Summary
This global meta-analysis synthesises empirical paired-comparison data on soil organic carbon dynamics under perennial crops (grasses, palms, woody plants) relative to annual cropping and other land uses. Converting from annual to perennial crops increased SOC by 20% (0–30 cm) over a 20-year period, whereas transitions from natural pasture or forest showed mixed outcomes. The analysis presents an empirical predictive model for SOC change as a function of time, land use type, and site characteristics, identifying temperature, crop age, bulk density, clay content, and soil depth as key drivers.
UK applicability
The findings support perennialisation as a climate mitigation strategy potentially applicable to UK farming systems, though UK-specific outcomes may differ given the temperate climate and existing pasture prevalence. The dataset's representation of UK or northern European conditions is not explicit from the abstract, so applicability to British soil types and management contexts would require examination of the underlying paired-comparison dataset.
Key measures
Soil organic carbon stocks (Mg/ha) at 0–30 cm and 0–100 cm soil depths; change magnitude over 20-year periods; effect sizes by land use transition type and crop category
Outcomes reported
The study quantified changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks when converting from annual to perennial crops, and modelled SOC temporal dynamics across diverse perennial crop types and site conditions. It evaluated SOC changes at multiple soil depths (0–30 cm and 0–100 cm) across a harmonised global dataset of paired comparisons.
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