Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 1 — Meta-analysis / systematic reviewPeer-reviewed

Soil quality both increases crop production and improves resilience to climate change

Lei Qiao, Xuhui Wang, Pete Smith, Jinlong Fan, Yuelai Lu, Bridget A. Emmett, Rong Li, Stephen Dorling, Haiqing Chen, Shaogui Liu, Tim G. Benton, Yaojun Wang, Yuqing Ma, Rongfeng Jiang, Fusuo Zhang, Shilong Piao, Christoph Müller, Huaqing Yang, Yanan Hao, Wangmei Li, Mingsheng Fan

Nature Climate Change · 2022

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Summary

This 2022 analysis, published in Nature Climate Change, investigates the dual benefits of soil quality improvement for crop production and climate change adaptation. The international authorship and global scope suggest a modelling or meta-analytical assessment of how soil health indicators correlate with productivity gains and resistance to climate-related stressors. The work addresses a critical intersection between soil stewardship and climate mitigation, likely demonstrating that investments in soil health yield concurrent benefits for food security and climate resilience.

UK applicability

The findings are likely applicable to UK arable systems, where soil degradation (organic matter loss, compaction) remains a management challenge. UK policy frameworks (e.g. Environmental Land Management schemes, Net Zero Strategy) increasingly emphasise soil carbon and health; this research provides global evidence supporting such interventions, though UK-specific yield and resilience quantification would strengthen local uptake.

Key measures

Soil quality indicators (organic matter, structure, microbial activity, or composite indices); crop yield; climate resilience metrics (as suggested by drought or temperature stress responses)

Outcomes reported

The study assessed how soil quality improvements correlate with both increased crop production and enhanced resilience to climate-related stressors. As suggested by the title and journal scope, the work likely quantified productivity gains and climate adaptation benefits across different soil health scenarios.

Theme
Climate & resilience
Subject
Soil health assessment & monitoring
Study type
Meta-analysis
Study design
Meta-analysis
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Global
System type
Arable cereals
DOI
10.1038/s41558-022-01376-8
Catalogue ID
BFmowc2b4w-kgjpl5

Topic tags

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