Diversifying crop rotation increases food production, reduces net greenhouse gas emissions and improves soil health.

ABSTRACT: Global food production faces challenges in balancing the need for increased yields with environmental sustainability. This study presents a six-year field experiment in the North China Plain, demonstrating the benefits of diversifying traditional cereal monoculture (wheat-maize) with cash crops (sweet potato) and legumes (peanut and soybean). The diversified rotations increase equivalent yield by up to 38%, reduce N₂O emissions by 39%, and improve the system's greenhouse gas balance by 88%. Furthermore, including legumes in crop rotations stimulates soil microbial activities, increases soil organic carbon stocks by 8%, and enhances soil health (indexed with the selected soil physiochemical and biological properties) by 45%. The large-scale adoption of diversified cropping system

SUBMITTER: Yang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10764956 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature