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The Anthropocene: Politik–Economics–Society–Science
Carbon
Management,
Technologies,
and Trends in
Mediterranean
Ecosystems
The Anthropocene: Politik—Economics—
Society—Science
Volume 15
Series editor
Hans Günter Brauch, Mosbach, Germany
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15232
http://www.afes-press-books.de/html/APESS.htm
http://www.afes-press-books.de/html/APESS_15.htm
Sabit Erşahin Selim Kapur
•
Carbon Management,
Technologies, and Trends
in Mediterranean Ecosystems
123
Editors
Sabit Erşahin Ayten Namlı
Department of Forestry Engineering Department of Soil Science and Plant
Çankırı Karatekin Nutrition
Çankırı Ankara University
Turkey Ankara
Turkey
Selim Kapur
Department of Soil Science and Plant Hakkı Emrah Erdoğan
Nutrition Agro-Environment and Protection
Çukurova University of Natural Resources
Adana Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock
Turkey Ankara
Turkey
Erhan Akça
School of Technical Sciences
Adıyaman University
Adıyaman
Turkey
Cover page photo: Replica of ceramics of Iznik from the 12th century with carnations. Photo by N Özçelik
and S Sabancılar who granted permission.
Internal title page photo: Red poppy (Papaver rhoeas) and pistachio nut tree (Pistacia vera) grafted to
terebinth (Pistacia terebinthus). The cover photo was taken from the Mediterranean Highlands, Southern
Turkey by Erhan Akça who granted permission for its use.
v
vi Mediterranean Soil Ecosystems: Publication of the Soil Science Society of Turkey
vii
viii Preface
ix
x Contents
Rattan Lal
Abstract The term soil functionality implies utilization of soil for specific
purposes so that ecosystem functions and services are sustained. Soil functionality
strongly impacts environmental sustainability in relation to climate change, water
quality and renewability, biodiversity, elemental cycling and transformations. There
is a wide range of soil parameters which impact soil functionality. These include
physical (texture, structure, pore size distribution, continuity), chemical (pH, Eh,
charge density, nutrient reserves, elemental toxicology), biological (microbial
biomass carbon, soil respiration, biodiversity) and ecological (soil organic carbon
concentration and quality, elemental transformation). The choice of specific indi-
cator depends on specific functions. These parameters can be combined into a soil
functionality index. Soil functionality can be measured indirectly be assessing soil
quality. Soil functionality also depends on the parent material, land use and man-
agement, climate and CO2 enrichment. Soil functionality can be restored by cre-
ating a positive soil/ecosystem carbon budget, carbon sequestration in soil and
terrestrial biosphere, enhancement of biodiversity and control of soil erosion. The
concept of soil functionality can be used to address global issues such as climate
change, food and nutritional security water quality and renewability and
biodiversity.
Keywords Soil quality Ecosystem services Soil functionality index CO2
enrichment Soil structure and porosity
1.1 Introduction
The term ‘sustainability’ implies: (1) longtime period, and (2) the need for a steady
growth. However, Bartlett (1997) opined that the term “sustainable growth” is an
‘oxymoron’ (Daly 1990). Among the list of seventeen laws proposed by Bartlett,
Prof. Rattan Lal, Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, The Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH 43210, USA, E-mail: [email protected].
law #13 states “Humans will always be dependent on agriculture, and the central
task in sustainable agriculture is to preserve agricultural land.” The law #12 states
that, “The chief cause of problems is solutions.” When asked if, after independence,
India would attain British standards of living, Mahatma Gandhi replied, “It took
Britain half the resources of the planet to achieve its prosperity, how many planets
would a country like India require…?” (Goodland 1992). Gandhi’s response is even
more relevant in 2016 than it was in 1940s. Therefore, the issue of environmental
sustainability is on the forefront of any global agenda. Soil degradation plagued
several ancient civilizations (e.g., Mesopotamia in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley, and
Mayan in Central America). However, it is the mushrooming of the scale at which it
is happening in the 21st Century, which is a major concern and an urgent issue to be
addressed.
