The Crop Residue Removal Threshold Ensures Sustainable Agriculture in the Purple Soil Region of Sichuan, China
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Site Description
2.2. Experimental Design and Management
2.3. Soil Sampling
2.4. RUSLE 2
2.5. Measurement of Soil Properties
2.5.1. Soil Organic Carbon
2.5.2. Soil TN
2.5.3. Total Phosphorus Content in Soil
2.6. Crop Harvest and Residue Removal
2.7. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. ANOVA of Treatment Effects
3.2. RUSLE 2
3.3. SOC Content
3.4. TN Content
3.5. TP Content
3.6. Yield
4. Discussion
4.1. Impact of Residue Removal on Soil Erosion
4.2. Impact of Residue Removal on SOC, TN, and TP
4.3. Impact of Residue Removal on Yield
4.4. How Much Crop Residue Can Be Safely Removed
5. Conclusions
- (1)
- Residue removal significantly increased soil erosion of purple soil, and the amount of soil erosion increased with the increase of residue removal rate. High straw removal rate would significantly decrease the SOC content (relative to 0% removal treatment), and the decrease in the SOC content became more evident as the experiment time increases.
- (2)
- The effect of residue removal on soil TN and TP was not consistent within one year. After two years, residue removal greater than 25% caused a decrease in TN by 1.6–3.7%, and straw removal greater than 50% caused a TP decrease by 8.5–9.3%.
- (3)
- TN, TP, and yield decreased at plots with more than 25% straw removal. In contrast, SOC content reduction and soil erosion deterioration occurred at all residue removal treatments. In conclusion, crop residue removal was not recommended due to agricultural sustainability in Sichuan, China. We suggest a long-term study of the residue removal effect on purple soil to guide sustainable crop residue management strategies in this area.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Time | Experimental Duration 1 | Field Operation |
---|---|---|
29 April 2018 | Initial soil sampling | |
15 May 2018 | Canola residue removal | |
27 May 2018 | P fertilizer application | |
21 June 2018 | N and P fertilizer application | |
5 August 2018 | 3 m | Soil sampling |
21 August 2018 | Maize harvesting | |
28 August 2018 | Maize residue removal | |
1 December 2018 | N and P fertilizer application | |
21 December 2018 | 7 m | Soil sampling |
23 April 2019 | 12 m | Soil sampling and canola harvesting |
11 May 2019 | Canola residue removal | |
24 May 2019 | P fertilizer application | |
18 June 2019 | N and P fertilizer application | |
18 August 2019 | 15 m | Soil sampling and maize harvesting |
27 August 2019 | Maize residue removal | |
25 November 2019 | 18 m | Soil sampling |
28 April 2020 | 24 m | Soil sampling and canola harvesting |
1 May 2020 | Canola residue removal |
Variable | SOC | TN | TP | Yield |
---|---|---|---|---|
Treatment | * | - | * | * |
Duration | * | - | * | na |
Trt × Du | * | - | * | na |
0% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 100% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maize 2018 | 0.53 | 0.52 | 0.54 | 0.51 | 0.57 |
Canola 2019 | 0.24 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.24 |
Maize 2019 | 0.52 | 0.51 | 0.53 | 0.53 | 0.52 |
Canola 2020 | 0.25 | 0.24 | 0.25 | 0.24 | 0.25 |
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Zhang, P.; He, Y.; Ren, T.; Wang, Y.; Liu, C.; Li, N.; Li, L. The Crop Residue Removal Threshold Ensures Sustainable Agriculture in the Purple Soil Region of Sichuan, China. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3799. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073799
Zhang P, He Y, Ren T, Wang Y, Liu C, Li N, Li L. The Crop Residue Removal Threshold Ensures Sustainable Agriculture in the Purple Soil Region of Sichuan, China. Sustainability. 2021; 13(7):3799. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073799
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhang, Peng, Yuxin He, Tao Ren, Yang Wang, Chao Liu, Naiwen Li, and Longguo Li. 2021. "The Crop Residue Removal Threshold Ensures Sustainable Agriculture in the Purple Soil Region of Sichuan, China" Sustainability 13, no. 7: 3799. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073799