Reasonable fertilization improves the conservation tillage benefit for soil water use and yield of rain-fed winter wheat: A case study from the Loess Plateau, China

Sun, Lin; Wang, Rui; Li, Jun; Wang, Qian; Lyu, Wei; Wang, Xiaoli; Ke, Cheng; Mao, Hongling; Zhang, Xiaoqin

doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2019.107589

Cited by 46 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although fertilisation is an indispensable agricultural practice used to achieve large yields, a negative yield trend was observed under imbalanced use of inorganic fertilisation (Manna et al, 2005;Sun et al, 2019). We came to a similar conclusion that wheat yield in conventional fertilisation was significantly less than that under balanced fertilisation.…”

Section: Relationship Between Soc Pool and Yield Sustainabilitysupporting

confidence: 51%

Increasing soil organic carbon pools and wheat yields by optimising tillage and fertilisation on the Loess Plateau in China

Xia

Wang

Zhang

et al. 2021

European J Soil Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The effect of conservation tillage on soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and crop production is controversial in semi-arid areas. In addition, fertilisation is another essential factor affecting soil carbon pool and crop yields. We sought to explore the changes of SOC pool and crop productivity after optimising fertilisation and tillage. An 11-year field experiment on the Loess Plateau in China was conducted to evaluate the effects of (i) fertilisation (balanced fertilisation, low fertilisation, conventional fertilisation) and (ii) tillage (no-tillage, subsoiling, ploughing) on input-C, SOC stocks, labile C fractions, C pool management index (CMI) and wheat yield. SOC stock accumulation at 0-35 cm depth under balanced fertilisation increased by 59% compared to conventional fertilisation due to the larger amount and stabilisation efficiency of input-C. Simultaneously, balanced fertilisation increased labile C contents and CMI at 0-10 cm depth. For tillage, no-tillage and subsoiling improved input-C and its stabilisation efficiency, and increased SOC stocks compared to ploughing. Balanced fertilisation combined with no-tillage or subsoiling produced greater SOC stocks at 0-35 cm depth compared to other treatments. No-tillage increased labile C contents and CMI at 0-10 cm depth, while subsoiling increased labile C contents and CMI at 0-10 and 35-50 cm depths. Wheat yield and sustainable yield index (SYI) were positively correlated with SOC, and the effect of SOC contributed to SYI largely through indirect effects of dissolved organic C and particulate organic C. Wheat yield and SYI were increased by optimising fertilisation and tillage, and the greatest yield was under balanced fertilisation combined with the subsoiling treatment. Our findings suggested that balanced fertilisation combined with subsoiling was an effective practice for increasing SOC sequestration, soil quality, wheat yields and had great potential application on the Loess Plateau in China. Highlights• C sequestration under conservation tillage and fertilisation are controversial in semi-arid areas.Yulin Zhang and Xudong Wang should be considered joint senior authors.

show abstract

Section: Relationship Between Soc Pool and Yield Sustainabilitysupporting

confidence: 51%

Increasing soil organic carbon pools and wheat yields by optimising tillage and fertilisation on the Loess Plateau in China

Xia

Wang

Zhang

et al. 2021

European J Soil Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A previous review paper demonstrated that SOM increased only when CR was retained, and the inputs of N fertilizer exceeded the outputs [88]. Indeed, SOC reversed only when CR inputs were balanced with nutrients' application [136,176]. Excess fertilization proved to enhance SOC level, irrespective of other conditions, i.e., soil type, cropping system, and climate [29,177,178].…”

Section: Combined Effect Of Ca-practices On Socmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The inconsistency among the findings of storing C in the soil under CA-based management practices can be attributed to the climate conditions [48,51,73,83,89,113,155,181,182], time since conversion to CA [98,113,121,143,183], soil depth [155,157,174], soil type [48,113,184], management [73,162,176], and the use cover crops and intercropping [17]. This inconsistency in results led researchers to a conclusion that CA adoption is not universally applicable for increasing SOC, and the increase is highly constrained in the upper 5-10 cm, while the whole soil profile is not affected [43,155,157,166,174].…”

Section: Combined Effect Of Ca-practices On Socmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Water Holding Capacity and Water-Saving Varied with Management Practices and Agroecological Conditions: A Review

