Improving agricultural mulching to reduce environmental footprint and enhance economic profit across China

IF 11.2 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL

Resources Conservation and Recycling Pub Date : 2025-05-22 DOI:10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108393

Huihui Wei , Yifan Yang , Li Zhang , Zutao Ouyang , Matthew Tom Harrison , Ke Liu , Guojun Sun , Gary Y. Gan , Feng-Min Li , Li Dong , Rui Wang , Bo Wang , Feng Zhang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Large-scale and difficult to decompose greenhouse gas (GHG) have challenged the agrifood sector to achieve net zero. While mulching perturbs GHG emissions and soil carbon sequestration, its potential in reducing GHG emissions remains unexplored. Here, we combined life cycle assessment with process-based model to evaluate carbon footprints and net environmental and economic benefits of maize, wheat and rice under no-mulching (CK), plastic film (PM) and straw mulching (SM) in China. We show that carbon footprint of rice was highest, methane (CH₄) and nitrogen fertilizer were main contributor. In China, GHG emissions of three crops were 668 Tg CO₂ eq yr⁻¹ (rice: 38 %, maize: 33 %, wheat: 29 %), SM increased yield (12 %), agricultural profit (9 %) and reduced emissions (9 %), which promotes agricultural co-development, but PM needs to be combined with other mitigation measures. Our study paved ways for comprehensively understanding the impact of mulching, and developing effective strategies towards sustainable future.

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改善农业覆盖，减少环境足迹，提高中国经济效益

大规模且难以分解的温室气体（GHG）对农业食品部门实现净零排放提出了挑战。虽然覆盖会干扰温室气体排放和土壤碳固存，但其减少温室气体排放的潜力仍未得到探索。本文采用生命周期评价与过程模型相结合的方法，对中国玉米、小麦和水稻在免覆盖（CK）、地膜（PM）和秸秆覆盖（SM）条件下的碳足迹、净环境效益和经济效益进行了评价。结果表明，水稻碳足迹最高，甲烷（CH4）和氮肥是碳足迹的主要贡献者。在中国，三种作物的温室气体排放量为668 Tg CO2当量年−1（水稻：38%，玉米：33%，小麦：29%），SM提高了产量（12%），农业利润（9%），减少了排放（9%），这促进了农业共同发展，但PM需要与其他缓解措施相结合。我们的研究为全面了解覆盖的影响，制定有效的可持续未来战略铺平了道路。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Resources Conservation and Recycling 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

22.90

自引率

6.10%

发文量

625

审稿时长

23 days

期刊介绍： The journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling welcomes contributions from research, which consider sustainable management and conservation of resources. The journal prioritizes understanding the transformation processes crucial for transitioning toward more sustainable production and consumption systems. It highlights technological, economic, institutional, and policy aspects related to specific resource management practices such as conservation, recycling, and resource substitution, as well as broader strategies like improving resource productivity and restructuring production and consumption patterns. Contributions may address regional, national, or international scales and can range from individual resources or technologies to entire sectors or systems. Authors are encouraged to explore scientific and methodological issues alongside practical, environmental, and economic implications. However, manuscripts focusing solely on laboratory experiments without discussing their broader implications will not be considered for publication in the journal.