Maize/Peanut Intercropping Reduces Carbon Footprint Size and Improves Net Ecosystem Economic Benefits in the Huang-Huai-Hai Region: A Four-Year Study

The dual challenges of global climate change and reductions in the amount of arable land represent growing threats to the stability of global human populations. Efforts to further optimize cropping systems to maximize yields while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions in limited land areas have thus emerged as a focus in modern agriculture. Cereal-intercropping management strategies may represent a promising approach to simultaneously addressing both of these challenges in China. We aimed at comprehensively assessing changes in yield, carbon footprint, and net ecosystem economic benefit when transitioning from maize/peanut monoculture to intercropping in a field-scale study in an effort to aid in the development of low-carbon intercropping systems that do not have an adverse impact on Chinese grain yields. Beginning in June of 2018, a randomized complete block design with three treatments was used to initiate this study: (1) peanut monoculture (P), (2) maize monoculture (M), and (3) maize/peanut intercropping (MP). We compared yield, greenhouse gas emissions, carbon footprint and net ecosystem economic benefit. Results over four years showed that the land equivalent ratio associated with MP was greater than 1. All three of these cropping systems were net CO2 and N2O sources as well as net CH4 sinks, with MP generating significantly (p < 0.05) lower N2O and CO2 flux as well as smaller seasonal N2O and CO2 emissions relative to M. MP additionally reduced the carbon footprint associated with this cropping system by 11.11–31.65% and 30.37–43.62% relative to M and P, respectively. Consistently, MP treatment resulted in respective 70.69% and 26.25% net ecosystem economic benefit (NEEB) increases relative to the M and P conditions while simultaneously enhancing energy use efficiency. In summary, MP systems have potential economic benefit with lower environmental risk alternative to traditional peanut or maize monocropping systems. Converting from peanut or maize monocropping systems to MP systems practices contributed to improved farmland use efficiency, clean production and increased farmers’ income in an agricultural system.