In this study, a first order exponential model was adjusted to the experimental data of soil organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) of a 9-year-old experiment in southern Brazil. Parameters of soil organic matter dynamics were determined and the soil OC and TN stocks simulated in a Paleudult soil under three tillage systems (conventional tillage: CT, reduced tillage:RT, and no-tillage:NT) and three cropping systems (oat/maize-O/M, oat + vetch/maize-O + V/M and oat + vetch/maize + cowpea-O + V/M + C). Yearly, less soil turn over decreased the coefficient of soil organic matter losses (k2) from 0.054 year-1 under CT to 0.039 year-1 and 0.029 year-1 under RT and NT, respectively. The model showed that the soil OC and TN stocks from O/M under CT tended to decrease from 30.78 Mg ha-1 and 2.200 kg ha-1 in 1990 to constant values of 16.11 Mg ha-1 and 1.396 kg ha-1. In 1990, the soil OC and TN stocks from O + V/M + C under NT would increase from 32.52 Mg ha-1 and 2.690 kg ha-1 to constant amounts of 54.83 Mg ha-1 and 7.966 kg ha-1, respectively. The conservative soil management systems with no tillage and high addition of crop residues to soil also showed a positive effect on the mitigation of CO2 emissions. In the year of 1994, CT-O/M showed a net CO2 efflux to atmosphere (soil emission > crop fixation by photosynthesis) of 2.08 Mg ha-1, while the NT-O + V/M + C showed a net influx (soil emission < crop fixation by photosynthesis) of 1.79 Mg CO2 ha-1. By the time the system reached the constant soil OC level, as determined by the exponential model, the soil OC storage in NT-O + V/M + C soil will have represented a C sink of 142 Mg CO2 ha-1, in comparison with conventionally tilled soil and O/M system.
soil tillage; cropping system; soil organic matter; atmospheric CO2 mitigation