Recently, the Soil Fertility and Improvement Innovation Team at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (IARRP), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), has made progress in conservation tillage research. This study systematically integrated and analyzed data from long-term tillage experiments in black soil region of Northeast China, quantitatively evaluating the impacts of conservation tillage on soil organic carbon accumulation and crop yield, and identifying key regulatory factors, including climate, management, and soil properties. These findings have been published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Research.

Soil health is closely linked to agricultural productivity, yet modern intensive farming often leads to soil degradation, posing a threat to food security. Conservation tillage, as a sustainable agricultural management practice, aims to sequester soil organic carbon and enhance agricultural productivity by reducing soil disturbance. However, the extent to which soil organic carbon and crop yield respond to conservation tillage (no-till/reduced tillage) and their regulatory factors remain unclear in black soil region of Northeast China.

Based on a meta-analysis of 527 paired observations from 140 published papers in the black soil region of Northeast China, this study clarified the significant benefits of conservation tillage in enhancing soil fertility and crop yield, along with its key regulatory pathways. Conservation tillage significantly increased soil organic carbon content and crop yield. Specifically, no-till showed superior performance in carbon sequestration, while reduced tillage was more effective in boosting yields. These benefits were particularly pronounced in warm and humid areas, as well as in relatively poor soils with lower initial soil organic carbon content and higher proportions of silt and clay. Furthermore, combining no-till with straw mulching was found to maximize the dual benefits of carbon sequestration and crop yield increase. Notably, the benefits of conservation tillage peaked around the 10th year of implementation, followed by a threshold effect where gains gradually declined or stagnated. The present study also revealed that the increase in soil organic carbon under conservation tillage had a significant direct positive effect on crop yield. These findings indicate that conservation tillage can effectively enhance soil carbon sequestration potential and significantly improve crop productivity, but its long-term effectiveness requires comprehensive consideration of regional climate, soil characteristics, and management practices.

This study was conducted by Huang Bin, a master student of Shanxi Agricultural University and IARRP-CAAS, with Academician Xu Minggang and Associate Professor Wu Lei serving as co-corresponding authors. Funding support came from the National Program on Key Basic Research Project of China, Youth Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the Project of Laboratory of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Heilongjiang Province.

Citation: Huang B, Gao J, Zhang W, Gan C, Bao X, Xu M, Wu L. Impacts of conservation tillage on soil organic carbon and crop yield in black soil region of Northeast China: integrated regulation by climate, management and soil properties, Journal of Agriculture and Food Research (2025) 102388.

Article link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2025.102388