Carbon Sequestration Potential in Model Systems of Conventional and Organic Farming

The dataset presents the results of simulations assessing the carbon sequestration potential of arable soils in the Czech Republic, using the EPIC-IIASA CZ simulation platform. It comprises outputs from modelling various agronomic scenarios at the district (LAU1) level, incorporating three climate scenarios: RCP 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5. The data capture the effects of conventional farming (CF) and organic farming (OF) model systems on changes in average soil organic carbon content in the top 30 cm of soil during the periods 2040–2060 and 2080–2100, relative to the reference period 2000–2020. Changes are expressed in t C ha⁻¹. Management practices within the OF supersystems included a diverse crop structure, deeper tillage, and nitrogen inputs supplied exclusively through farmyard manure. In contrast, CF supersystems applied 30% of nitrogen in manure form. Total nitrogen input from fertilizers was approximately double in the CF supersystems compared to the OF systems, reflecting the substantially higher proportion of nitrogen-fixing crops in OF. For each cropping system, the reported values indicate the potential for carbon sequestration over 40- and 80-year time horizons. Structure of the database (C_simulations_CF_and_OF_districts_Czechia_EPIC-IIASA_CZ_simulations_2026 v1.csv): Column name Meaning and description of values (categories) ValuesExample scenario Climate scenario identifier rcp26 / rcp45 / rcp85 timescale Length of the period for which the value is calculated (years) 40 / 80 supersystem Code of the model cropping system–see "Additional Description" KZCR / KZH / KZB / KZR / KZK / EZCR / EZH / EZB / EZR / EZK poly_id Unique geographical code of the region (LAU 1 code). CZ0100 value Numeric value of the metric. Average increase (+) or decrease (-) of organic C content in the top 30 cm of soil (t ha-1) 1.144678493 The dataset contains 5,112 records. Two additional files are up-loaded: Crop_shares_in_supersystems.csv defines input values for generating crop rotations in supersystems–see "Additional Description" Crop_rotation_shares_in_supersystems.csv reports generated crop rotations and their shares in supersystems–see "Additional Description"