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Improving soil water holding capacity (WHC) through conservation agriculture (CA)-practices, i.e., minimum mechanical soil disturbance, crop diversification, and soil mulch cover/crop residue retention, could buffer soil resilience against climate change. CA-practices could increase soil organic carbon (SOC) and alter pore size distribution (PSD); thus, they could improve soil WHC. This paper aims to review to what extent CA-practices can influence soil WHC and water-availability through SOC build-up and the change of the PSD. In general, the sequestered SOC due to the adoption of CA does not translate into a significant increase in soil WHC, because the increase in SOC is limited to the top 5–10 cm, which limits the capacity of SOC to increase the WHC of the whole soil profile. The effect of CA-practices on PSD had a slight effect on soil WHC, because long-term adoption of CA-practices increases macro- and bio-porosity at the expense of the water-holding pores. However, a positive effect of CA-practices on water-saving and availability has been widely reported. Researchers attributed this positive effect to the increase in water infiltration and reduction in evaporation from the soil surface (due to mulching crop residue). In conclusion, the benefits of CA in the SOC and soil WHC requires considering the whole soil profile, not only the top soil layer. The positive effect of CA on water-saving is attributed to increasing water infiltration and reducing evaporation from the soil surface. CA-practices’ effects are more evident in arid and semi-arid regions; therefore, arable-lands in Sub-Sahara Africa, Australia, and South-Asia are expected to benefit more. This review enhances our understanding of the role of SOC and its quantitative effect in increasing water availability and soil resilience to climate change.

show abstract

“…The correlation between yield and soil water storage during each growth stage was different, not only related to regional differences but also to yield level [34]. In a previous study, when yield was lower than 3.00 t•ha −1 , it was more strongly related to soil water storage at sowing, jointing, and anthesis [35]. When yield reached between 3.10 and 4.51 t•ha −1 , it was more related to soil water storage at jointing, whereas, when it reached over 4.50 kg•ha −1 , it was more related to soil water storage at jointing, maturity, and anthesis [36].…”

Section: Wheat Grain Yield and Yield Componentsmentioning

confidence: 84%

Effect of Different Sowing Methods on Water Use Efficiency and Grain Yield of Wheat in the Loess Plateau, China

Noor

Sun

Lin

et al. 2022

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research has revealed that summer fallow sowing improves the water use efficiency (WUE) and grain yield of winter wheat. However, wheat yields differ yearly with crop management. A field experiment over 8 years was established in the Loess Plateau to determine the role of precipitation and soil water storage in wheat yield formation under conservation tillage. The average WUE values were 7.8, 11.0, and 12.6 t·ha−1, while the average evapotranspiration (ET) values were 334.7, 365.5, and 410 mm when the yields were 3.0, 3.0–4.5, and over 4.5 t·ha−1, respectively. Compared to drill sowing (DS), high water consumption during early growth increased the spike number, grain number, and yield. In years of intermediate or low yields, wide-space sowing (WS) and furrow sowing (FS) improved the ET, WUE, spike number, grain number, and yield of wheat compared to (DS) drill sowing. When the wheat yield was 3.0–4.5 t·ha−1, higher soil water intake during jointing, anthesis, and anthesis–maturity increased the tiller number, 1000-grain weight, and yield, related to the use of suitable tillers. Synchronous increases in grain number per spike and 1000-grain weight were observed with increased soil water content at jointing, maturity, and anthesis, as well as consumption of soil water in the latter part during the growing season.

show abstract

Reasonable fertilization improves the conservation tillage benefit for soil water use and yield of rain-fed winter wheat: A case study from the Loess Plateau, China

Cited by 46 publications

References 44 publications

Increasing soil organic carbon pools and wheat yields by optimising tillage and fertilisation on the Loess Plateau in China

Increasing soil organic carbon pools and wheat yields by optimising tillage and fertilisation on the Loess Plateau in China

Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Water Holding Capacity and Water-Saving Varied with Management Practices and Agroecological Conditions: A Review

Effect of Different Sowing Methods on Water Use Efficiency and Grain Yield of Wheat in the Loess Plateau, China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About