1. Does no-till crop management mitigate gaseous emissions and reduce yield disparities: An empirical US-China evaluation.
- Author
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Shakoor A, Pendall E, Arif MS, Farooq TH, Iqbal S, and Shahzad SM
- Subjects
- United States, Carbon Dioxide analysis, Nitrous Oxide analysis, Agriculture methods, Soil, Edible Grain chemistry, China, Methane analysis, Gases, Greenhouse Gases
- Abstract
Global agricultural systems face one of the greatest sustainability challenges: meeting the growing demand for food without leaving a negative environmental footprint. United States (US) and China are the two largest economies and account for 39 % of total global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere. No-till is a promising land management option that allows agriculture to better adapt and mitigate climate change effects compared to traditional tillage. However, the efficacy of no-till for mitigating GHG is still debatable. In this meta-analysis, we comprehensively assess the impact of no-till (relative to traditional tillage) on GHG mitigation potential and crop productivity in different agroecological systems and management regimes in the US and China. Overall, no-till in China did not change crop yields, although soil CO
2 (8 %) and N2 O (12 %) emissions decreased significantly, while soil CH4 emissions increased by 12 %. In contrast to Chinese no-till, a significant improvement in crop yields (up to 12 %) was recorded on US cropland under no-till. Moreover, significant decreases in soil N2 O (21 %) and CH4 (12 %) emissions were observed. Of the three cropping systems, only wheat showed significant reduction in CO2 , N2 O and CH4 emissions in the Chinese no-till system. In the case of US, no-till soybean-rice and maize cropping systems demonstrated significant emission reductions for N2 O and CO2 , respectively. Interestingly, yields of no-till maize in China and rice in US exceeded those of other no-till cereals. In China, no-till on medium-texture soils resulted in significant reductions in GHG emissions and higher crop yields compared to other soil types. In both countries, the relatively higher crop yields under irrigated versus non-irrigated no-till and the significant yield differences on fine textured soils under US no-till are likely due to the substantial N2 O reductions. In summary, crop yield disparities from no-till between China and the US were related to the insignificant effects on controlling CH4 emissions and successfully mitigating N2 O, respectively. This study comprehensively demonstrates how cropping system and pedoclimatic conditions influence the relative effectiveness of no-till in both countries., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2024
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