Integrating straw return and tillage practices to enhance soil organic carbon sequestration in wheat–maize rotation systems in the North China Plain

Summary

Straw return is a crucial strategy for enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in winter wheat–summer maize rotation systems in the North China Plain. However, the effects of straw return combined with different tillage practices on SOC sequestration under different environmental and management conditions across the soil profile remain unclear. A meta-analysis was conducted based on 2525 pairs of observations to investigate the effects of straw return combined with no tillage (NT), reduced tillage (RT), and conventional tillage (CT) on SOC content in wheat–maize rotation systems in the North China Plain. The results indicated that, compared with straw removal, straw return with NT and RT significantly increased the SOC content in the 0–40 cm layer, which was attributed to reduced