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Wang L, Coulter JA, Li L, Luo Z, Chen Y, Deng X, Xie J. Plastic mulching reduces nitrogen footprint of food crops in China: A meta-analysis. Sci Total Environ 2020; 748:141479. [PMID: 32818896 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Sustainably feeding the growing population amid rising global temperatures and dwindling resources is a grand challenge facing mankind. Plastic mulching (PM) is widely used in China aiming to the increase of crop productivity. However, the impact of PM on reactive nitrogen (Nr) emissions and nitrogen (N) footprint has not been explicitly described. In this study, we collected 4051 observations from 394 published papers for potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), maize (Zea mays L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and used meta-analysis to investigate how PM affected crop yield, net economic return, Nr emissions, and N footprints including nitrogen footprint per unit of output energy (NFo) and nitrogen footprint per unit of net economic return (NFe) at regional scale and across a range of precipitation and N fertilization gradients in China. The meta-analysis showed that compared to non-PM practice, PM increased grain yield by 25, 27, and 20% in potato, maize, and wheat, respectively, and enhanced net economic return by 19, 29, and 22%, respectively, with corresponding reduction in NFo of 24, 36, and 18% and NFe of 19, 37, and 19%, respectively. Potato and maize had greater energy output and net economic return than wheat. Plastic mulching was more effective in improving net economic return (or energy output) and reducing N footprints (i.e., NFe and NFo) in the semiarid region (i.e., annual precipitation <600 mm) when N was applied at 100-200 kg N ha-1, especially in potato and maize. Our analysis suggests that the use of PM enhanced grain yield and net economic return while lowering the N footprint without increasing Nr emission. Therefore, PM has great potential to mitigate Nr loss in China when crop species, N fertilization rate, and local environmental factors (i.e., growing region and annual precipitation) are appropriately considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linlin Wang
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Jeffrey A Coulter
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Lingling Li
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
| | - Zhuzhu Luo
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; College of Resources and Environment Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Yinglong Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, and School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia
| | - Xiping Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Junhong Xie
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
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Chen P, Song C, Liu XM, Zhou L, Yang H, Zhang X, Zhou Y, Du Q, Pang T, Fu ZD, Wang XC, Liu WG, Yang F, Shu K, Du J, Liu J, Yang W, Yong T. Yield advantage and nitrogen fate in an additive maize-soybean relay intercropping system. Sci Total Environ 2019; 657:987-999. [PMID: 30677964 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2018] [Revised: 11/24/2018] [Accepted: 11/25/2018] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Sustainable agricultural development is urgently required to satisfy future food demands while decreasing environmental costs. Intercropping can increase per-unit farmland productivity through a resource-efficient utilization. However, the fate of N in intercropping systems remains unclear. To study the yield advantages and the fate of N in additive maize-soybean relay intercropping (IMS) systems, we quantified crop yield, soil N transformation abilities, soil bacterial abundances, and the fate of 15N. This study was conducted using three planting patterns, namely, monoculture maize (Zea mays L.) (MM), monoculture soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) (MS), and IMS, and two N application rates, specifically, no N and applied N (N1, 45 and 135 kg N ha-1 for MS and MM, correspondingly; and N for the IMS, which was the sum of the monocultures). Results showed that a higher per-unit farmland productivity and a lower land use intensity are attained in the intercropping system than in the corresponding monocultures. In addition, land equivalent ratio (LER) ranges from 1.85 to 2.20. Moreover, the fate of 15N showed that the N uptake and residual are the highest, whereas N loss in the IMS is the lowest among all planting patterns. Intercropping had an increased N use efficiency by increasing N utilization efficiency, rather than N uptake efficiency. The abundance of ammonia oxidizer and denitrifier indicated that IMS improves the structure of soil microorganisms. Furthermore, the transformation abilities of soil N denoted that intercropping strengthens ammonifying and nitrifying capacities to increase soil N residual while decreasing ammonia volatilization and N2O emission. Finally, the greenhouse warming potential and gas intensity of N2O were significantly lower in the IMS than in the corresponding monocultures. In summary, the IMS system provides an environmentally friendly approach to increasing farmland productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Chen
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Chun Song
- College of Environmental Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Xiao-Ming Liu
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China; Shehong Farm Bureau, Suining 629200, PR China
| | - Li Zhou
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China; Yibing Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Yibing 644000, PR China
| | - Huan Yang
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Xiaona Zhang
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Ying Zhou
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Qing Du
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Ting Pang
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Zhi-Dan Fu
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Xiao-Chun Wang
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Wei-Guo Liu
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Feng Yang
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Kai Shu
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Junbo Du
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Jiang Liu
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Wenyu Yang
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Taiwen Yong
- College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Crop Eco-physiology and Farming System in Southwest, Ministry of Agriculture/Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, PR China.
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