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Data extracted in April 2021
Note to the reader: This general fiche summarises all the environmental and climate impacts of SOIL AMENDMENT WITH LIME OR GYPSUM found in a systematic review of 7 synthesis research papers1. These papers were selected from an initial number of 35 obtained through a systematic literature search strategy, according to the inclusion criteria reported in section 4.
As each synthesis research paper involves a number of primary research papers ranging from 19 to 175, the assessment of impacts relies on a large number of results obtained mainly in field experiments (carried out in situations close to real farming environment), and sometimes in lab experiments or from model simulations.
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE FARMING PRACTICE
Description |
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Key descriptors |
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2. DESCRIPTION OF THE IMPACTS OF THE FARMING PRACTICE ON ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE
We reviewed the impacts of soil amendment with lime or gypsum vs. no amendment.
The tables below show the number of synthesis papers reporting positive, negative or no effect, based on the statistical comparison of the intervention and the control. In addition, we include, if any, the number of systematic reviews reporting relevant results but without statistical test of the effects (uncertain). The numbers between parenthesis indicate the number of synthesis papers with a quality score of at least 50%. Details on quality criteria can be found in the methodology section of this WIKI.
Among the 7 synthesis papers, 2 included experiments conducted in Europe and 6 have a quality score higher than 50%. Some synthesis papers reported more than one impact.
Impact | Intervention | Control | Positive | Negative | No effect | Uncertain |
Increase carbon sequestration | Gypsum | No gypsum | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Lime | No lime | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | |
Decrease ecotoxicity | Gypsum | No gypsum | 0 | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 0 |
Lime | No lime | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Decrease GHG emissions | Lime | No lime | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) |
Increase soil biological quality | Gypsum | No gypsum | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Increase soil nutrients | Gypsum | No gypsum | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 |
Improve soil physico-chemical quality | Gypsum | No gypsum | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Lime | No lime | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Increase crop yield | Gypsum | No gypsum | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 1 (0) |
Lime | No lime | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3. DESCRIPTION OF THE KEY FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SIZE OF THE EFFECT
Only the factors explicitly studied in the reviewed synthesis papers with a significant effect are reported below. Details regarding the factors can be found in the summaries of the meta-analyses.
Impact | Factors |
Soil physico-chemical quality | Incorporation depth (ref 2), Liming rate (ref 3, 5), Lab/field scale (ref 3, 5), Soil salinity (ref 2), Soil organic matter (ref 5), Soil texture (ref 5), Time scale (ref 5), |
Carbon sequestration | Application season (ref 2), Climate (ref 6), Liming duration (ref 6), Soil salinity (ref 2), Soil depth (ref 2) |
Ecotoxicity | Liming rate (ref 3), Rice cultivar (ref 3), Lab/field scale (ref 3), Soil Cd concentration (ref 3), Soil texture (ref 3), Soil Zn concentration (ref 3), Type of lime (ref 3) |
Crop yield | Aluminium saturation (ref 4), Crop species (ref 4, 5), Incorporation depth (ref 2), Irrigation (ref 2), Ploughing (ref 5), Soil texture (ref 5), Soil pH (ref 1), Water table (ref 2), Water deficiency (ref 4) |
4. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW SEARCH STRATEGY
Keywords |
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Search dates | No time restrictions | ||||
Databases | Web of Science and Scopus, run in March 2021 | ||||
Selection criteria | The main criteria that led to the exclusion of a synthesis paper were if the paper: (1) was out of the scope; (2) was not a meta-analysis; (3) was a MA of experimental trials (i.e. no systematic review process); (4) did not deal with soil amendment with lime or gypsum; (5) did not deal with environmental or productivity outcome; (6) did not clearly stated the intervention and comparator treatments; (7) was not written in English. Synthesis papers that passed the relevance criteria were subject to critical appraisal carried out on paper-by-paper basis. The systematic search provided 35 synthesis papers (after removing the duplicates) potentially relevant for the practice object of our fiches. From this set of potentially relevant synthesis papers, 7 synthesis papers were selected. |
5. LIST OF SYNTHESIS PAPERS INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW
Ref. Num | Authors | Year | Title | Reference | DOI | |||||
1 | Hijbeek R, van Loon MP, Ouaret W, Boekelo B, van Ittersum MK | 2021 | Liming agricultural soils in Western Kenya: Can long-term economic and environmental benefits pay off short term investments? | Agricultural Systems 190, 103095 | 10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103095 | |||||
2 | Wang Y, Wang Z, Liang F, Jing X, Feng W | 2021 | Application of flue gas desulfurization gypsum improves multiple functions of saline-sodic soils across China. | Chemosphere. 277:130345 | 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130345 | |||||
3 | Kong L, Guo Z, Peng C, Xiao X, He Y | 2021 | Factors influencing the effectiveness of liming on cadmium reduction in rice: A meta-analysis and decision tree analysis | Sci Total Environ. 779:146477 | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146477 | |||||
4 | Pias, OHD; Tiecher, T; Cherubin, MR; Silva, AGB; Bayer, C | 2020 | Does gypsum increase crop grain yield on no-tilled acid soils? A meta-analysis | Agronomy Journal 112, 675–692. | 10.1002/agj2.20125 | |||||
5 | Li Y.; Cui S.; Chang S.X., Zhang Q. | 2019 | Liming effects on soil pH and crop yield depend on lime material type, application method and rate, and crop species: a global meta-analysis. Journal of Soils and Sediments 19(4) | J Soils Sediments 19:1393–406 | 10.1007/s11368-018-2120-2 | |||||
6 | Eze, S; Palmer, SM; Chapman, PJ. | 2018 | Soil organic carbon stock in grasslands: Effects of inorganic fertilizers, liming and grazing in different climate settings | Journal of Environmental Management 223, 74-84 | 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.06.013 | |||||
7 | Tiecher, T; Pias, OHD; Bayer, C; Martins, AP; Denardin, LGD; Anghinoni, I | 2018 | Crop Response to Gypsum Application to Subtropical Soils Under No-Till in Brazil: a Systematic Review | Revista Brasileira de Ciencia do Solo 42:170025 | 10.1590/18069657rbcs20170025 |