Impact of two centuries of intensive agriculture on soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in the UK

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Muhammed, S. E., Coleman, K., Wu, L., Bell, V. A., Davies, J. A. C., Carnell, E. J., Tomlinson, S. J., Dore, A. J., Dragosits, U., Naden, P. S., Glendining, M. J., Whitmore, A. P. and Tipping, E. 2018. Impact of two centuries of intensive agriculture on soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in the UK. Science of the Total Environment. 634 (1 September), pp. 1486-1504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.378

AuthorsMuhammed, S. E., Coleman, K., Wu, L., Bell, V. A., Davies, J. A. C., Carnell, E. J., Tomlinson, S. J., Dore, A. J., Dragosits, U., Naden, P. S., Glendining, M. J., Whitmore, A. P. and Tipping, E.
Abstract

This paper describes a model that estimates carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pools, pool changes, their balance and the nutrient fluxes exported from arable and grassland systems in the UK during 1800-2010 (at different periods: historical (1800-1950), transition (1950-70) and current (1970-2010)) using an agricultural model (Roth-CNP). The Roth-CNP model was developed as part of an Integrated Model (IM) to simulate C, N and P cycling for the whole of UK, comprising atmospheric, terrestrial, hydrological and hydro-chemical models. The model was calibrated and tested using long term experiment (LTE) data from Broadbalk (1843) and Park Grass (1856) at Rothamsted. We estimated C, N and P balance and their fluxes exported from arable and grassland systems in the UK on a 5 km x 5 km grid across the whole of UK taking into account arable and improved grass land management, crops (winter wheat, potato, oilseed rape, spring barley and fodder maize) and livestock numbers in each grid. Simulated crop and grass yields and estimated soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and nutrient fluxes in the form of NH4-N, NO3-N and PO4-P varied spatially across the whole UK. The simulated trends of crop yields were compared to that reported by national agricultural statistics for the historical to the current period. Overall, arable lands in the UK have lost SOC by −0.18, −0.25 and −0.08 Mg C ha y−1 whereas under improved grassland SOC stock has increased by 0.20, 0.47 and 0.24 Mg C ha y−1 during 1800−1950, 1950−1970 and 1970−2010 simulated in this study. Annual mineral N and P balance is dominated by different components at different time periods under both arable and grass lands. Simulated N loss (by leaching, run off, soil erosion and denitrification) increased both under arable (−15, −18 and −53 kg N ha y−1) and grass (−18, −22 and −36 kg N ha y−1) during different time periods. Simulated P surplus increased from 2.6, 10.8 and 18.1 kg P ha y−1 under arable and 2.8, 11.3 and 3.6 kg P ha y−1 under grass lands 1800−1950, 1950−1970 and 1970−2010.

KeywordsRoth-CNP; Integrated model; crops; nutrient flux; leaching; Long term experiments
Year of Publication2018
JournalScience of the Total Environment
Journal citation634 (1 September), pp. 1486-1504
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.378
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
FunderNatural Environment Research Council
Funder project or codeImpact of historical to current (1800-2010) intensive agriculture (arable and grassland) on carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in the UK
The Rothamsted Long Term Experiments [2017-2022]
Publisher's version
Copyright license
CC BY
Accepted author manuscript
Copyright license
CC BY
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online18 Apr 2018
Publication process dates
Accepted30 Mar 2018
PublisherElsevier Science Bv
ISSN0048-9697

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