Wu Hui, Liu Enke, Jin Tao, Liu Buchun, Gopalakrishnan Subramaniam, Zhou Jie, Shao Guodong, Mei Xurong, Delaplace Pierre, De Clerck Caroline
Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
Plant Sciences, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Liege University, Gembloux, Belgium.
Nat Food. 2025 Feb;6(2):151-160. doi: 10.1038/s43016-024-01094-8. Epub 2025 Jan 28.
Tibetan barley (Hordeum vulgare) accounts for over 70% of the total food production in the Tibetan Plateau. However, continuous cropping of Tibetan barley causes soil degradation, reduces soil quality and causes yield decline. Here we explore the benefits of crop rotation with wheat and rape to improve crop yield and soil quality. We conducted 39 field experiments on the Tibetan Plateau, comparing short-term (≤5 years), 5-10 years and long-term (≥10 years) continuous cropping with rotation of Tibetan barley with wheat or rape. Results showed that Tibetan barley-wheat and Tibetan barley-rape rotations increased yields by 17% and 12%, respectively, while improving the soil quality index by 11% and 21%, compared with long-term continuous cropping. Both Tibetan barley rotations with wheat and rape improved soil quality and consequently yield, mainly by increasing soil microbial biomass nitrogen and microbial biomass carbon and decreasing pH. By contrast, long-term continuous cropping led to decreased soil organic matter, lower microbial biomass nitrogen and increased pH, contributing to yield decline. The benefits of rotations on crop yield and soil quality increased over time. Implementing crop rotation with wheat or rape thus offers a sustainable agricultural strategy for improving food security on the Tibetan Plateau.
青稞（大麦）占青藏高原粮食总产量的70%以上。然而，青稞连作会导致土壤退化，降低土壤质量并导致产量下降。在此，我们探讨与小麦和油菜轮作以提高作物产量和土壤质量的益处。我们在青藏高原进行了39项田间试验，比较了青稞与小麦或油菜轮作的短期（≤5年）、5 - 10年和长期（≥10年）连作情况。结果表明，与长期连作相比，青稞 - 小麦和青稞 - 油菜轮作分别使产量提高了17%和12%，同时土壤质量指数分别提高了11%和21%。青稞与小麦和油菜的轮作均改善了土壤质量并因此提高了产量，主要是通过增加土壤微生物生物量氮和微生物生物量碳以及降低pH值来实现的。相比之下，长期连作导致土壤有机质减少、微生物生物量氮降低以及pH值升高，从而导致产量下降。轮作对作物产量和土壤质量的益处会随着时间增加。因此，实施与小麦或油菜的轮作为提高青藏高原的粮食安全提供了一种可持续的农业策略。
