Industrial garbage-derived biocompost enhances soil organic carbon fractions, CO2 biosequestration, potential carbon credits and sustainability index in a rice-wheat ecosystem.

The objectives of this experiment were i) to study on the garbage composting to improve the soil organic carbon (SOC) pools (active and passive), ii) work out the carbon (C) budgeting, and iii) cut off C footprints (CFs) in the rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) farming to achieve the long-term sustainability. The main plots show four fertilizer levels (F0 = control, F1 = 112.5:45:45 kg nitrogen; phosphorus; potassium (NPK) ha-1, F2 = 150:60:60 kg NPK ha-1 and F3 = 150:60:60 kg NPK ha-1+ 5 kg iron (Fe) + 5 kg zinc (Zn) were applied, while in sub plots with the combination of three industrial garbage (I1 = carpet garbage; I2 = pressmud; I3 = bagasse) and three microbial culture (M1 = Pleurotus sajor-caju, M2 = Azotobacter chroococcum; M3 = Trichoderma viride) made into nine treatment combinations were applied. Based on the interaction, treatment F3 × I1+M3 resulted in a maximum of 25.1 and 22.4 Mg ha-1 total CO2 biosequestration by rice and wheat, respectively. However, it was cut off CFs by 29.9 and 22.2% more than F1 × I3+M1. Based on the soil C fractionation study, in the main plot treatment, F3 was active very labile C (VLC) and moderately labile C (MLC) and passive less labile C (LLC) and recalcitrant C (RC) SOC fractions contributed by 68.3 and 30.0%, respectively, of total SOC. However, in the sub plot, treatment I1+M3 found 68.2% and 29.8% active and passive SOC fractions, respectively, of total SOC. Regarding the soil microbial biomass C (SMBC) study, F3 had 37.7% higher than F0. However, in the sub plot, I1+M3 was seen to be 21.5% greater than I2+M1. Furthermore, wheat and rice had higher 1002 and 897 US$ ha-1 potential C credit in F3 × I1+M3, respectively. SOC fractions were perfectly positively correlated with SMBC. A positive (+) correlation was observed among grain yield (wheat and rice) and SOC pools in soil. However, a negative correlation was found between the C sustainability index (CSI) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI). The variability in wheat and rice grain yield was 46 and 74%, respectively, contributed by the SOC pools. Therefore, this study hypothesised that applying inorganic nutrients and industrial garbage converted into biocompost cut off C emissions and reduced the demand for chemical fertilizers, opening garbage disposal, and simultaneously enhancing the SOC pools.

Agriculture models for restoring degraded land to enhance CO2 biosequestration and carbon credits in the Vindhyan region of India.

The study's objective was to evaluate the status of converted degraded land into productive agricultural models by improving the physicochemical properties of the soil, soil organic matter (SOM), soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions (active and passive), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC), while also generating carbon (C) credit for additional farmers' income. Six models were analyzed, namely: (1) Arjun forest-based agroecosystems (AFBAE); (2) Lemon grass-based agroecosystems (LGBAE); (3) Legume-cereal-moong-based agroecosystems (LCMBAE); (4) Bael-black mustard-based agroecosystems (BMBAE); (5) Guava-wheat-based agroecosystems (GWBAE), and (6) Custard apple -lentil -based agroecosystems (CALBAE). These models were replicated three times in a randomized block design (RBD). Soil samples were collected from the study area at two depths (0-0.30 and 0.30-0.60 m). At a 0-0.30 m depth, the highest bulk density (ρb) of 1.50 Mg m-3 was observed in LCMBAE, while the lowest ρb of 1.43 Mg m-3 was recorded in BMBAE. The soil organic carbon (SOC) and SOC stock values exhibited a range of 4.2-7.7 g kg-1 and 19.0-33.4 Mg ha-1, respectively. In the AFBAE, the highest levels of 163.1 % MBC were found over LCMBAE. At a 0-0.30 m depth, the recalcitrant index (RI) and lability index (LI) ranged from 0.35-0.46 to 1.97-2.11, respectively. Additionally, the AFBAE exhibited the highest total biomass accumulation (39.23 Mg ha-1), carbon dioxide (CO2) biosequestration (287.9 Mg ha-1), and the total social cost of CO2 at US$ 277 ha-1. Furthermore, in the AFBAE, there was a 198.1 % increase in total C credit (US$ 161 ha-1) compared to LCMBAE (US$ 54 ha-1). However, at 0.30-0.60 m depths, GWBAE and CALBAE were statistically equivalent (p ≤ 0.05) in total C stocks. Principal component analysis (PCA) reveals that component-1 accounts for 77.4 % of the variability, while component-2 contributes 18.6 %. This article aimed to convert the degraded land into a sustainable agricultural module by increasing SOC and CO2 biosequestration and producing more C-credit, or climate currency, on underutilized land.