The emphasis on environmental sustainability during 2010s is attributed to the:
(i) high rates of exploitation of renewable resources, (ii) continuous increase in
generation of pollutants (pesticides, chemicals, gaseous emissions), (iii) a rapid
depletion of non-renewable resources, (iv) extinction of biodiversity, and (v) severe
degradation (and even extinction) of soils. Therefore, environmental sustainability
involves a strategy of making prudent decisions on natural resources (soil, water,
vegetation, etc.) management to reduce the human footprint encompassing indi-
cators such as soil degradation, eutrophication of water and non-point source pol-
lution, emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), drainage of wetlands, cultivation of
peat soils etc.
Judicious management of soils is integral to environmental sustainability
(Kerzhentsev 2010). Ignoring the soil-environmental nexus and its ramifications
can endanger some fragile resources by accelerated erosion (Tennesen 2014) along
with severe adverse impacts on soil biodiversity (Tsiafouli et al. 2015). Soil
structure, strongly affected by mycorrhizae (Rilling/Mummey 2006) and other
biota, is prone to degradation through management-induced perturbations of the
surface layer leading to strong adverse impacts on soil functionality.
Therefore, the objective of this article is to describe soil functionality, and
discuss the impact of soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration and other properties
on soil functionality and the environmental sustainability.
Soil is a dynamic entity, and its properties are strongly influenced by natural and
anthropogenic factors. Thus, it is important to understand how and which soil
properties change because of biotic and abiotic stresses, on short and long-term, and
in the surface and sub-surface horizons. Thus, soil use and management can be
chosen to advance the goals of environmental sustainability. It is in this context that
soil functionality is multi-dimensional characteristics with ecological, economic,
social and political ramifications.
1 Soil Carbon Impacts on Functionality … 3
The term soil functionality means utilization of soils for specific purposes at an
optimal level so that the ecosystem functions and services are sustained. In other
words, “it is the capacity of a specific soil to function under designed circumstances
to meet its planned intentions or requirements without any loss of original func-
tional capability” (Yong et al. 2012). The soil functionality concept addresses the
performance aspects of a specific soil according to the specific goals or functions.
There are numerous soil functions (Table 1.1), including plant growth, and the
food production through agronomic management. A German saying in the context
of food production states, “Es ist die Erde, die gibt uns das Brot” or it is the soil,
which gives us the bread. Food being essential to human survival, it is pertinent to
state that we are soil. Thus, Gandhi stated that, “To forget how to dig the Earth and
tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” Important among ecologic functions of soils
are: recycling and retention of nutrients, filtration and purification of water, storing
of carbon (C) and moderating atmospheric chemistry, moderating gaseous
exchange between the pedosphere and the biosphere, resisting soil erosion,
buffering against natural and anthropogenic perturbations, and providing habitat
and energy for soil biota. There are also anthropologic and industrial functions.
Therefore, protection of soil resources and their functionality is of a paramount
importance (Blum et al. 1993).
Through its critical role in numerous functions (Table 1.1), soil functionality
impacts water resources (renewability and quality), climate change (mitigation,
4 R. Lal
adaptation and stabilization), food and nutritional security (quality and quantity),
and biodiversity (above and belowground). Soil functionality is the engine of
economic development.
Fig. 1.1 Environmental sustainability in relation to soil functionality and soil organic carbon
(SOC) pool and its dynamics. Source The author
Fig. 1.2 Living and non-living components of soil organic matter content which impact soil
functionality. Source The author
environmental, food production). Both soil organic C (SOC) concentration and pool
are important determinants of soil functionality and environmental sustainability. In
addition to the amount, composition of SOC also affects numerous properties and
processes. It cuts across a range of soil functions of relevance to human wellbeing
and nature conservancy. The SOC pool, as the principal component of soil organic
matter (SOM), comprises of living and non-living organisms in soil (Fig. 1.2). It is
the amount, quality and dynamics of SOC pool that governs soil functionality
(Fig. 1.3) through changes in physio-chemical, biochemical, eco-biological pro-
cesses and transformations are over time. These transformations are influenced by
natural and anthropogenic factors, and biotic and abiotic stresses. Thus, judicious
management of SOC pool is essential to sustainability of soil functionality. Indeed,
the critical levels of SOC concentration in the root zone may be *2 % for soils of
the temperate regions (Kemper/Koch 1966; Greenland et al. 1975; Loveland/Webb
2003), and *1.1 % for those of the tropics (Aune/Lal 1997).
