Corn Yields and No-Tillage Affects Carbon Sequestration and Carbon Footprints

The corn (Zea mays L.)-based ethanol carbon footprint is impacted by many factors including the soil's C sequestration potential. The study's objective was to determine the South Dakota corn-based ethanol surface SOC sequestration potential and associated partial C footprint. Calculated short-term C sequestration potentials were compared with long-term sequestration rates calculated from 95,214 producer soil samples collected between 1985 and 2010. National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) grain yields, measured root/shoot ratios and harvest indexes, soil organic C (SOC) and nonharvested C (NHC) first-order rate constants, measured SOC benchmarks [81,391 composite soil samples (0-15 cm) collected between 1985 and 1998], and 34,704 production surveys were used to calculate the short-term sequestration potentials. The SOC short-term, area weighted sequestration potential for the 2004 to 2007 time period was 181kg C (ha x yr)(-1). This relatively low rate was attributed to a drought that reduced the amount of NHC returned to soil. For the 2008 to 2010 time period, the area weighted short-term sequestration rate was 341 kg (ha x yr)(-1). This rate was similar to the long-term measured rate of368 kg C (ha x yr)(-1). Findings from these independent SOC sequestration assessments supports the hypothesis that many of the regions surface soils are C sinks when seeded with corn. Based on short-term C sequestration rates, corn yields, and the corn conversion rate to ethanol, the area weighted surface SOC footprints for the 2004 to 2007 and 2008 to 2010 time periods was -10.4 and -15.4 g CO2 (equ) MJ(-1), respectively.