Loss of soil organic carbon in Swiss long-term agricultural experiments over a wide range of management practices

Summary

This analysis of Swiss long-term field experiments (2019) documents trends in soil organic carbon across a range of farming systems and management intensities. The work suggests that SOC depletion has occurred even under some conservation and organic management, indicating that widespread agricultural practices may not consistently rebuild or maintain soil carbon pools as expected. The findings contribute to understanding which management approaches are most effective at stabilising or recovering SOC in temperate European conditions.

UK applicability

Results from Swiss temperate arable and mixed farming systems are relevant to UK soil and climate conditions. The wide range of management practices studied may illuminate which UK farming systems (conventional, organic, conservation) are most effective at addressing SOC decline—a key policy concern under the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Environmental Land Management schemes.

Key measures

Soil organic carbon concentration and stocks; management practice types; temporal trends in SOC loss or retention

Outcomes reported

The study assessed changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks over time across multiple long-term agricultural experiments in Switzerland, comparing trajectories under diverse management practices including conventional, organic, and conservation-based approaches.

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