Journal ArticleDOI
Can knowledge-based N management produce more staple grain with lower greenhouse gas emission and reactive nitrogen pollution? A meta-analysis
TLDR
The results suggest that knowledge-based N management practice can be considered an effective way to ensure food security and improve environmental sustainability, while increasing economic return.Abstract:
Knowledge-based nitrogen (N) management, which is designed for a better synchronization of crop N demand with N supply, is critical for global food security and environmental sustainability. Yet, a comprehensive assessment on how these N management practices affect food production, greenhouse gas emission (GHG), and N pollution in China is lacking. We compiled the results of 376 studies (1166 observations) to evaluate the overall effects of seven knowledge-based N management practices on crop productivity, nitrous oxide (N2 O) emission, and major reactive N (Nr) losses (ammonia, NH3 ; N leaching and runoff), for staple grain (rice, wheat, and corn) production in China. These practices included the application of controlled-release N fertilizer, nitrification inhibitor (NI) and urease inhibitor (UI), higher splitting frequency of fertilizer N application, lower basal N fertilizer (BF) proportion, deep placement of N fertilizer, and optimal N rate based on soil N test. Our results showed that, compared to traditional N management, these knowledge-based N practices significantly increased grain yields by 1.3-10.0%, which is attributed to the higher aboveground N uptake (5.1-12.1%) and N use efficiency in grain (8.0-48.2%). Moreover, these N management practices overall reduced GHG emission and Nr losses, by 5.4-39.8% for N2 O emission, 30.7-61.5% for NH3 emission (except for the NI application), 13.6-37.3% for N leaching, and 15.5-45.0% for N runoff. The use of NI increased NH3 emission by 27.5% (9.0-56.0%), which deserves extra-attention. The cost and benefit analysis indicated that the yield profit of these N management practices exceeded the corresponding input cost, which resulted in a significant increase of the net economic benefit by 2.9-12.6%. These results suggest that knowledge-based N management practice can be considered an effective way to ensure food security and improve environmental sustainability, while increasing economic return.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
How Does Recycling of Livestock Manure in Agroecosystems Affect Crop Productivity, Reactive Nitrogen Losses, and Soil Carbon Balance?
TL;DR: Recycling of livestock manure in agroecosystems improves crop productivity, reduces Nr pollution and increases SOC storage, and to attenuate the enhanced carbon source in paddy field, appropriate livestock manure management practices should be adopted.
Journal ArticleDOI
Trade-offs between soil carbon sequestration and reactive nitrogen losses under straw return in global agroecosystems
Longlong Xia,Longlong Xia,Shu Kee Lam,Benjamin Wolf,Ralf Kiese,Deli Chen,Klaus Butterbach-Bahl +6 more
TL;DR: A global meta-analysis using 363 publications to assess the overall effects of straw return on soil Nr losses, C sequestration and crop productivity in agroecosystems shows that at a global scale, straw return increased net NR losses from both rice and upland fields due to a greater stimulation of NH3 emissions than the reduction in N leaching and runoff.
Journal ArticleDOI
Enhanced-efficiency fertilizers are not a panacea for resolving the nitrogen problem.
Tingyu Li,Weifeng Zhang,Jiao Yin,David R. Chadwick,David Norse,Y. Lu,Xuejun Liu,Xinping Chen,Fusuo Zhang,David S. Powlson,Zhengxia Dou +10 more
TL;DR: It is concluded that EEFs can play a significant role in sustainable agricultural production but their prudent use requires firstly eliminating any fertilizer mismanagement plus the implementation of knowledge-based N management practices.
Journal ArticleDOI
Chinese cropping systems are a net source of greenhouse gases despite soil carbon sequestration
Bing Gao,Bing Gao,Tao Huang,Tao Huang,Xiaotang Ju,Baojing Gu,Baojing Gu,Wei Huang,Lilai Xu,Robert M. Rees,David S. Powlson,Pete Smith,Shenghui Cui +12 more
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that Chinese cropping systems are a net source ofGHG emissions and that total GHG emissions are about 12 times larger than carbon uptake by soil sequestration, which is being considered as a potential pathway to mitigate climate change.
Journal ArticleDOI
Impacts of plastic film mulching on crop yields, soil water, nitrate, and organic carbon in Northwestern China: A meta-analysis.
TL;DR: The spring maize yield was significantly increased with plastic film mulching in Northwest China and the effects of plasticFilm mulching on soil physical and biochemical properties were assessed.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Global food demand and the sustainable intensification of agriculture
TL;DR: Per capita demand for crops, when measured as caloric or protein content of all crops combined, has been a similarly increasing function of per capita real income since 1960 and forecasts a 100–110% increase in global crop demand from 2005 to 2050.
Journal ArticleDOI
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Journal ArticleDOI
Reducing environmental risk by improving N management in intensive Chinese agricultural systems
Xiaotang Ju,Guang-Xi Xing,Xinping Chen,Shao-Lin Zhang,Lijuan Zhang,Xuejun Liu,Zhenling Cui,Bin Yin,Peter Christie,Zhao-Liang Zhu,Fusuo Zhang +10 more
TL;DR: Examination of grain yields and N loss pathways in 2 of the most intensive double-cropping systems in China found that current agricultural N practices with 550–600 kg of N per hectare fertilizer annually do not significantly increase crop yields but do lead to about 2 times larger N losses to the environment.
Journal ArticleDOI
Producing more grain with lower environmental costs
Xinping Chen,Zhenling Cui,Mingsheng Fan,Peter M. Vitousek,Ming Zhao,Wenqi Ma,Zhenlin Wang,Zhang Weijian,Xiaoyuan Yan,Jianchang Yang,Xiping Deng,Qiang Gao,Qiang Zhang,Shiwei Guo,Jun Ren,Shiqing Li,Youliang Ye,Zhaohui Wang,Jianliang Huang,Qiyuan Tang,Yixiang Sun,Xianlong Peng,Jiwang Zhang,Mingrong He,Yunji Zhu,Jiquan Xue,Guiliang Wang,Liang Wu,Ning An,Liangquan Wu,Lin Ma,Weifeng Zhang,Fusuo Zhang +32 more
TL;DR: If farmers in China could achieve average grain yields equivalent to 80% of this treatment by 2030, total production of rice, wheat and maize in China would be more than enough to meet the demand for direct human consumption and a substantially increased demand for animal feed, while decreasing the environmental costs of intensive agriculture.
Journal ArticleDOI
Too much of a good thing
Mark A. Sutton,Oene Oenema,Jan Willem Erisman,Adrian Leip,Hans van Grinsven,Wilfried Winiwarter +5 more
TL;DR: Curbing nitrogen emissions is a central environmental challenge for the twenty-first century, argue Mark Sutton and his colleagues.
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