Summary
This global meta-analysis quantifies soil organic carbon dynamics under perennial crops by synthesizing paired-comparison empirical data across multiple crop types (grasses, palms, woody plants) and end uses. Converting from annual cropping to perennials increased SOC by 20% in the upper 30 cm (6.0 ± 4.6 Mg/ha) and 10% over 0–100 cm (5.7 ± 10.9 Mg/ha) over 20 years, with woody crops showing the strongest accumulation. The work supports perennialization as a climate mitigation strategy, though conversion from natural pasture or forest showed minimal or negative SOC outcomes depending on soil depth.
UK applicability
The findings are applicable to UK perennial crop adoption strategies, particularly for woody biomass and agroforestry systems under temperate conditions; however, the study's global dataset may obscure region-specific responses to UK soil, climate, and management conditions. UK policy frameworks promoting perennial crops for carbon sequestration should account for the substantial variability observed (±4.6–10.9 Mg/ha) and context-dependency on land use history and site factors.
Key measures
Soil organic carbon stocks (Mg/ha) at 0–30 cm and 0–100 cm soil depth; percentage change in SOC following land use conversion; temporal accumulation of SOC under perennial crop cycles
Outcomes reported
The study quantified changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks when converting from annual to perennial crops, and from natural pasture or forest to perennial crops, across multiple crop types and global locations. It developed an empirical model to predict SOC dynamics as a function of time, land use, and site characteristics including temperature, crop age, soil bulk density, clay content, and depth.
Topic tags
Dig deeper with Pulse AI.
Pulse AI has read the whole catalogue. Ask about this record, its theme, or how the findings apply to UK farming and policy — every answer cites the underlying studies.