Crop yields under no-till farming in China: A meta-analysis

Zhao, Xin; Liu, Shengli; Pu, Chao; Zhang, Xiangqian; Xue, Jian-Fu; Ren, Yong‐Xiang; Xiao, Zhao; Chen, Fu; Lal, Rattan; Zhang, Hailin

doi:10.1016/j.eja.2016.11.009

Cited by 108 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…The distribution of soil EAs is often dominated by the amount and quality of organic substances as well as by various physical and chemical protection mechanisms (Allison & Jastrow, 2006). In our work, EAs presented a heterogeneously distribution with aggregate size fraction of soil (Figure 2a), following the EAs activities with the level of SOC in the fraction, as it was described in other situations (Bach and Hofmockel, 2015;Kandeler et al, 1999;Lagomarsino et al, 2012;Poll et al, 2003;Zhao et al, 2017). The EAs distribution had been explained by soil bacterial biomass, measured by qPCR (Constancias et al, 2014;Poll et al, 2003), bioactive C allocation (Lagomarsino et al, 2012), and tillage systems (Dai et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Structural and functional microbial community response to short-term impact of switching between tillage and no-tillage at soil aggregate level

Frene

Gabbarini

Wall

2020

Preprint

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An understanding of the distribution of soil microorganisms and enzyme activities at different soil aggregate level could help to understand the mechanisms operating behind different tillage management on soil structure and function. Our objective was to determine if the microbial community structure and soil enzymes activity (EA) associated with different aggregate fractions changed within the transition at switching between no-till and conventional tillage at 30 months after the switch of management on a base line field of 27 years long were no-till (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) were side by side compared. Part of NT plot was turned into new CT (n-CT) while part of CT plot was turned into new NT (n-NT). Aggregate fractions of 2000-250, 250-63, 63-20, 20-2 and 2-0.1 micrometers were obtained from soil samples taken at 30 months after the switch. Specific microbial abundances, measured by qPCR, and EAs were greatest on 2-0.1 micrometers following by 20-2and 2000-250 micrometers. The EAs showed the highest activities in the CT (Glucosidase and Cellobiosidase) and in the nCT (Phosphatase and Glucosaminidase) in 2000-250 micrometers. In contrast, in the intermediate fractions (250-63 micrometers and 63-20 micrometers), the highest activities were observed in NT soil. Microbial communities were significantly different among different aggregates. In the 20-2 micrometers fraction, fungi were able to differentiate between current treatments, and bacteria and archaea showed similar trends. In 2000-250 micrometers, the treatments were associated by their historical management, and the abundances in CT samples were superior to those of the NT. In contrast, in the fractions 250-63 and 63-20 micrometers, the NT samples showed greater abundances to those of the CT and the new treatment samples have suffered differences from historical treatments. In conclusion, tillage systems influenced the spatial distribution of soil enzymes as well as the abundances of microbial communities in the different soil aggregate size fractions.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Structural and functional microbial community response to short-term impact of switching between tillage and no-tillage at soil aggregate level

Frene

Gabbarini

Wall

2020

Preprint

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“…Moreover, since the NT system is not disturbed by plowing, the residues of previous crops substantially increase water retention and consequently there is a greater availability of this element, thus determining greater crop development [ 5 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In modern agriculture, conventional tillage (CT) techniques have allowed the adoption of crops, especially on large surfaces ensuring high yields: the mixing of surface horizons in preparing the seedbed allows the stabilization of the main crop to the detriment of the weed competitors. However, this intensification of the crops, although necessary for responding to the food needs of the growing demographic pressure, is proving unsustainable: in fact, the increment of soil erosion [ 3 , 4 ], the use of water, energy, and fertilizers, the disruption of soil structure, and the reduction of water use efficiency [ 5 ] will probably increase the environmental and economic pressures posed by intensified agricultural activities [ 6 ]; therefore, the negative consequences for the environment are evident [ 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Soil Management Effect on Crop Productivity and Vegetation Indices Accuracy in Mediterranean Cereal-Based Cropping Systems

