Soil CO2 emissions in terms of irrigation management in an agricultural soil
- Rafael Domingo Miguel 1
- José María de la Rosa Sánchez 1
- Ángel Faz Cano 1
- Raúl Zornoza Belmonte 1
- José Alberto Acosta Avilés 1
- Alejandro Pérez Pastor 1
- María Ángeles Muñoz García
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1
Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena
info
Año de publicación: 2014
Tipo: Aportación congreso
Resumen
Irrigation water restrictions in the Mediterranean area are reaching worrying proportions and represent a serious threat to traditional crops and encourage the movement of people who choose to work in other activities. This situation has created a growing interest in water conservation, particularly among practitioners of irrigated agriculture, the main recipient of water resources (>80%). For these and other reasons, the scientific and technicalirrigation scheduling of water use to maintain and even improve harvest yield and quality has been and will remain a major challenge for irrigated agriculture. Apart from environmental and economic benefits by water savings, deficit irrigation may contribute to reduce soil CO2 emissions and enhance C sequestration in soils. The reduction of soil moisture levels decreases microbial activity, with the resulting slowing down of organic matter mineralization. Besides, the application of water by irrigation may increment the precipitation rate of carbonates, favoring the storage of C, but depending on the source of calcium or bicarbonate, the net reaction can be either storage or release of C.