Mak-Mensah Erastus, Obour Peter Bilson, Essel Eunice, Wang Qi, Ahiakpa John K
College of Grassland Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China.
Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana.
PeerJ. 2021 Mar 3;9:e10967. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10967. eCollection 2021.
China is the leading consumer of plastic film worldwide. Plastic film mulched ridge-furrow is one of the most widely adopted agronomic and field management practices in rain-fed agriculture in dry-land areas of China. The efficiency of plastic film mulching as a viable method to decrease evapotranspiration (ET), increase crop yields, and water use efficiency (WUE), has been demonstrated extensively by earlier studies.
A comprehensive evaluation of how co-application of plastic-film mulch and biochar in different agro-environments under varying climatic conditions influence ET, crop yield, WUE, and soil microbial activity were assessed. We performed a meta-analysis using the PRISMA guideline to assess the effect of plastic-film mulched ridge-furrow and biochar on ET, yield, and WUE of wheat ( L.), potato ( L.), and maize ( L.) in northern China.
The use of plastic film increased average yields of wheat (75.7%), potato (20.2%), and maize (12.9%) in Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Shanxi provinces, respectively due to the reduction in ET by 12.8% in Gansu, 0.5% in Ningxia, and 4.1% in Shanxi, but increased in Shaanxi by 0.5% compared to no-mulching. These changes may be attributed to the effect of plastic film mulch application which simultaneously increased WUE by 68.5% in Gansu, 23.9% in Ningxia, 16.2% in Shaanxi, and 12.8% in Shanxi, respectively. Compared to flat planting without mulching, in three years, the yield of maize increased with the co-application of plastic film and biochar by 22.86% in the Shanxi and Shaanxi regions.
Our analysis revealed co-application of plastic film with biochar is integral for improving soil and water conservation in rain-fed agriculture and as an integrated practice to avert drought while simultaneously mitigating runoff and erosion.
中国是全球塑料薄膜的主要消费国。地膜覆盖垄沟种植是中国旱地雨养农业中应用最为广泛的农艺和田间管理措施之一。早期研究已充分证明地膜覆盖作为一种可行方法，在减少蒸散量（ET）、提高作物产量和水分利用效率（WUE）方面的有效性。
评估了在不同气候条件下，地膜覆盖与生物炭共同应用于不同农业环境时，对ET、作物产量、WUE和土壤微生物活性的综合影响。我们按照PRISMA指南进行了一项荟萃分析，以评估中国北方地膜覆盖垄沟种植和生物炭对小麦（L.）、马铃薯（L.）和玉米（L.）的ET、产量和WUE的影响。
在甘肃、宁夏、陕西和山西，地膜覆盖分别使小麦平均产量提高了75.7%、马铃薯提高了20.2%、玉米提高了12.9%，这是由于甘肃的ET减少了12.8%，宁夏减少了0.5%，山西减少了4.1%，但陕西相比不覆盖地膜增加了0.5%。这些变化可能归因于地膜覆盖的作用，其分别使甘肃的WUE提高了68.5%，宁夏提高了23.9%，陕西提高了16.2%，山西提高了12.8%。与不覆盖地膜的平作相比，在三年时间里，山西和陕西地区地膜与生物炭共同应用使玉米产量提高了22.86%。
我们的分析表明，地膜与生物炭共同应用对于改善雨养农业中的水土保持至关重要，是一种既能避免干旱又能同时减轻径流和侵蚀的综合措施。
