7 research outputs found
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Impacts of projected precipitation changes on sugar beet yield in Eastern England
Projected increasing temperatures and reduced summer rainfall in the UK pose a sustainability and food security challenge for the agricultural industry. This study investigates the potential impact of precipitation changes on Eastern England sugar beet yield. Precipitation data over Eastern England from weather stations (1971-2000) and a range of CMIP5 climate models (“historical” for 1971-2000; and RCP45 and RCP85 for 2021-2050) were examined. A good agreement was found between the observations and the overlapping model grid cell. The study then investigated the impact of likely future rainfall changes on yield by applying controlled watering regimes informed by the CMIP5 projections 10 to 150 sugar beet plants grown in a greenhouse – the use of CMIP5 projections in this way is a first. Watering regimes that represent “present day” and “future” precipitation characteristics were calculated: 0.46L of water was applied every other day to each plant in the “present day” category; 0.39L was applied every other day to each plant in the “future” category. This reflects the 16% reduction in future rainfall that was calculated from the climate models. Results from the greenhouse experiment showed a statistically significant (p<0.01) reduction in soil moisture in the “future” category, which was related to a statistically significant (p<0.05) reduction in mean tuber wet mass: mean of 360g for “present day”; and 319g for “future”. The results for dry mass were less significant (p=0.11) but indicated a reduction in the future category (95.2g vs. 88.2g). These findings imply a potential yield reduction of 11% by 2050.
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Reforesting degraded agricultural landscapes with Eucalypts: effects on carbon storage and soil fertility after 26years
In the Western Australian wheatbelt, the restoration of native eucalypt forests for managing degraded agricultural landscapes is a critical part of managing dryland salinity and rebuilding biodiversity. Such reforestation will also sequester carbon. Whereas most investigative emphasis has been on carbon stored in biomass, the effects of reforestation on soil organic carbon (SOC) stores and fertility are not known. Two 26 year old reforestation experiments with four Eucalyptus species (E. cladocalyx var nana, E. occidentalis, E. sargentii and E. wandoo) were compared with agricultural sites (Field). SOC stores (to 0.3 m depth) ranged between 33 and 55 Mg ha−1, with no statistically significant differences between tree species and adjacent farmland. Farming comprised crop and pasture rotations. In contrast, the reforested plots contained additional carbon in the tree biomass (23–60 Mg ha−1) and litter (19–34 Mg ha−1), with the greatest litter accumulation associated with E. sargentii. Litter represented between 29 and 56% of the biomass carbon and the protection or utilization of this litter in fire-prone, semi-arid farmland will be an important component of carbon management. Exch-Na and Exch-Mg accumulated under E. sargentii and E. occidentalis at one site. The results raise questions about the conclusions of SOC sequestration studies following reforestation based on limited sampling and reiterate the importance of considering litter in reforestation carbon accounts