Impacts of Conservation Tillage on Agricultural Land Development: A Review

Extra exploitation of the available resources, especially agricultural lands, for higher crop production is posing a threat to global climate, as intensive tillage practices are one of the main causes of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and climate change. However, conservation tillage practices provide an opportunity for sustainable land development through enhancing soil health, conserving water, reducing environmental footprints, and minimizing soil disturbance. Thus, here we tried to review the effects of conservation tillage on different soil types, vegetation, topography, and organic matter. We mainly emphasized conservation tillage practices, e.g., zero till (ZT), reduce till (RT), and minimum till (MT), etc., which increases the technical efficiency of tillage by improving land development and reducing production costs. Therefore, an appropriate approach is required to promote climate resilience agriculture that can increase soil carbon sequestration. Hence the key strategies for promoting soil carbon sequestration include converting degraded lands for agriculture production, using conservation tillage practices. Conservation tillage limits soil ploughing, which increases nutrient use efficiency, and GHG absorption, contributing to sustainable agriculture and soil ecosystem. ZT in wheat reduces CO2 emissions by 156 kg ha(-)(1) annually and half the greenhouse gas emissions in South Asia. Adopting ZT for land preparation and crop establishment in rice-wheat systems can save about 36 L of diesel ha(-)(1), reducing CO2 emissions by 93 kg ha(-)(1) per year. Additionally, CH4 emissions are reduced by 75%, and the global warming potential (GWP) decreases by 34% in conservation agriculture-based cropping systems. Overall, the multifaceted benefits of conservation tillage strategies for sustainable agricultural land development highlight the importance of these practices in modern agriculture production, especially under the present scenario of climate change where most of agriculturists and policymakers are trying hard to reduce land degradation. All in all, farmers can adopt the above-mentioned conservation tillage practices to obtain higher and stable crop yields maintaining long-term soil fertility and productivity.