Meeting the future food security challenge without further sacrificing environmental integrity requires transformative changes in managing the key biophysical determinants of increasing agronomic productivity and reducing the environmental footprint. Here, we focus on Chinese rice production and quantitatively address this concern by conducting 403 on-farm trials across diverse rice farming systems. Inherent soil productivity, management practices and rice farming type resulted in confounded and interactive effects on yield, yield gaps and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (N2O, CH4 and CO2-equivalent) with both trade-offs and compensating effects. Advances in nitrogen, water and crop management (Best Management Practices—BMPs) helped closing existing yield gaps and resulted in a substantial reduction in CO2-equivalent emission of rice farming despite a tradeoff of increase N2O emission. However, inherent soil properties limited rice yields to a larger extent than previously known. Cultivating inherently better soil also led to lower GHG intensity (GHG emissions per unit yield). Neither adopting BMPs only nor improving soils with low or moderate productivity alone can adequately address the challenge of substantially increasing rice production while reducing the environmental footprint. A combination of both represents the most efficient strategy to harness the combined-benefits of enhanced production and mitigating climate change. Extrapolating from our farm data, this strategy could increase rice production in China by 18%, which would meet the demand for direct human consumption of rice by 2030. It would also reduce fertilizer nitrogen consumption by 22% and decrease CO2-equivalent emissions during the rice growing period by 7% compared with current farming practice continues. Benefits vary by rice-based cropping systems. Single rice systems have the largest food provision benefits due to its wider yield gap and total cultivated area, whereas double-rice system (especially late rice) contributes primarily to reducing GHG emissions. The study therefore provides farm-based evidence for feasible, practical approaches towards achieving realistic food security and environmental quality targets at a national scale.
Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China;Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China;Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China;Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China;Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology of Jiangsu Province, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China;College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China;College of Resources & Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China;Resource and Environment College, Southwest University, Chongqing, China;Crop Physiology, Ecology & Production Center, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China;Crop Physiology, Ecology & Production Center, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China;Rice Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China;Soil &Fertilizer Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, China;Institute of Soils and Fertilizers, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, China;Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China;Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts, United Kingdom
Recommended Citation:
Ning An,Mingsheng Fan,Fusuo Zhang,et al. Exploiting Co-Benefits of Increased Rice Production and Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emission through Optimized Crop and Soil Management[J]. PLOS ONE,2015-01-01,10(10)