Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Crop Conversion from Annual to Perennials: An Effective Strategy to Increase Soil Multifunctionality

Pan pan Liu
,
Dong Wang
* ORCID logo ,
Yue Li
,
Ji Liu
ORCID logo ,
Yong xing Cui
,
Guo peng Liang
,
Chao quan Wang
,
Chao Wang
,
Daryl L Moorhead
,
Ji Chen
*
Version 1 : Received: 15 January 2024 / Approved: 16 January 2024 / Online: 16 January 2024 (02:16:49 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Liu, P.; Wang, D.; Li, Y.; Liu, J.; Cui, Y.; Liang, G.; Wang, C.; Wang, C.; Moorhead, D.L.; Chen, J. Crop Conversion from Annual to Perennials: An Effective Strategy to Affect Soil Multifunctionality. Agronomy 2024, 14, 594. Liu, P.; Wang, D.; Li, Y.; Liu, J.; Cui, Y.; Liang, G.; Wang, C.; Wang, C.; Moorhead, D.L.; Chen, J. Crop Conversion from Annual to Perennials: An Effective Strategy to Affect Soil Multifunctionality. Agronomy 2024, 14, 594.

Abstract

Although crop conversion from annual to perennial crops has been considered as one path towards climate-smart and resource-efficient agriculture, the effects of this conversion on soil multifunctionality and biomass yields remain unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of one annual and three perennial crops (a grass (Lolium perenne), a legume (Medicago sativa), and their mixture) on soil multifunctionality and biomass yield on the Yellow River floodplain. Soil multifunctionality was assessed by the capacity of water regulation and the multifunctionality of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycles. Results showed that perennial crops enhanced soil multifunctionality by 207% for L. perenne, 311% for M. sativa, and 438% for L. perenne + M. sativa, compared with annual winter wheat (Triticum aestivum). The effect of perennial crops on soil multifunctionality increased with infiltration rate, dissolved organic C, microbial biomass C, and extracellular enzymatic activities for both C and N acquisition. However, we observed that perennial crops had lower biomass yield than annual crop. Therefore, the transition of agricultural landscapes to perennials needs to take into account the balance between environmental protection and food security, as well as environmental heterogeneity, to promote sustainable agricultural development.

Keywords

Land cover change; Yellow River floodplain; Crop type; Soil extracellular enzymes; Soil functions; Annual and perennial crops

Subject

Environmental and Earth Sciences, Soil Science

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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