Interaction impact of biocompost on nutrient dynamics and relations with soil biota, carbon fractions index, societal value of CO2 equivalent and ecosystem services in the wheat-rice farming.

This experiment aimed to understand the recycled industrial biocompost interaction with fertilizers doses on soil nutrient dynamics, soil organic carbon (SOC) fraction indexes, microbial population, positive ecosystem services, carbon dioxide (CO2) societal values and economy in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-rice (Oryza sativa L.) production. Based on the field and lab data, a significant interaction was observed between the biocompost and fertilizer levels; the fertilizer doses (FD)3 × biocompost (BC)1 were observed 80.6 grain and 56.0% higher straw yield in the wheat-rice crops than FD0 × BC9. Based on the results of soil organic carbon (SOC), the treatment FD3 × BC1 was observed more very labile (5.06 g kg-1) and moderately labile (4.26 g kg-1) carbon (C) fractions. However, C liability and recalcitrant indexes were recorded as non-significant. Further, the interaction effects of FD3 × BC1 found 65.7% more CO2 sequestration over FD0 × BC9. In terms of microbial dynamics, at 45 days after sowing (DAS), the treatment FD3 × BC4 was found to be the highest soil bacteria (56.6 × 107), fungi (32.3 × 105), and actinomycetes (49.1 × 106 cfu g-1) population. Further, regarding ecosystem services, the FD3 × BC1 found a maximum of US$ 1236 and 322 ha-1 year-1 grain and straw-based ecosystem services, respectively. However, the treatment FD3 × BC1 observed the maximum societal value (US$ 2041 ha-1). In contrast, higher economic values of 77.9 and 138.8% gross and net returns were recorded in the FD3 × BC1 compared to FD0 × BC9 in the wheat-rice cropping sequence (WRCS), respectively. Therefore, the study's hypothesis was to know the impact of the biocompost with fertilizers doses to enhance the nutrient and microbial dynamics, increasing SOC fractions (active and passive) and pools, CO2 sequestration, and restoring the soil health in the WRCS.

Utilizing waste compost to improve the atmospheric CO2 capturing in the rice-wheat cropping system and energy-cum­carbon credit auditing for a circular economy.

The study aimed to manage industrial wastes and create a module for using compost from waste for crops cultivation to conserve energy, reduce fertilizer use and Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and improve the atmospheric CO2 capturing in agriculture for a green economy. In the main-plot, the experiment's results using NS3 found 50.1 and 41.8 % more grain yield and total carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in the wheat-rice cropping sequence, respectively, compared to the NS0. Moreover, the treatment CW + TV in the sub-plot observed 24.0 and 20.3 % higher grain yield and total CO2 sequestration than B + PS. Based on interaction, the NS3× CW + TV resulted in a maximum total CO2 sequestration and C credit of 47.5 Mg ha-1 and US$ 1899 ha-1, respectively. Further, it was 27.9 % lower in carbon footprints (CFs) than NS1 × B + PS. Regarding another parameter, the treatment NS3 observed a 42.4 % more total energy output in the main-plot than that of NS0. Further, in the sub-plot, the treatment CW + TV produced 21.3 % more total energy output than B + PS. Energy use efficiency (EUE) and net energy return in the interaction of NS3× CW + TV were 20.5 and 138.8 % greater than the NS0 × B + PS, respectively. In the main-plot, the treatment NS3 obtained a maximum of 585.0 MJ US$-1 and US$ 0.24 MJ-1 for energy intensity in economic terms (EIET) and eco-efficiency index in terms of energy (EEIe), respectively. While in the sub-plot, the CW + TV was observed at a maximum of 571.52 MJ US$-1 and US$ 0.23 MJ-1 EIET and EEIe, respectively. The correlation and regression study showed a perfect positive correlation between grain yield and total C output. Moreover, a high positive correlation (0.75 to 1) was found with all other energy parameters for grain energy use efficiency (GEUE). The variability in the wheat-rice cropping sequence's energy profitability (EPr) was 53.7 % for human energy profitability (HEP). Based on principal component analysis (PCA), the eigenvalues of the first two principal components (PCs) had been greater than two, explaining 78.4 and 13.7 % of the variability. The experiment hypothesis was to develop a reliable technology for safely using industrial waste compost, minimizing energy consumption and CO2 emissions by reducing chemical fertilizer input in agriculture soils.