Browsing by Author "Adarsha Divyadarshan"

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Soil Carbon Dynamics and Soil Quality Index Under Different Agricultural Production Systems in Rain-Fed Ecosystems
(John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2025) Adarsha Divyadarshan; Sushanta Kumar Naik; Mahesh Kumar Dhakar; Tapan Jyoti Purakayastha; Dibakar Mahanta; Manoj Choudhary; S. S. Mali; Rakesh Pradeep Kumar; Ashish Kumar Dash; Anup Das; Ram Swaroop Meena
The single-tier mono-cropping systems in the rain-fed ecosystems are vulnerable to global climate change and are leading to the unsustainability of the production systems and deterioration of soil health. The present investigation evaluated the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and soil quality index in different multitier agricultural production systems in the rain-fed ecosystems. The agricultural production systems comprise (1) fallow land (FL-control), (2) perennial napier fodder grass (Napier), (3) sole rice crop in the rainy season (Rice), (4) multitier cropping system of mango + mahogany + rice (MMR), (5) plum orchard, (6) multitier cropping system of mango + mahogany + aonla + rice (MMAR), and (7) multitier cropping system of mango + mahogany + peach + rice (MMPR). After 7 years of establishment, the highest total SOC (TSOC) stock was 62.8 Mg ha−1 in the MMAR system, which sequestered 2.71 Mg C ha−1 year−1. Compared to the control, the MMAR system stabilized 1.28, 1.57, 1.5, and 1.48 times more TSOC at 0.0–0.15, 0.15–0.30, 0.30–0.45, and 0.45–0.60 m soil depths, respectively. The MMAR system enhanced the non-labile recalcitrant carbon fraction by 21.1% over the control. The dehydrogenase, fluorescein diacetate, β-glucosidase, and acid phosphatase activities in the MMAR system were 1.48, 1.84, 1.59, and 1.9 times more than the control, respectively, at 0–0.60 m soil depth. The best soil quality indicators identified for the rain-fed ecosystems were fluorescein diacetate, soil microbial biomass carbon, EC, pH, and bulk density. The adoption of multitier systems in rain-fed agroecosystems builds-up a considerable amount of soil carbon stock and maintains better soil quality in comparison to single-tier mono-cropping. © 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Temporal Effects of Conservation Agriculture-Based Rice–Wheat Cropping System on Soil Aggregation and Organic Carbon Dynamics in Northwestern Indo-Gangetic Plains
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2025) Amit Kumar Dash; Manisha Chand Meena; Shrila Das; Abir Dey; Md Basit Raza; Saloni Tripathy; Adarsh Kumar; Dibyajyoti Panda; Adarsha Divyadarshan
Conservation agriculture (CA) is widely advocated in northwestern Indo-Gangetic plains (IGPs) as a climate-smart strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of conventional rice–wheat cropping systems. However, on-farm research exploring the effects of different durations of CA on soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and soil aggregation in these regions remains scarce. To address this gap, we assessed the impact of CA practiced for 2 (CA2), 4 (CA4), 8 (CA8), and 12 (CA12) years compared to conventional tillage (CT) on SOC dynamics, soil aggregation, and system productivity at the farmers' field of Nilokheri block, Haryana, India. Adopting CA for 8 to 12 years led to a significant increase in total soil organic carbon, with improvements ranging from 28 to 48% in the topsoil (0–5 cm) and 64.2% to 98.7% in the 5–15 cm compared to CT. All the fractions of SOC (very labile, labile, less labile, and non-labile C) were significantly affected due to CA practice. The CA8 and CA12 showed a respective, 34.8 and 53.8% higher carbon management index over CT in the 0–5 cm soil depth. However, long-term CA resulted in a ~ 20–25% reduction in soil inorganic carbon compared to CT. The percentages of macroaggregates and content of aggregate-associated C significantly improved under the CA8 and CA12 scenarios compared to CT. The derived regression coefficients revealed a strong positive relationship between TSOC and both rice equivalent yield and wheat yield. These findings highlight the potential of enhancing TSOC to boost agricultural productivity under CA, thereby fostering sustainable farming. Such improvements are vital for building climate-resilient cropping and supporting the widespread adoption of CA practices. The farmers in northwestern IGPs may consider adopting conservation agriculture practices for 8 years or more to benefit from enhanced SOC sequestration, soil aggregation, and yield sustainability under the climate change scenario. © The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Sociedad Chilena de la Ciencia del Suelo 2025.