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Slesserev: No-till farming can actually deplete soil carbon at deeper depths

Eric Slesserev · How well does soil actually store carbon? · Oct 6, 2022 · at 23:52

Soil scientist Dr. Eric Slesserev discusses vertical soil carbon distribution and measurement depth protocols with host Shayle Kann.

0:00 / 0:36exact quote · 36.2s

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“Basically shifting tillage regime it means that not only are you changing the biology of the system and the rate at which carbon Flows through it, but also changing the vertical distribution of carbon, because tilling soil mixes carbon, and it also influences rooting depth. And what that means is that in, at least in certain environments particularly in places like the upper Midwest, for instance changing from a full-till regime to a no-till regime, which is supposed to sequester carbon can actually mean that you lose carbon deeper in the soil.”

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The claim, plainly

Switching from conventional tillage to no-till agriculture can cause carbon loss deeper in the soil profile in environments such as the upper Midwest.

a quote alone can be ambiguous, so this restates it with the references and context of the conversation around it resolved. AI-written; the tape below the player is the source.

Assessment

The claim is supported by a substantial body of peer-reviewed agronomic and soil science literature. Multiple studies conducted specifically in the US Upper Midwest and Corn Belt (e.g., Baker et al., 2007; Kravchenko & Robertson, 2011; Blanco-Canqui & Lal, 2008; Olson et al., 2014) demonstrate that while converting from conventional inversion tillage to continuous no-till increases soil organic carbon (SOC) in the shallow surface layer (0–10 or 0–15 cm), it frequently leads to reduced SOC stocks in deeper subsoil layers (below 20–30 cm). Global meta-analyses (such as Angers & Eriksen-Hamel, 2008; Luo et al., 2010; Powlson et al., 2014) corroborate that this vertical redistribution effect can cause net subsoil carbon losses under no-till relative to plowed systems.

Baker et al. (2007, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment) documented that in the US Upper Midwest, apparent SOC gains under no-till were largely confined to surface horizons, while subsoils under no-till frequently contained less SOC than conventionally tilled equivalents.
Kravchenko & Robertson (2011, Soil Science Society of America Journal) evaluated full-profile (0–100 cm) dynamics at the KBS LTER site in Michigan, finding that surface SOC gains in no-till were often offset by lower SOC stocks in deeper layers relative to conventional tillage.
Olson et al. (2014) evaluated 120 long-term tillage experiments across Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Ohio, finding that continuous no-till systems frequently exhibited declining subsoil SOC stocks over time.
Luo, Wang, & Sun (2010, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment) found in a global meta-analysis that conversion to no-till caused a statistically significant net loss of SOC in the 20–40 cm depth layer.

Checked against

[1] usda.gov [2] ucs.org [3] researchgate.net [4] doi.org [5] msu.edu [6] researchgate.net [7] usarb.md [8] ucs.org

"Luo" 2010 "Can no-tillage stimulate carbon sequestration in agricultural soils" "Olson" 2014 soil organic carbon no-till conventional tillage illinois no till conventional tillage carbon loss deeper soil profile upper midwest "Baker et al." 2007 "Tillage and soil carbon sequestration" "Kravchenko" "Whole-Profile Soil Carbon Stocks" 2010 2011 "Blanco-Canqui" "No-tillage and soil-profile carbon sequestration" 2008 "Angers" "Eriksen-Hamel" 2008 "Full-Inversion Tillage" carbon no till redistribution soil organic carbon subsoil loss "Powlson" "Limited potential of no-till agriculture for climate change mitigation" 2014

assessed as of 2026-09-02

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Mentioned

no-till agriculture Upper Midwest

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