State Key Laboratory of Nutrient Use and Management, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, PR China.
Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), 100101, Beijing, PR China.
Nat Commun. 2024 Oct 10;15(1):8785. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-53169-6.
Climate warming threatens global food security by exacerbating pressures on degraded soils under intensive crop production. Conservation agriculture is promoted as a sustainable solution that improves soil health and sustains crop yields in a changing climate, but these benefits may be affected by long-term warming. Here, we investigate the effects of conservation agriculture compared to conventional agriculture on 17 soil properties, microbial diversity and crop yields, during eight-years' experimental warming. An overall positive effect of warming on soil health over time under conservation agriculture is characterized by linear increases in soil organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon. Warming-triggered shifts in microbial biomass carbon and fungal diversity (saprogen richness) are directly linked to a 9.3% increase in wheat yields over eight years, but only under conservation agriculture. Overall, conservation agriculture results in an average 21% increase in soil health and supports similar levels of crop production after long-term warming compared to conventional agriculture. Our work provides insights into the potential benefits of conservation agriculture for long-term sustainable food production because improved soil health improves resilience to the effects of climate warming.
气候变暖通过加剧集约化作物生产下退化土壤的压力，威胁着全球粮食安全。保护性农业被认为是一种可持续的解决方案，它可以改善土壤健康，并在气候变化中维持作物产量，但这些益处可能会受到长期变暖的影响。在这里，我们研究了在八年的实验性变暖期间，与传统农业相比，保护性农业对 17 种土壤特性、微生物多样性和作物产量的影响。随着时间的推移，保护性农业下的变暖对土壤健康的总体积极影响表现为土壤有机碳和微生物生物量碳的线性增加。变暖引发的微生物生物量碳和真菌多样性（腐生丰富度）的变化与八年来小麦产量增加 9.3%直接相关，但仅在保护性农业下。总体而言，与传统农业相比，保护性农业可平均提高 21%的土壤健康水平，并在长期变暖后支持类似水平的作物产量。我们的工作为保护性农业对长期可持续粮食生产的潜在益处提供了新的认识，因为土壤健康的改善提高了对气候变暖影响的恢复力。
