Impact of conservation agriculture on soil properties and crop yields: A review

Abstract:

Yield stagnation and soil degradation is a major concerns nowadays that could possibly be overcome by the use of conservation agriculture (CA) which is a set of management practices vitally important for sustaining and increasing productivity and profitability in agriculture. Based on various studies conducted, the effects of CA on soil properties are highly variable in different soil types, locations and cropping systems. This present review examines the relevant literature on CA to provide better insight and understanding of its effect on soil properties and crop yields. This article discusses on the aspects of soil health by adopting the CA in terms of the amount of organic matter, alteration in pore-sizes and their distribution, facilitating retention and movement of water, ensuring proper aeration, moderating temperature, maintaining biomass and diversity, influencing pH and cation exchange capacity and reducing sub-surface compaction facilitating plant roots to penetrate deeper in the soil profile. The CA largely improves the yield of different crops under long-term experiments while a decline in yields has been observed during the conversion period or short-term experiments. The review concludes that though there is inadequate knowledge for managing functional CA systems under all conditions but its underlying principles may provide the basis for developing new practices to sustain productivity while maintaining the quality of both the soil and the environment.