It is not easy to measure soil functionality. Indeed, “most important things
cannot be measured and still must be managed” (Edward Demmings 1900–1993).
In other words, “manage what you can’t measure.” Thus, the question with regard
to soil functionality is: what is there in the soil that can be measured in terms of
what it does. What is does is soil functionality.
Because soil functionality is difficult to measure directly, it is measured indi-
rectly by measuring soil quality index (Mukherjee/Lal 2014) or soil functionality
index (SFI). Yong et al. (2012) defined SFI as a ratio of the value xn of a soil
parameter at time tn to a reference base soil functionality value (xbase) for each
specific indicator. If SOC concentration is selected as an indicator of soil func-
tionality, then SFI of SOC is:
6 R. Lal
Fig. 1.3 Impacts of soil organic carbon pool on soil properties and processes which impact soil
functionality. Source The Author
Therefore, SOC depletion occur for SFI < 1 and sequestration for SFI > 1.
Similar to SQI, SFI must also be the one that soil scientist can quantify and farmers
can understand and relate to.
The Law of Return by Sir Albert Howard states that, “the nutrients harvested from
soil must be returned. Harvesting without returning is a robbery of the soil and
banditry; a particularly mean form of banditry, because it involves robbing of future
generations, which are not there to defend themselves” (Howard 1931). Lal (2009a)
proposed ten tenants (laws) of sustainable management (Table 1.3), which also
indicate that soil is like a bank account and maintaining a positive balance of key
indicators of soil functionality is essential to its sustainable use over time of the
finite but an essential resource.
Whereas, the vulnerability of a soil to degradation increase with increase in
mean annual temperature (Law 4, Table 1.3), the SOC pool increase with decreases
1 Soil Carbon Impacts on Functionality … 7
in mean annual temperature and increases with increase in mean annual precipi-
tation (Jenny 1941). For example, Scheer et al. (2011) observed that the environ-
mental functionality of upper montane soils in southern Brazil depended on SOC
pools, which are two-to-threefold higher than those in soils of low altitudes at the
same latitude. Functionality of soil pores (Law 9, Table 1.3) depends on the sta-
bility and continuity of pore system. It is the formation of a stable and continuous
pore system that governs aeration (gases diffusion), and water transmission (Dörner
et al. 2010).
Input of biomass-C, to offset the losses caused by decomposition and erosion or
leaching, is essential to enhancing soil functionality. Municipal sewage sludge and
compost from crop residues etc. can enhance soil functionality for
agricultural/agronomic purposes (Sciubba et al. 2013). Similarly, soil functionality
for agriculture (Lal 2015) involving retention of crop residues mulch, cover crop-
ping, integrated nutrient management, and elimination of plowing and other
mechanical soil disturbances. Rather than a panacea or a silver bullet, there is a
wide range of appropriate soil management practices depending on site-specific
conditions.
8 R. Lal
Fig. 1.4 Environmental sustainability impacts of soil functionality. Source The author
1 Soil Carbon Impacts on Functionality … 9
1.6 Conclusions
References
Aune, J.; Lal, R., 1997: “Agricultural Productivity in the Tropics and Critical Limits of Properties
of Oxisols, Ultisols, and Alfisols”, in: Tropical Agriculture, 74: 96–103.
Bardgett, R.; van der Putten, W., 2014: “Belowground Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning”,
in: Nature, 515: 505–511.
Bartlett, A., 1997: “Environmental Sustainability”, Presented at the Annual Meeting of the
American Association of Physic Teachers, Denver, Colorado, 16 August.
Blum, W.E.H.; Eijsakers, H.J.P.; Hammers, T., 1993: Soil Protection Concept of the Council of
Europe and Integrated Soil Research. Soil and Environment. Vol. 1 (Dordrecht: Kluwer
Academic Publishers): 37–47.
Daly, H.E., 1990: “Towards Some Operational Principles of Sustainable Development”, in:
Ecology and Economy, 2: 1–6.
Dörner, J.; Sandoval, P.; Dec, D., 2010: “Role of Soil Structure on the Pore Functionality of
Autisol”, in: Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 10: 495–508.
