Modelling soil carbon dynamics and climate change scenarios response to cover crops in Brazilian Savanna

• Grant number: 24/06095-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: February 28, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Maurício Roberto Cherubin
• Grantee: Victória Santos Souza
• Supervisor: Alice Milne
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Rothamsted Research, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/16368-6 - Carbon balance and soil health response to cover crops in Brazilian Cerrado, BP.DR

Abstract

Mitigating climate changes and combating food insecurity are the main challenges for the humankind in the next decades. In Brazil, land use change and agricultural activities are the main source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and therefore, the adoption of best management practices that increase soil carbon (SOC) stocks and reduce GHG emissions is the foundation for designing more sustainable cropping systems in Brazil. The main objective of this proposal is to predict, using modeling tools, the long-term impacts of cover crops on soil organic carbon stocks in the Brazilian Savanna region. Specifically, to parameterize the RothC and DayCent models to simulate soil C changes under future climate scenarios. Soil samples were collected up to 1 m deep, in the localities of Rio Verde - GO (Experimental plots running for 6 years) and Rondonópolis - MT (10 years). The experiment comprises cover crop treatments after soybean (main crop) cultivation. Changes in soil C stocks were quantified. This information will be organized and will be used in the RothC and DayCent models to perform the stages of parameterization, simulation, calibration, and validation. Once the model is validated, long-term simulations will be carried out to assess SOC stocks considering the current uses/treatments assessed in the study sites. Finally, new scenarios will be predicted considering management strategies and climate change projections. Through this project, we expect to identify the best long-term strategies for increasing the potential of crop systems to mitigate and adapt to climate change. These results will largely contribute to improving national inventories that are essential for the establishment of initiatives that seek to cooperate with the global climate agenda and achieve C neutrality.