No-till systems restore soil organic carbon stock in Brazilian biomes and contribute to the climate solution

No-till systems grounded in the principles of conservation agriculture can restore the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and environmental sustainability. Here, we assessed the SOC stocks to 1-m depth for three land-uses (i.e., native vegetation - NV, no-till system - NTS, and plow-based tillage - PBT) across 26 sites in the Cerrado and 37 sites in the Atlantic Forest biomes of Brazil for 3402 soil samples. The depletion of SOC stocks under PBT compared to NV was equivalent to a loss of 38.1 % and 45.8 % of the original NV SOC stock for Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes, respectively. The SOC stocks of 16 NTS sites exhibited levels that exceeded those under NV, and SOC stock was restored from 80 to 100 % of its NV levels in 27 other NTS sites across the Brazilian biomes. The SOC stock at seven of 13 edaphoclimatic zones (Clusters) was comparable to or more than that under NV. The duration of NTS to restore SOC stock to that under NV ranged from 36.4 to 55.0 years for the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes, respectively. The NTS/NV SOC stock ratio indicated that one hectare of land under NTS has the potential to avert deforestation for food production of 0.81 ± 0.18 to 1.01 ± 0.15 ha of NV in the Brazilian biomes. In essence, NTS has been demonstrated to effectively restore SOC stocks in Brazil's biomes and play a pivotal role in integrating agriculture as a part of the solution for mitigation strategies for climate change.