Carbon exchange of cropland in the Brazilian Cerrado

A study of irrigated and rainfed cropland in the Brazilian Cerrado found that while fields acted as carbon sinks during crop development, they became net carbon sources when accounting for harvest removals and emissions from soil preparation and stubble periods.

• Both irrigated and rainfed fields in the Brazilian Cerrado functioned as carbon sinks during the growth cycles of crops, but the carbon was primarily removed during harvest for grain crops including soybean, maize, rice, and bean.
• The fields overall acted as net carbon sources due to emissions during soybean planting, soil preparation, and periods of stubble and Brachiaria intercropping. Maize intercropped with Brachiaria showed the most positive carbon balance in terms of carbon loss from the field, partly because of its longer duration in the field.
• Irrigation increased the field's capacity to act as a carbon sink compared to rainfed fields by mitigating drought-related carbon losses and enabling a third harvest within a single calendar year. Agricultural intensification through irrigation, no-till farming, crop rotation, intercropping, and reduced fallow periods is identified as key to mitigating carbon losses and reducing 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} }