Climate-management interactions drive soil organic carbon sequestration potential in China's croplands during 2020–2060
Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in croplands plays a vital role in mitigating climate change and enhancing soil fertility. As one of the world's leading agricultural nations, China's croplands exhibit highly representative climate types, soil conditions, crop varieties, and farming...
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Soil & Environmental Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949919425000329 |
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| author | Wenfang Jiang Ziqi Lin Zhangcai Qin Xinqing Lu Wen Zhang Qing Zhang Sijing Ye Huirong Li Huilin Ge Guocheng Wang |
| author_facet | Wenfang Jiang Ziqi Lin Zhangcai Qin Xinqing Lu Wen Zhang Qing Zhang Sijing Ye Huirong Li Huilin Ge Guocheng Wang |
| author_sort | Wenfang Jiang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in croplands plays a vital role in mitigating climate change and enhancing soil fertility. As one of the world's leading agricultural nations, China's croplands exhibit highly representative climate types, soil conditions, crop varieties, and farming systems on a global scale. Despite extensive studies on SOC dynamics, the spatial variability of SOC sequestration potential remains insufficiently quantified across China's diverse agricultural regions, which adopt varying straw management practices. This study employs a process-based modeling approach to systematically assess the dynamics and sequestration potential of SOC in China's croplands (122 Mha) from 2020 to 2060. We found that by sustaining a moderate historical management during 2015–2020 (i.e., an average of ∼37% residue retention rate in addition to traditional root residue retention and farmyard manure application), China's croplands SOC stock is projected to increase by more than 25% by 2060, corresponding to total SOC sequestration of ∼ 1650 Tg C at the national scale. Regional variability exists, with southern China (e.g., east and central, south and central, and southwest regions) contributing to ∼84% of total SOC sequestration, while northeast region has minimal sequestration potential. Carbon inputs, temperature, and precipitation are positively correlated with SOC dynamics, while initial SOC density shows a negative partial correlation with changes in SOC. This study not only characterizes the dynamics of SOC in China's croplands over the next 40 years under different carbon management practices and climate change scenarios, but also presents the pathways for achieving sustainable carbon sequestration in future croplands. Our findings highlight the importance of sustaining and optimizing straw return practices, alongside region-specific strategies, to maximize SOC sequestration and support global climate mitigation goals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-580076f1a065485c812c8d82d8e4f621 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2949-9194 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Soil & Environmental Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-580076f1a065485c812c8d82d8e4f6212025-08-20T02:39:07ZengElsevierSoil & Environmental Health2949-91942025-07-013310015910.1016/j.seh.2025.100159Climate-management interactions drive soil organic carbon sequestration potential in China's croplands during 2020–2060Wenfang Jiang0Ziqi Lin1Zhangcai Qin2Xinqing Lu3Wen Zhang4Qing Zhang5Sijing Ye6Huirong Li7Huilin Ge8Guocheng Wang9State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Climate Change and Natural Disaster Studies, Sun Yat-sen University, and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, 519000, ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Climate Change and Natural Disaster Studies, Sun Yat-sen University, and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, 519000, ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Climate Change and Natural Disaster Studies, Sun Yat-sen University, and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, 519000, ChinaLAPC, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, ChinaLAPC, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, ChinaXilinhot National Climatological Observatory, Xilinhot, 026000, Inner Mongolia, ChinaOcean College, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212100, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, China; Corresponding author.Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in croplands plays a vital role in mitigating climate change and enhancing soil fertility. As one of the world's leading agricultural nations, China's croplands exhibit highly representative climate types, soil conditions, crop varieties, and farming systems on a global scale. Despite extensive studies on SOC dynamics, the spatial variability of SOC sequestration potential remains insufficiently quantified across China's diverse agricultural regions, which adopt varying straw management practices. This study employs a process-based modeling approach to systematically assess the dynamics and sequestration potential of SOC in China's croplands (122 Mha) from 2020 to 2060. We found that by sustaining a moderate historical management during 2015–2020 (i.e., an average of ∼37% residue retention rate in addition to traditional root residue retention and farmyard manure application), China's croplands SOC stock is projected to increase by more than 25% by 2060, corresponding to total SOC sequestration of ∼ 1650 Tg C at the national scale. Regional variability exists, with southern China (e.g., east and central, south and central, and southwest regions) contributing to ∼84% of total SOC sequestration, while northeast region has minimal sequestration potential. Carbon inputs, temperature, and precipitation are positively correlated with SOC dynamics, while initial SOC density shows a negative partial correlation with changes in SOC. This study not only characterizes the dynamics of SOC in China's croplands over the next 40 years under different carbon management practices and climate change scenarios, but also presents the pathways for achieving sustainable carbon sequestration in future croplands. Our findings highlight the importance of sustaining and optimizing straw return practices, alongside region-specific strategies, to maximize SOC sequestration and support global climate mitigation goals.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949919425000329RothC modelCarbon dynamicsCarbon densityClimate change scenariosCarbon sequestrationSpatiotemporal heterogeneity |
| spellingShingle | Wenfang Jiang Ziqi Lin Zhangcai Qin Xinqing Lu Wen Zhang Qing Zhang Sijing Ye Huirong Li Huilin Ge Guocheng Wang Climate-management interactions drive soil organic carbon sequestration potential in China's croplands during 2020–2060 Soil & Environmental Health RothC model Carbon dynamics Carbon density Climate change scenarios Carbon sequestration Spatiotemporal heterogeneity |
| title | Climate-management interactions drive soil organic carbon sequestration potential in China's croplands during 2020–2060 |
| title_full | Climate-management interactions drive soil organic carbon sequestration potential in China's croplands during 2020–2060 |
| title_fullStr | Climate-management interactions drive soil organic carbon sequestration potential in China's croplands during 2020–2060 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Climate-management interactions drive soil organic carbon sequestration potential in China's croplands during 2020–2060 |
| title_short | Climate-management interactions drive soil organic carbon sequestration potential in China's croplands during 2020–2060 |
| title_sort | climate management interactions drive soil organic carbon sequestration potential in china s croplands during 2020 2060 |
| topic | RothC model Carbon dynamics Carbon density Climate change scenarios Carbon sequestration Spatiotemporal heterogeneity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949919425000329 |
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