De Araújo Filho, J.C.; Gunke, G.; Sobral, M.C.M.; et al., 2013: “Soil Attributes Functionality and
Water Eutrophication in the Surrounding Area of Itaparica Reservoir, Brazil”, in: Revista
Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental, 17: 1005–1013.
Goodland, R., 1992: “The Case that the World has Reached Limits—More Precisely that Current
Throughput Growth in the Global Economy Cannot Be Sustained”, in: Population and
Environment, 13: 167–182.
Greenland, D.; Rimmer, D.; Payne, D., 1975: “Determination of Structural Stability Class of
English and Welsh Soils, Using a Water Coherence Test”, in: Journal of Soil Science, 26:
294–303.
Isbell, F.; Calcagno, V.; Hector, A.; et al., 2011: “High Plant Diversity is Needed to Maintain
Ecosystem Services”, in: Nature, 477: 199–196.
Jenny, H., 1941: Factors of Soil Formation (New York: Dover Publications, Inc.).
Kemper, W.D.; Koch, E.J., 1966: Agricultural Stability of Soils from Western U.S. and Canada
(Washington, D.C: USDA Technical Report).
Kerzhentsev, A.S., 2010: “Soil Functionality and Ecosystem Sustainability”, in: Herald of the
Russian Academy of Science, 80: 360–364.
Lal, R., 2009a: “Ten Tenets of Sustainable Soil Management”, in: Journal of Soil and Water
Conservation, 64: 20A–21A.
References 11
Lal, R., 2009b: “Laws of Sustainable Soil Management”, in: Agronomy and Sustainable
Development, 29: 7–9.
Lal, R., 2015: “Sequestering Carbon and Increasing Productivity by Conservation Agriculture”, in:
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 70: 55A–62A.
Loveland, P.; Webb, J., 2003: “Is There a Critical Level of Organic Matter in the Agricultural Soils
of Temperate Regions: A Review”, in: Soil & Tillage Research, 70: 1–18.
Mukherjee, A.; Lal, R., 2014: “Comparison of Soil Quality Index Using Three Methods”, in: Plos
One, 9: 1–15.
Niklaus, P.; Alphei, D.; Ebersberger, D.; et al., 2003: “Six Years of in-situ CO2 Enrichment Evoke
Changes in Soil Structure and Soil Biota of Nutrient-Poor Grassland”, in: Global Change
Biology, 9: 585–600.
Olson, K.; Al-Kaisi, M.; Lal, R.; et al., 2014: Experimental Consideration, Treatments, and
Methods in Determining Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration Rates”, in: Soil Science Society of
America Journal, 78: 348–360.
Pimental, D.; Sparks, D., 2000: “Soil as an Endangered Ecosystem”, in: Bioscience, 50: 947–947.
Rillig, M.; Mummey, D., 2006: “Mycorrhizas and Soil Structure”, in: New Phytologist, 171:
41–53.
Scheer, M.B.; Curcio, G.R.; Roderjan, C.V., 2011: “Functional Idades Ambientais de solos
altomontanos ne serra da Igreja, Paraná”, in: Rev. Bras. Ciênc. Solo, 35,4 (Viçosa July/Aug.).
Sciubba, L.; Cavani, L.; Marzadori, C.; et al., 2013: “Effect of Biosolids from Municipal Sewage
Sludge Composted with Rice Husk on Soil Functionality”, in: Biology and Fertilizer in Soils,
49: 597–608.
Targulian, V.O.; Goryachkin, S.V., 2004: “Soil Memory: Types of Record, Carriers, Hierarchy
and Diversity”, in: Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas, 21: 1–8.
Tennesen, M., 2014: “Rare Earth”, in: Science, 346: 692–695.
Tsiafouli, M.; Thebault, E.; Sgardelis, S.; et al., 2015: “Intensive Agriculture Reduces Soil
Biodiversity Across Europe”, in: Global Change Biology, 21: 973–985.
Yong, R.N.; Nakano, M.; Pusch, R., 2012: Environmental Soil Properties and Behaviors (Boca
Raton, FL: CRC Press).
