Why is no-till a recommended practice for soil carbon programs?
In the past 100 years, intensive agriculture has caused a soil carbon loss of 30%-50%, mostly through traditional tillage practices. In contrast, conservation tillage practices preserve soil carbon by maintaining a ground cover after planting and by reducing soil disturbance compared with traditional cultivation, thereby reducing soil loss and energy use while maintaining crop yields and quality. No till reduces oxidation and the release of carbon into the atmosphere. Therefore, conservation tillage practices reduce emissions from cultivation and also enhance carbon sequestration in soils. Nearly 40% of U.S. planted areas are under some type of conservation tillage practices. Source: Climate Change: The Role for the U.S. Agriculture Sector (CRS Report to Congress). Author: Renee Johnson, Analyst in Agricultural Economics, Resources, Science, and Industry Division. March 2007.
