Carbon sequestration potential and its main drivers in soils under alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

As a perennial forage crop, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) has been extensively utilized for the vegetation restoration of degraded soil and provides feedstock for forage. Its high usage can be attributed to its high yield potential and the increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration of alfalfa cultivation. However, the impact of land conversion to alfalfa on SOC content and its underlying drivers remain unclear. We performed a meta-analysis at the global scale to explore the quantified effects of alfalfa cultivation on SOC content and identify its controlling factors. We employed 1699 pairwise data points from 90 publications based on cropland/abandoned land conversion to alfalfa. Globally, cropland (cropland-alfalfa) and abandoned land (abandoned land-alfalfa) conversion to alfalfa enhanced SOC content by 12.1 % and 13.7 %, respectively. Alfalfa exhibited greater SOC content benefits in the surface soils (0–20 cm) with a lower level of initial SOC (<16 g kg−1), regardless of the land conversion type. Cropland-alfalfa was observed to increase SOC content with fertilization, irrigation, and conventional tillage in the long term (>5 years). Furthermore, abandoned land-alfalfa enhanced SOC content in the absence of alfalfa biomass removal and for longer cultivation durations (>5 years). Boosted regression tree analyses indicated variations in soil properties (75 % for cropland-alfalfa and 65 % for abandoned land-alfalfa) as the primary factors driving changes in SOC content. The dominant drivers were determined as the soil layer (51.6 %), cultivation duration (13.1 %), and initial SOC (12.9 %) for cropland-alfalfa, and initial SOC (43.7 %), soil layer (24.6 %) and cultivation duration (17.1 %) for abandoned land-alfalfa. Land conversion to alfalfa has great potential for SOC sequestration, particularly in low-fertility soils. Therefore, alfalfa cultivation is highly recommended for degraded lands due to its SOC sequestration benefits in vegetation restoration.