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Aims: Concerns over food security and global climate change require an improved understanding of how to achieve optimal crop yields whilst minimizing net greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. In the semi-arid Loess Plateau region of China, as elsewhere, fertilizer nitrogen (N) inputs are necessary to increase yields and improve local food security. Methods: In a dryland annual cropping system, we evaluated the effects of N fertilizers on crop yield, its long-term impact on soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations and stock sizes, and the distribution of carbon (C) within various aggregate-size fractions. A current version (RothC) of the Rothamsted model for the turnover of organic C in soil was used to simulate changes in SOC. Five N application rates [0 (N0), 45 (N45), 90 (N90), 135 (N135), and 180 (N180) kg N ha] were applied to plots for 25 years (1984-2009) on a loam soil (Cumulic Haplustoll) at the Changwu State Key Agro-Ecological Experimental Station, Shaanxi, China. Results: Crop yield varied with year, but increased over time in the fertilized plots. Average annual grain yields were 1.15, 2.46, 3.11, 3.49, and 3.55 Mg ha with the increasing N application rates, respectively. Long-term N fertilizer application increased significantly ( P = 0.041) SOC concentrations and stocks in the 0-20 cm horizon. Each kilogram of fertilizer N applied increased SOC by 0.51 kg in the top soil from 1984 to 2009. Using RothC, the calculated annual inputs of plant C (in roots, stubble, root exudates, etc.) to the soil were 0.61, 0.74, 0.78, 0.86, and 0.97 Mg C ha year in N0, N45, N90, N135 and N180 treatments, respectively. The modeled turnover time of SOC (excluding inert organic C) in the continuous wheat cropping system was 26 years. The SOC accumulation rate was calculated to be 40.0, 48.0, 68.0, and 100.0 kg C ha year for the N45, N90, N135 and N180 treatments over 25 years, respectively. As aboveground biomass was removed, the increases in SOC stocks with higher N application are attributed to increased inputs of root biomass and root exudates. Increasing N application rates significantly improved C concentrations in the macroaggregate fractions (>1 mm). Conclusions: Applying N fertilizer is a sustainable practice, especially in carbon sequestration and crop productivity, for the semiarid Loess Plateau region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Nitrogen (N) and precipitation are the main limiting factors in food production under rain-fed cropping systems in arid and semiarid regions. A long-term field experiment was conducted from 1984 to 2009 in the Changwu State Key Agro-Ecological Experimental Station of the Loess Plateau, China, to study interactions between precipitation and N fertilization. Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was grown with N fertilization at 0, 45, 90, 135, and 180kgNha−1. With 25-year N fertilization, soil organic carbon and total N were increased by 18% and 26%, respectively. Mean yields and precipitation use efficiency (PUE) levels with N fertilization were increased by onefold to twofold compared with unfertilized soils. Generally, during the period of 1984–2009, grain yields with 45–`180kgN ha−1 increased at the rate of 38–49kgha−1 year−1 (p <0.05), whereas PUE increased at the rate of 0.071–0.088kgmm−1 year−1. These increases over time are largely attributable to improvements in soil organic carbon and total N. Variations in yield were proportionally reduced by N fertilization, but heavily depended on the fluctuation of precipitation. Grain yields with 45–180kgN ha−1 decreased by approximately 10%–45% (p <0.05) in the dry years (drought index<−0.35) compared with the normal years, whereas significant increases were not detected in the wet years (drought index>0.35). Grain yields with 90–180kgN ha−1 were positively correlated (p <0.05) with fallow season precipitation, but insignificantly correlated with growing season precipitation. The optimum N fertilization rates in the dry, normal and wet years increased following an increasing sequence of 45, 135 and 180kgNha−1. These results have significant implications for optimizing N fertilization and maximizing yield and PUE in rain-fed cropping systems in arid and semiarid regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]