Summary
This synthesis consolidates data from multiple long-term Swiss agricultural field experiments to document widespread soil organic carbon decline across diverse farming systems, from intensive to organic management. The work quantifies SOC losses and identifies drivers of carbon loss in temperate European agriculture, highlighting the persistence of this challenge regardless of management approach intensity. The findings suggest that current practices across the Swiss farming spectrum are insufficient to maintain or build soil carbon stocks.
UK applicability
The findings are directly relevant to UK agriculture, which operates under similar temperate climatic and soil conditions and faces comparable SOC depletion pressures. The breadth of Swiss management systems studied (varying in intensity, mechanisation, and input use) provides empirical context applicable to UK policy on soil carbon and sustainable intensification.
Key measures
Soil organic carbon concentration and stock; management practice variables; temporal SOC change across multiple experimental sites
Outcomes reported
The study quantified soil organic carbon (SOC) losses across multiple long-term field experiments in Switzerland spanning a range of management intensities and approaches. The analysis identified factors influencing carbon persistence and vulnerability under current European temperate farming practices.
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