Chapter 2
New World Atlas of Desertification
and Issues of Carbon Sequestration,
Organic Carbon Stocks, Nutrient
Depletion and Implications for Food
Security
Abstract Soils are both sinks and sources of C with great potential to mitigate
climate change. Global estimates indicate that they contain between 1,206 Pg of soil
organic carbon (SOC) to 1-m depth to more than 1,550 Pg C, which is twice the
amount of C present in the atmosphere. Nevertheless the overall the C stocks could
reach as much as five times that of the atmosphere considering that many soils are
much deeper than 1 m. Instead, emissions from land use change are estimated to
make up to 20 % of atmospheric CO2 through loss of biomass and SOM.
Notwithstanding these critical outcomes, soil’s impact in climate change scenarios
is generally not well understood and the UNFCCC after CoP 21 in Paris started to
increase attention to the potential for soil C sequestration thanks to the French “4
pour 1000” initiative. We argue that SLM can increase productivity particularly by
improving water use efficiency, optimizing nutrient cycles and their supply for crop
production, enhancing vegetation cover, and improving food security level. Healthy
soils produce healthy food, support healthy living, and promote a healthy
environment.
Keywords Desertification
Atlas Carbon sequestration Global carbon
Sustainable land management
P. Zdruli, Prof. Dr., International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies
(CIHEAM), Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari Land and Water Resources
Management Department, Via Ceglie 9, 70010 Valenzano Bari, Italy; E-mail: [email protected].
R. Lal, Prof. Dr., The Ohio State University, Carbon Management Sequestration Center, 2021
Coffey Rd., Columbus, OH 43210, USA; E-mail: [email protected].
M. Cherlet, European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and
Sustainability, Land Resource Management Unit Via Enrico Fermi 2749 TP280, I-21027 Ispra
(VA), Italy; E-mail: [email protected].
S. Kapur, Prof. Dr., University of Çukurova, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil Science
and Plant Nutrition, Balcalı, 01330 Adana, Turkey; E-mail: [email protected].
A novel World Atlas of Desertification (WAD) is being compiled under the coor-
dination of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission in
partnership with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The novel
WAD will be available as both a published reference atlas and an online digital
information portal. It builds upon recent scientific progress by taking a pragmatic
and robust approach to the use of current concepts to assess and map land degra-
dation and desertification. The updated WAD provides a foundation for improved
mitigation strategies regarding global issues of food security, resource base effi-
ciency, climate change, sustainable development and poverty reduction.
An entire chapter within the novel WAD is devoted to soil issues. Issues are
organized in an ecosystem-based approach that identifies soil function and provides
a detailed background. Additional attention is devoted to global soil resource
availability and its capacity to feed a growing population that is expected to reach
over 9 billion by 2050. The global average of per capita agricultural land decreased
from 0.39 ha per person in 1960 to 0.21 ha in 2007 and continues to decline.
Worldwide crop cultivation is practiced on 1.6 billion ha, but the distribution of
arable land is extremely uneven. China and India account for more than 35 % of the
total global population, and both have exploited most of their available land and
water resources for agriculture. Similar situations exist throughout the
Mediterranean and particularly in North Africa and the Middle East where only 5 %
of the land is suitable for agriculture (Zdruli 2012).
Soils are both carbon sinks and sources. Global estimates indicate that soil up to 1 m
depth contains between 1,206 Pg of soil organic carbon (SOC) (Hiederer/Köchy
2011) and more than 1,550 Pg C (Lal 2004; Baveye/Jacobson 2007), which is about
twice the amount of atmospheric carbon (800 Pg). The total carbon soil stock could
actually be up to five times that of the atmosphere because many soils are present at
depths greater than 1 m. In particular, soils such as Mollisols (Soil Taxonomy) or
Chernozems (WRB) are extremely important for storing organic carbon and pro-
viding food and fiber. Although soils cover only 3 % of global land area, they
produce more than 40 % of the global food and over 90 % of these soils are used for
cereal production (Eswaran et al. 2003). Soils must be considered as both national
and international assets and be protected from any form of degradation.
