Intercropping achieves long-term dual goals of yield gains and soil N2O emission mitigation

作者：Wenchun Yu, Ping Zhao, Chao Li, Ding Wang, Chunyan Ming, Linkang Chen, Zhou Long, Qilin Zhu, Li Tang, Yanli Zhou, Guangqiang Long · 发表于：Resources Environment and Sustainability · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.resenv.2025.100210 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems、Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems、Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics

Mitigating nitrous oxide ( N 2 O) emissions from agricultural soil is imperative for addressing climate change. Although diversified cropping systems have the potential to augment yields, their impact on soil N 2 O emissions over a long-term scale remains inconclusive. We measured crop yield and soil N 2 O emissions across eight consecutive years based on a positioned plot field experiment, using a constructed monocropping system as a control. We found that maize–potato intercropping after nitrogen (N) fertilisation elevated crop yields by 0.6 Mg ha −1 to 1.2 Mg ha −1 and decreased area- and yield-scaled N 2 O emissions by 5.2%–14.5% and 19.0%–20.6%, respectively, compared with the expected monocropping. Furthermore, the intercropping-induced N 2 O emissions reduction was more pronounced in the initial phase (first 3 years) and stabilised at a lower level in the later phase (last 5 years); it increased with N application rates. The altered nosZ gene abundance and nitrate-N (NO 3 − -N) content in soil, alongside N uptake by crops, primarily contributed to the N 2 O emission reduction after intercropping. The results confirm that long-term intercropping has a positive, but cropping duration-dependent, effect on yield gain and N 2 O emission mitigation. This offers a valuable reference for employing crop diversification to simultaneously address food security and climate change. • Emission-reducing effects depend on cropping duration and nitrogen inputs. • Long-term intercroppin...