Question Statement:
Read the following excerpt:
"Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a pivotal role in maintaining soil structure, enhancing cation exchange capacity, and augmenting water-holding capacity. While conventional deep tillage aerates the soil, it simultaneously accelerates microbial respiration, oxidising buried organic matter into atmospheric carbon dioxide. Conversely, conservation tillage combined with continuous cover cropping fosters a stable humic matrix, progressively shifting agroecosystems from net carbon sources into net carbon sinks."
Based on the excerpt, which of the following is an IMPLICIT ASSUMPTION of the author?
Options:
- (A) Deep tillage is the only factor determining microbial population dynamics in tropical soils.
- (B) Increasing microbial respiration of organic matter is detrimental to the goal of carbon sequestration.
- (C) Conservation tillage eliminates the necessity for artificial crop irrigation entirely.
- (D) Cover crops generate higher economic grain yields than primary cash crops.