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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2024, Vol. 23 Issue (02): 669-679    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2023.06.009
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Straw return increases crop production by improving soil organic carbon sequestration and soil aggregation in a long-term wheat–cotton cropping system

Changqin Yang1, Xiaojing Wang1, Jianan Li2, Guowei Zhang1, Hongmei Shu1, Wei Hu3, Huanyong Han4, Ruixian Liu1#, Zichun Guo5#

1 Institute of Industrial Crops, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Cotton and Rapeseed, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Nanjing 210014, China

2 College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huai’an 223003, China

3 College of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

4 Cotton Research Institute, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Science, Shihezi 832000, China

5 Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Nanjing 210008, China

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摘要  

秸秆还田是土壤有机碳(SOC固定和作物产量稳定性提高的有效策略。然而,在小麦(Triticum aestivum L.-棉花(Gossypium hirsutum L.轮作制度下,作物可持续生产的最佳秸秆还田策略仍不明确。本研究的目的是在长江流域小麦-棉花种植制度下,量化长期(10年)碳投入对土壤有机碳固定、团聚体形成和作物产量的影响。采用单因素随机设计,共计5个处理:无秸秆还田(对照)、小麦秸秆还田(Wt)、棉花秸秆还田(Ct)、50%小麦和50%棉秸秆还田(Wh-Ch)以及100%小麦和100%棉秸秆还田。与对照相比,秸秆还田下SOC含量增加了8.4~20.2%。SOC固定与C投入(1.42-7.19 Mg ha−1 yr−1)(P<0.05)之间呈显著的线性正相关关系。秸秆还田也显著提高了0~20 cm土壤>2与1~2 mm团聚体的比例,且以Wt-Ct处理的团聚体水稳性增幅最大(28.1%)。小麦、棉花平均产量分别提高12.4~36.0%和29.4~73.7%,且C投入与小麦和棉花产量之间均存在显著的线性正相关关系。当C投入为7.08 Mg ha−1 yr−1时,可持续产量指数(SYI)均值达到最大值(0.69),这与Wt-Ct处理的最大SYI值相当(SYI为0.69,C投入为7.19 Mg ha–1 yr-1)。综上,小麦和棉花秸秆的全量还田是促进麦棉轮作下有机碳固定、土壤团聚体形成、产量及其可持续性的最佳策略。



Abstract  

Straw return is a promising strategy for managing soil organic carbon (SOC) and improving yield stability.  However, the optimal straw return strategy for sustainable crop production in the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) cropping system remains uncertain.  The objective of this study was to quantify the long-term (10 years) impact of carbon (C) input on SOC sequestration, soil aggregation and crop yields in a wheat–cotton cropping system in the Yangtze River Valley, China.  Five treatments were arranged with a single-factor randomized design as follows: no straw return (Control), return of wheat straw only (Wt), return of cotton straw only (Ct), return of 50% wheat and 50% cotton straw (Wh-Ch) and return of 100% wheat and 100% cotton straw (Wt-Ct).  In comparison to the Control, the SOC content increased by 8.4 to 20.2% under straw return.  A significant linear positive correlation between SOC sequestration and C input (1.42–7.19 Mg ha−1 yr−1) (P<0.05) was detected.  The percentages of aggregates of sizes >2 and 1–2 mm at the 0–20 cm soil depth were also significantly elevated under straw return, with the greatest increase of the aggregate stability in the Wt-Ct treatment (28.1%).  The average wheat yields increased by 12.4–36.0% and cotton yields increased by 29.4–73.7%, and significantly linear positive correlations were also detected between C input and the yields of wheat and cotton.  The average sustainable yield index (SYI) reached a maximum value of 0.69 when the C input was 7.08 Mg ha−1 yr−1, which was close to the maximum value (SYI of 0.69, C input of 7.19 Mg ha−1 yr–1) in the Wt-Ct treatment.  Overall, the return of both wheat and cotton straw was the best strategy for improving SOC sequestration, soil aggregation, yields and their sustainability in the wheat–cotton rotation system.

Keywords:  straw return        crop yields        SOC        soil aggregates        wheat-cotton cropping system   
Received: 03 March 2023   Accepted: 17 May 2023
Fund: 

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32071968), the Jiangsu Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Fund, China (CX(22)2015)) .

About author:  Changqin Yang, E-mail: ychq2003@jaas.ac.cn; #Correspondence Ruixian Liu, Tel: +86-25-84390366, E-mail: rxliu1980@jaas.ac.cn; Zichun Guo, Tel: +86-25-86881221, E-mail: zcguo@issas.ac.cn

Cite this article: 

Changqin Yang, Xiaojing Wang, Jianan Li, Guowei Zhang, Hongmei Shu, Wei Hu, Huanyong Han, Ruixian Liu, Zichun Guo. 2024.

Straw return increases crop production by improving soil organic carbon sequestration and soil aggregation in a long-term wheat–cotton cropping system . Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 23(02): 669-679.

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