Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Physiology, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China; Research Institute of Rice Industrial Engineering Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China; State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agroecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.
State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agroecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Apr 10;920:171046. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171046. Epub 2024 Feb 16.
Food security, water scarcity, and excessive fossil energy use pose considerable challenges to sustainable agriculture. To understand how rain-fed farming systems on the Loess Plateau, China, reconcile yield increases with ecological conservation, we conducted an integrated evaluation based on the denitrification-decomposition (DNDC) model, agricultural statistics data using the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus indicator. The results showed that maize yields with ridge-furrow plastic film mulching (PFM) were 3479, 8942, and 11,124 kg ha under low (50 kg N ha), medium (200 kg N ha), and high (350 kg N ha) nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates, respectively, and that PFM increased yield and water use efficiency (WUE) by 110-253 % and 166-205 % compared to using no mulching (control, CK), respectively. Plastic film mulching also increased net energy (126-436 %), energy use efficiency (81-578 %), energy productivity (100-670 %), and energy profitability (126-994 %), and nitrogen fertilizer, compound fertilizer, and diesel fuel consumption by agricultural machinery were the main energy inputs. The PFM system reduced water consumption during the maize growing season and the green water footprint and gray water footprint decreased by 66-74 % and 44-68 %, respectively. The FEW nexus indicator, based on a high production at low environmental cost scenario, was greater under the PFM system and had the widest spatial distribution area at the medium-N application rate. Among the environmental factors, the nexus indicator was negatively correlated with precipitation (-0.37), air temperature (-0.36), and the aridity index (-0.36), but positively correlated with elevation (0.17). Our results suggest that the PFM system promotes resource-saving while increasing yields and moves dryland agriculture in an environmentally friendly direction, thus promoting the sustainable development of agroecosystems.
粮食安全、水资源短缺和化石能源过度消耗给可持续农业带来了巨大挑战。为了了解中国黄土高原雨养农业系统如何在提高产量的同时兼顾生态保护，我们利用 DNDC 模型和农业统计数据，采用粮食-能源-水（FEW）关联指标进行了综合评价。结果表明，在低（50kg N/ha）、中（200kg N/ha）、高（350kg N/ha）氮（N）肥用量下，垄膜沟灌（PFM）的玉米产量分别为 3479、8942 和 11124kg/ha，与不覆膜（对照，CK）相比，PFM 分别提高了 110%至 253%和 166%至 205%的产量和水分利用效率（WUE）。塑料薄膜覆盖还增加了净能量（126%至 436%）、能量利用效率（81%至 578%）、能量生产力（100%至 670%）和能量利润率（126%至 994%），农业机械用氮肥、复合肥和柴油燃料消耗是主要的能量投入。PFM 系统减少了玉米生长季的用水量，绿水足迹和灰水足迹分别减少了 66%至 74%和 44%至 68%。基于低环境成本高生产情景的粮食-能源-水关联指标在 PFM 系统下更大，且在中氮施用量下具有最广泛的空间分布面积。在环境因素中，关联指标与降水（-0.37）、气温（-0.36）和干旱指数（-0.36）呈负相关，与海拔（0.17）呈正相关。我们的研究结果表明，PFM 系统在提高产量的同时促进资源节约，使旱地农业向环境友好的方向发展，从而促进了农业生态系统的可持续发展。
