IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v15y2025i18p1936-d1748494.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Long-Term Straw Return Strategies Shape Soil Properties and Bacterial Community Structure in a Mollisol: A Nine-Year Field Trial

Author

Listed:
  • Siyang Wu

    (College of Engineering and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Jiale Zhao

    (College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Chengliang Zhang

    (College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China)

  • Lixing Ren

    (College of Engineering and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China)

  • Yanpeng Wei

    (College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China)

  • Yingjie Guo

    (College of Engineering and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China)

  • Mingzhuo Guo

    (College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China)

Abstract

Returning crop residues to soil is fundamental to sustainable agriculture, yet its adoption in cold-climate regions is hampered by an agronomic paradox: surface mulching conserves water but suppresses the spring soil temperatures required for crop establishment. In the present study, through a nine-year field experiment in a Mollisol under continuous maize cultivation, it was demonstrated that the method of maize straw incorporation, not merely its rate, is the decisive factor in resolving this conflict. While surface mulching maximized water conservation, it induced severe soil cooling and showed minimal gains in soil fertility. In contrast, incorporation via rotary tillage or deep plowing mitigated this cooling effect and proved superior for nutrient cycling. Among all strategies, rotary tillage of 50% residue (ROT-50) delivered the most balanced performance: it achieved the highest total nitrogen, substantially increased soil microbial biomass, and maintained one of the highest levels of Shannon diversity among incorporation treatments. These biogeochemical enhancements were driven by a fundamental, method-induced shift in the bacterial community from an oligotrophic to a copiotrophic structure. These findings shift the paradigm from a focus on residue quantity to one on incorporation method, providing a robust framework for reconciling crop productivity with long-term soil health in temperate agroecosystems.

Suggested Citation

  • Siyang Wu & Jiale Zhao & Chengliang Zhang & Lixing Ren & Yanpeng Wei & Yingjie Guo & Mingzhuo Guo, 2025. "Long-Term Straw Return Strategies Shape Soil Properties and Bacterial Community Structure in a Mollisol: A Nine-Year Field Trial," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-22, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:18:p:1936-:d:1748494
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/18/1936/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/18/1936/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mekuanint Lewoyehu & Yudai Kohira & Desalew Fentie & Solomon Addisu & Shinjiro Sato, 2024. "Water Hyacinth Biochar: A Sustainable Approach for Enhancing Soil Resistance to Acidification Stress and Nutrient Dynamics in an Acidic Nitisol of the Northwest Highlands of Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-25, June.
    2. Neha & Gajender Yadav & Rajender Kumar Yadav & Ashwani Kumar & Aravind Kumar Rai & Junya Onishi & Keisuke Omori & Parbodh Chander Sharma, 2022. "Salt Removal through Residue-Filled Cut-Soiler Simulated Preferential Shallow Subsurface Drainage Improves Yield, Quality and Plant Water Relations of Mustard ( Brassica juncea L.)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-18, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Adam Canning, 2025. "A Review on Harnessing the Invasive Water Hyacinth ( Eichhornia crassipes ) for Use as an Agricultural Soil Amendment," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-19, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:18:p:1936-:d:1748494. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.