Long-term plastic film mulching increased maize yield and water use efficiency

作者：Linrong Han, Yuling Li, Jun Zhu, Zhongke Zhou, Wucheng Zhao, Yifan Yang, Wenjuan Zhang, Xuetong Zhang, Feng Zhang · 发表于：Field Crops Research · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110105 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Irrigation Practices and Water Management、Growth and nutrition in plants、Rice Cultivation and Yield Improvement

Context The Loess Plateau plays an important role in ensuring food security in China. In the past few decades, the plastic film mulching (PFM) system has been widely used in the Loess Plateau, but whether PFM technology can maintain the stability of yield and the sustainability of soil water in the Loess Plateau remains uncertain. Objective To clarify whether PFM technology can maintain yield stability and soil water sustainability in the Loess Plateau, and reveal the effects of PFM on water use, yield, and regional water balance. Methods Using a 12-year field experiment (2012–2023), meta-analysis, and data-driven modeling, we demonstrated the following. Results and conclusions (1) In the Loess Plateau, compared to the CK treatment, PFM and film mulching with nutrient management (PFM+N) significantly improved both water use efficiency (WUE; +28 %, +31 %, respectively) and yield (+21 %, +33 %) in maize, and PFM+N synergistically enhanced yield stability (coefficient of variation 32.36 %) and sustainability (Sustainability Yield Index 0.5). (2) Future climate scenario simulations revealed that from 2021 to 2040, both CK and PFM treatments showed an increasing trend in the proportion of water-deficit areas across the Loess Plateau. However, PFM demonstrated critical compensatory advantages by improving precipitation use efficiency and optimizing annual soil moisture redistribution, effectively alleviating regional water imbalance. (3) Spatial analysis using data-driven models fu...