The annual flux of carbon dioxide (CO2) between the soil and atmosphere is
estimated to be six times the amount derived from fossil fuels (GSP 2011). The
amount of carbon stored in soil is about 300 times the amount released annually
from burning fossil fuels. Emissions from land-use changes are estimated to con-
tribute 20 % of atmospheric CO2 as a result the loss of biomass and SOM (Smith
2 New World Atlas of Desertification and Issues … 15
et al. 2007). Land use intensification has significant effects on the stability of soil
ecosystems. These effects may assist in the prediction and modelling of climate
change responses, especially when the peculiar effects of soil biota are also con-
sidered (de Vries et al. 2013).
Although drylands store much less SOC per hectare than humid regions, the vast
surface area they cover globally (nearly 40 % of land cover) makes them an
important global carbon sink (Lal 2009). The potential for SOC storage per hectare
in dryland soils may be comparable to that in soils of the humid areas. Large
dryland soil ‘sink capacity’ is created when high amounts of SOC are lost through
degradation, which soils in humid regions may not experience (Farage et al. 2007).
Large quantities of carbon are stored in waterlogged and permafrost soils.
Permafrost soils could potentially emit potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as
methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) if the permafrost layer is affected by
thawing or if wetlands are desiccated. These worst case scenarios could cause
climate change to increase rapidly because the GHG CH4 is 18–25 times more
potent than CO2. Despite these critical outcomes, the impact of soil in various
climate change scenarios is generally not well understood. The United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change process has paid little attention to the
potential for soil C sequestration.
Soil quality is the capacity of a soil to perform ecosystem functions and provide
ecosystem services. Soil quality depends on key determinants (Lal 2012). SOM is a
key constituent in this context that heavily impacts soil quality through positive
effects on physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil. Depletion of
SOM initiates a downward spiral of cascading adverse effects. Conversion from a
natural to an agroecosystem (cropland and grazing land) and the attendant changes
in water and energy budgets at the ecosystem level cause severe and rapid SOM
depletion and negative impacts on physical soil quality. SOM depletion reduces
aggregation and has adverse effects on soil structure and tilth in addition to GHG
emissions into the atmosphere (Fig. 2.2).
Decreased soil structure leads to densification, water infiltrability reduction,
increased erosion susceptibility and decreased availability of green water for plant
growth. Disrupted elemental cycling and reduced availability of plant nutrients
decrease the efficiency of inherent and applied resources as well as agronomic
productivity. The downward spiral initiated by SOM depletion adversely affects
farm income. Similarly, SOM decline below the threshold level adversely impacts
soil chemical, biological and ecological processes that lead to a range of degra-
dation processes. These processes include alteration of soil reactions; elemental
imbalances of deficiency and toxicity, salinization and sodication; and reduction in
activity and species diversity of soil fauna, flora and microbial biomass carbon
(MBC). Severe SOM depletion causes impacts such as the breakdown of
16 P. Zdruli et al.
Fig. 2.1 A fertile Chernozem from Hungary. Source E. Micheli who granted permission to use
this photo
community wellbeing, civil structure and political instability that ultimately lead to
societal collapse (Diamond 2006) (Fig. 2.1).
SOC comprises 50–60 % (average 58 %) of the global SOM stock in addition to
providing a source of nutrients (macro and micro) and other elements. Thus, the
SOC stock is among the principal terrestrial carbon stocks. These stocks vary
among biomes or eco-regions because of differences in climate, soil type, phys-
iography, vegetation, and land use (Fig. 2.3). The pedologic (soil originated) soil
carbon pool comprises the two distinct, yet related, components of soil inorganic
carbon (SIC) and SOC stocks. The pedologic pool to 3 m depth is estimated at
4,000 Pg, i.e. *5 times the atmospheric pool (800 Pg) and 6.45 times the biotic
stock (620 Pg). The pedologic carbon stock influences carbon cycling and heavily
impacts radiative forcing and soil albedo through close interaction with biotic and
climatic stocks and changes in the soil-related flux of GHGs (Rubio 2007). The
magnitude of the flux of GHGs from soil to atmosphere depends on land use,
soil/animals/vegetation management and the antecedent SOC pool.