Orsini

Fiorentini

Zenobi

2020

Sensors

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Mostly, precision agriculture applications include the acquisition and elaboration of images, and it is fundamental to understand how farmers’ practices, such as soil management, affect those images and relate to the vegetation index. We investigated how long-term conservation agriculture practices, in comparison with conventional practices, can affect the yield components and the accuracy of five vegetation indexes. The experimental site is a part of a long-term experiment established in 1994 and is still ongoing that consists of a rainfed 2-year rotation with durum wheat and maize, where two unfertilized soil managements were repeated in the same plots every year. This study shows the superiority of no tillage over conventional tillage for both nutritional and productive aspects on durum wheat. The soil management affects the vegetation indexes’ accuracy, which is related to the nitrogen nutrition status. No-tillage management, which is characterized by a higher content of soil organic matter and nitrogen availability into the soil, allows obtaining a higher accuracy than the conventional tillage. So, the users of multispectral cameras for precision agriculture applications must take into account the soil management, organic matter, and nitrogen content.

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“…Where improvements in SOC are observed in CA systems, this can have a significant effect on plant nutrient availability due to both changes to the quantity of nutrients available, and their distribution in the soil profile. In situations where CA successfully leads to greater residue addition and thus input of nutrient containing organic material into the soil, this can lead to higher plant nutrient stores, with greater nitrogen (N) (Pankhurst et al, 2002a;Li et al, 2007;Thomas et al, 2007;González-Chávez et al, 2010;Page et al, 2019;Pheap et al, 2019;Sithole and Magwaza, 2019),phosphorus (Ismail et al, 1994;Bravo et al, 2007;Qin et al, 2010;Zhao et al, 2017;Sithole and Magwaza, 2019), calcium (Chan et al, 1992), magnesium (Chan et al, 1992), potassium (Duiker and Beegle, 2006;Bravo et al, 2007;Zhao et al, 2017;Sithole and Magwaza, 2019), manganese (Rhoton, 2000) and zinc (Rhoton, 2000;Pankhurst et al, 2002a) concentrations all observed CA systems in response to increases in organic matter.…”

Section: Plant Nutrientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ability of Conservation Agriculture to Conserve Soil Organic Carbon and the Subsequent Impact on Soil Physical, Chemical, and Biological Properties and Yield

Page

Dang

Dalal

2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

194

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Increases in human populations and the emerging challenges of climate change mean that the world's agricultural systems will need to produce more food in an environment that is increasingly variable and where the quality of our natural resource base is declining. One central measure of an agricultural system's capacity to do this is its ability to preserve soil organic carbon (SOC), due to the pivotal role that this plays in maintaining soil physical, chemical, and biological properties and ultimately yield. This narrative review examines the literature published worldwide over the last 30 years to assess the impact of one widely applied agricultural management system, conservation agriculture (CA), on its ability to maintain SOC and the subsequent impacts on soil physical, chemical and biological properties, and yield. While the effects of CA on SOC worldwide are variable, with both increases and decreases observed, in regions where soil and climatic conditions are favorable for biomass production and where the system does not negatively impact yield, then CA can lead to higher amounts of SOC relative to conventionally managed systems, particularly in the surface of the soil profile. Where greater SOC occurs, these are also often accompanied by improvements in soil structure, water infiltration and soil water storage, plant nutrient availability, microbial biomass and diversity, and yield. However, where CA is used in certain environments (e.g., cold, wet environments with poorly drained soils) or where the CA system has not been well-adapted to local conditions, taking into account the specific agronomic, social, and environmental challenges present, then it may not be a successful system of management. Farmers require access to a range of tools and resources to allow them to identify if the principles of CA are likely to lead be appropriate for their situation and well-designed, locally adapted systems to successfully overcome the agronomic, social and economic challenges that can be associated with its use.

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Crop yields under no-till farming in China: A meta-analysis

Cited by 108 publications

References 53 publications

Structural and functional microbial community response to short-term impact of switching between tillage and no-tillage at soil aggregate level

Structural and functional microbial community response to short-term impact of switching between tillage and no-tillage at soil aggregate level

Evaluation of Soil Management Effect on Crop Productivity and Vegetation Indices Accuracy in Mediterranean Cereal-Based Cropping Systems

The Ability of Conservation Agriculture to Conserve Soil Organic Carbon and the Subsequent Impact on Soil Physical, Chemical, and Biological Properties and Yield

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