treated crop
residue, representing only a proportion of the cost materials
purchased.*
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- What is a ton of retained crop residue worth to a grower in a zero till
system?
- Erosion protection
- Increased organic matter in some soil types
- Effects on nitrogen mineralisation
- Accumulative effects through year on year use
- Effects on yield
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- It appears unlikely that incentive payments will influence decisions by
farmers to use the technology
- The process may have intrinsic worth where crop residue are limiting
factors to productivity
- Large scale take up of the technology on a regional scale might still be
shown to have a measurable impact on carbon stocks in the agricultural
sector
- Sequestration income could fund administrative costs for partnership
projects
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