Impacts of straw return coupled with tillage practices on soil organic carbon stock in upland wheat and maize croplands in China: A meta-analysis

Despite numerous individual studies evaluating the impact of straw return on soil organic carbon (SOC) stock in upland wheat and maize croplands in China using no-tillage (NTS), rotary tillage (RTS), and deep tillage (DTS) practices, the results have shown inconsistency. In addition, several factors influence the effects of various tillage practices with straw return on SOC stock that are not well understand. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis of 764 comparisons to determine the combined impact of SOC stock in the topsoil (0–20 cm) and subsoil (20–40 cm) layers, while considering factors such as climate conditions, management practices, and initial soil properties. The results indicate that straw return with different tillage practices significantly improved SOC stock in both soil layers compared to straws removal. The increase in topsoil SOC stock was nearly identical for NTS (7.38 %) and DTS (7.17 %), compared to the RTS. However, the increase in subsoil SOC stock was significantly higher for DTS (28.8 %). According to subgroup analysis, NTS has been more effective in increasing topsoil SOC stock in regions with medium temperature (10–15 °C) and low precipitation (<400 mm), when used in a single cropping system. However, in regions with higher temperature (>15 °C) and precipitation (>800 mm), DTS is more effective in increasing SOC stock in both topsoil and subsoil layers in a double cropping system. Long-term (11–20 years) DTS resulted in a significant increase in SOC stock in the topsoil (19.2 %) and subsoil (18.5 %), while the increased effects of NTS on SOC stock were only in topsoil layer (17.1 %). The effects of straw return on SOC stock were also found to be associated with soil texture, with NTS having a greater impact on sandy to loam soils, and DTS having a greater impact on clay soils. Furthermore, a significant ( P  < 0.01) positive linear relationship was observed between annual carbon (C) input and SOC sequestration in the topsoil under NTS, as well as in both soil layers under DTS. These findings have important implications for enhancing SOC in Chinese upland wheat and maize cropland soils through optimizing straw return, given that more than 518 million tons of crop straw are produced annually.