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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2026, Vol. 25 Issue (7): 2796-2811    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2025.02.031
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Increasing soil organic matter and nitrogen use by optimizing summer maize straw return and nitrogen fertilizer rates minimize N2O emissions in a wheat–maize system

Hongxing Li1, Fei Gao2, Lei Wang1, Alam Sher1, Baizhao Ren1, Bin Zhao1, Peng Liu1, Jiwang Zhang1#

1 College of Agriculture, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China

2 College of Agriculture, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan 030801, China

 Highlights 
Straw return with N application increased yield by regulating soil quality and post-flowering N accumulation.
Moderate reductions in the amount of straw or N applied did not reduce soil quality or crop yields.
Straw and N fertilizers affect N2O emissions by influencing the abundance of bacteria involved in aerobic ammonia oxidation and nitrate respiration.
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摘要  

玉米秸秆还田和施用氮肥对土壤质量和作物产量的影响已得到广泛研究。然而,不同玉米秸秆还田和氮肥施用量对土壤-作物系统的土壤质量、氮循环功能微生物数量、N2O排放和作物氮营养状况的影响仍未得到充分探讨。本研究的目的是评估不同夏玉米秸秆还田和施氮对以下方面的影响:i) 土壤质量和作物产量;ii) 氮循环功能微生物群落和N2O排放;iii) 作物氮营养状况。结果表明,在施氮量为210 kg hm2时,秸秆全量还田(SN)和秸秆半还田(1/2SN处理的产量比不还田处理(CK显著提高了7.62%-12.69%。秸秆全量还田施15%氮肥处理S-15%N,施用量178.5 kg hm2)与SN处理的产量无显著差异。与其他处理相比,SN1/2SNS-15%N处理的表层土壤(0-20 cm)有机质(SOM)水平、氮循环功能微生物群落、作物氮营养状况和氮吸收效率显著增加。与SN相比,S-15%N1/2SN的累积N2O排放通量分别显著减少19.11%5.51%。此外,与SN相比,S-15%N1/2SN的氮营养指数(NNI)更接近作物临界氮需求量。总之,与SN相比,基于SOMNNI、累积N2O排放通量和产量的最佳秸秆还田和施氮1/2SNS-15%N)决策方案可应用于中国冬小麦-夏玉米周年生产。



Abstract  

The effects of maize straw return and N fertilizer application on soil quality and crop yield have been extensively investigated.  However, the effects of different amounts of maize straw returned to the field with different nitrogen application rates on the soil–crop system quality, abundance of functional N cycle microorganisms, N2O emissions, and crop N nutrition status of crops have not been thoroughly explored.  The objective of this study was to assess the effects of different summer maize straw return rates and N application rates on i) soil quality and crop productivity; ii) the community of N cycle functional microorganisms and N2O emission; and iii) crop N status.  The results indicated that crop yields increased by 7.62 to 12.69% at 210 kg ha–1 of N application for full straw return (SN) and half return (1/2SN) compared to the no-return treatment (CK).  No significant difference was noted in the yields between the full straw return reduced by 15% (178.5 kg N ha–1) of N fertilizer (S-15%N) and SN.  The surface soil layer (0–20 cm) showed significantly higher levels of soil organic matter (SOM), the community of N-cycling functional microorganisms, crop N nutrition status and N uptake efficiency in SN, 1/2SN, and S-15%N as compared to other treatments.  Compared to SN, S-15%N and 1/2SN reduced cumulative N2O emission fluxes by 19.11 and 5.51%, respectively.  Furthermore, the nitrogen nutrient index (NNI) values of 1/2SN and S-15%N were closer to the critical N requirement than SN.  In summary, schemes for determining the optimal rates of straw return and N application (1/2SN and S-15%N) based on SOM, NNI, cumulative N2O emission fluxes, and yield can be applied to the annual production of winter wheat and summer maize in China.

Keywords:  maize straw return       nitrogen application        soil physicochemical properties        nitrogen use efficiency        N2O emission        nitrogen cycle functional microorganisms  
Received: 20 September 2024   Accepted: 26 January 2025 Online: 19 February 2025  
Fund: 

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32172115).

About author:  #Correspondence Jiwang Zhang, Tel: +86-538-8241485, Fax: +86-538-8242226, E-mail: jwzhang@sdau.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

Hongxing Li, Fei Gao, Lei Wang, Alam Sher, Baizhao Ren, Bin Zhao, Peng Liu, Jiwang Zhang. 2026. Increasing soil organic matter and nitrogen use by optimizing summer maize straw return and nitrogen fertilizer rates minimize N2O emissions in a wheat–maize system. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 25(7): 2796-2811.

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