2 New World Atlas of Desertification and Issues … 17
Fig. 2.2 Impact of the soil organic matter depletion on ecosystem functions and services. Source
The authors
Fig. 2.3 Estimates of global soil organic carbon density from amended harmonized world soil
database (Mg C ha−1). Source Hiederer/Köchy (2011)
Fig. 2.4 Effects of land use conversion and farming systems on soil properties, processes, and
ecosystem functions. Source The authors
2 New World Atlas of Desertification and Issues … 19
Fig. 2.5 Factors affecting soil organic carbon pool depletion in agroecosystems. Source The
authors
Negative feedback to the SOC pool is the net effect of decreased agronomic
production and reduced ecosystem services (Fig. 2.5). Accelerated soil erosion
adversely affects the on-site SOC stock. Despite the limited amount of research on
the fate of carbon transported by erosional processes on a watershed scale, erosion
has been found to severely deplete the soil SOC stock of erosion-prone ecosystems
(Lal 2003, 2004; Lal et al. 2004). Decreasing trends in SOC stock can be reversed
by adopting best management practices (BMPs) that also have a low carbon
footprint. The most important among a wide range of generic BMPs are no-till
farming, cover cropping, integrated nutrient management, agroforestry systems and
complex/diverse farming systems.
Although the issue of soil carbon sequestration is still a highly debated and complex
topic, the general consensus is that increasing soil carbon stocks could be a highly
cost effective (Grace et al. 2011) and environmentally suitable mitigation technique
(Mermut 2010). Global and continental estimates of SOC stocks were made (Batjes
1996) and a close link between these stocks and potential CO2 emissions from soil
under different scenarios of land-use/cover and climatic change conditions were
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Kuistilla tulikin Serafiina vastaan ja selitti Samulin kysymykseen,
että isä oli yhä huononemaan päin. Yöllä ei ollut tuntenut häntäkään,
Serafiinaa, vaan oli houraillut yhtä ja toista.
Samuli ällistyi, ei osannut sanoa sitä eikä tätä. Mitä hän oikein
aikoikaan isännän puheille?
7.
Öisin häntä oli valvottanut. Eivät sitä kivut yksistään tehneet, vaan
myös huolet. Häneen oli jäänyt kumma usko, että Törmälä oli jotakin
hänelle testamentannut … tämän pirtin omaksi ja maata ympäriltä…
Niin oli hän ymmärtänyt Törmälän puheet. Sillä siihen suuntaan oli
vainaja monasti viitannut pitkän yhdessäolon aikana, vaikkei
koskaan ollut selvästi sanonut. Mutta hän oli aivan varma, ettei
Törmälä turhia puhunut.
Liisaan oli tarttunut sama usko, ja seppäkin oli alkanut uskoa, kun
Samulilta kuuli mitä Törmälä oli puhunut…
»Jo päättyi.»
Seppä aloitti:
8.
Mutta testamentista ei kukaan tiennyt mitään.
»Mutta eipä sitä ole missään näkynyt, vaikka muut plakaatit ovat
löytyneet», tenäsi seppä.
»Serafiinako?»
»No, nyt minä ymmärrän! Etten tuota ennen ole ajatellut! Mutta ei
sitä ole kukaan muukaan hoksannut kuin sinä… Kun ei
Samulikaan!»
Seppä oli itserakas mies ja piti kovasti siitä, että häntä sanottiin
varakkaaksi.
»Ja eikö ole seppäkin tietämässä, että nytkin olen kaiken aikaa
minkä mitäkin syömisen puolta lähettänyt ja itse vienyt?» puhui
Serafiina, vieläkin itku silmissä.
Seppä läksi.
»Perkele huoli koko jutusta!» kirosi seppä, sillä nyt häntä alkoi
oma tyhmyytensä pistellä vihaksi.
»Jos minulla olisi housut jalassa ja mies olisin niinkuin sinä», jutteli
Juliaana vähän härnäävällä äänellä, »niin jo minä olisin selvän
ottanut…»
»Käy asiaan, kun luulet niin viisas olevasi», kivahti seppä taas.
9.
»Keitä ne ovat, jotka purkavat pirttiä?» kysyi hän Liisalta, joka tuli
ulkoa.
»Ei toki minun vuokseni!» virkkoi Antti. »En minä kahvin vuoksi
liikkeelle lähtenyt, vaan muuten…»