Carbon exchange of cropland in the Brazilian Cerrado

The study found that while individual crop cycles in the Brazilian Cerrado can act as carbon sinks, the overall fields act as net carbon sources when accounting for harvest removals and emissions from soil preparation and intercropping. Irrigation was found to enhance carbon sink capacity compared to rainfed systems by mitigating drought-related losses and enabling additional harvests.

• Both irrigated and rainfed fields functioned as carbon sinks during crop development cycles, but became net carbon sources overall due to carbon removal during harvest and emissions from soil preparation, soybean planting, and periods of stubble and Brachiaria intercropping.
• Irrigated fields demonstrated a greater capacity to act as carbon sinks than rainfed fields, as irrigation helps prevent carbon losses caused by drought and allows for a third harvest within a single calendar year.
• Agricultural intensification through no-till farming, crop rotation, intercropping, reduced fallow periods, and irrigation are identified as essential practices for mitigating carbon losses in the Cerrado and reducing deforestation pressure on natural forests.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2022). Carbon exchange of cropland in the Brazilian Cerrado. https://www.sei.org/publications/carbon-exchange-cropland-brazilian-cerrado/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Carbon exchange of cropland in the Brazilian Cerrado. 2022. https://www.sei.org/publications/carbon-exchange-cropland-brazilian-cerrado/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Carbon exchange of cropland in the Brazilian Cerrado |date=8 March 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/carbon-exchange-cropland-brazilian-cerrado/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2022carbon, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Carbon exchange of cropland in the Brazilian Cerrado}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/carbon-exchange-cropland-brazilian-cerrado/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }