Manure application to soil has declined globally due to increased availability of mineral fertilizers. However, mineral fertilizer overuse has caused serious consequences for soil quality and the environment. We analyzed the results of 20 long‐term field trials (22–32 years, start year [ranged from 1980 to 1990] to 2012) and combined this with a climate change model and soil organic carbon (SOC) model to quantify the importance of manure and mineral fertilizers for grain yield and SOC sequestration across croplands in China. During the past three decades mineral fertilizers have increased grain yield for 91–184% but had minor impact on SOC sequestration (4–16%). In contrast, manure applied with mineral fertilizer increased grain yield by only 6–19% but strongly raised the SOC content (9–39%) compared with mineral fertilizer. Modeling (to the year 2099) indicated that manure used in combination with mineral fertilizers will increase future C sequestration in soils across China by 2,086 Tg C and by 2,482 Tg C based on current net primary productivity with no climate change and on increased net primary productivity with climate change scenarios, respectively. This corresponds to an additional 43–58% increase in C sequestration compared to mineral fertilizers only. The manure efficiency for C sequestration in soil was about 9.6% of C input and decreased with increasing SOC content. To maintain the current SOC content (i.e., 2010), 11 t·ha⁻¹·year⁻¹ fresh manure or 4.8 t·ha⁻¹·year⁻¹ dry maize straw would be required. We conclude that the regular use of manure with mineral fertilizers is essential for the long‐term dual functions of soil for food production and SOC sequestration.

Human CAFs promote lymphangiogenesis in ovarian cancer via the Hh-VEGF-C signalling axis Human CAFs promote lymphangiogenesis in ovarian cancer via the Hh-VEGF-C signalling axis

Nitrogen is a vital element for soil fertility and crop productivity. The transformation of nitrogen is directly affected by tillage practices for the disturbing soil. The characteristics of different nitrogen forms under different tillage modes are still unclear. A 3-year cycle tillage experiment was carried out to assess the combination of rotary tillage (RT), deep tillage (DT), and shallow rotary tillage (SRT) on nitrogen transformation and distribution, wheat yield and nitrogen balance in fluvo-aquic soil from Huang-Huai-Hai Plain in China. The results showed the rotation tillage cycle with deep tillage in the first year increased the total nitrogen (TN), and the main nitrogen form content in 0–30 cm compared with continued rotary tillage (RT-RT-RT). Moreover, the nitrate (NO₃⁻-N) and ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) content were improved in 20–40 cm by deep tillage practice with the highest value as 39.88 mg kg⁻¹ under DT-SRT-RT. The time, tillage, and depth significantly affected the different nitrogen forms, but there was no effect on dissolved organic carbon (DON) and soil microbial biomass nitrogen (SMBN) by the interaction of time and tillage. Moreover, compared with RT-RT-RT, the rotation tillage promoted the spike number and kernels per spike of wheat, further increasing the wheat yield and nitrogen partial productivity, and with a better effect under DT-SRT-RT. The NO₃⁻-N and NH₄⁺-N trended closer and positively correlated with wheat yield in 0–40 cm in 2019. The rotation tillage with deep tillage improved the different forms of nitrogen in 0–30 cm, wheat yield, and nitrogen partial productivity, and decreased the apparent nitrogen loss. It was suggested as the efficiency tillage practice to improve nitrogen use efficiency and crop yield in this area.

Optimum tillage practices can create a suitable soil environment, and they improve the soil nutrient status to ensure crop development and yield. In this study, we evaluated the influences of six tillage practices on soil nutrients and maize yields from 2017 to 2019 in fluvo-aquic soil in the North China Plain. The field experiment was carried out by a split design with rotary tillage (RT) and deep tillage (DT) in wheat season in the main plot and no-tillage (NT), subsoiling between the row (SBR), and subsoiling in the row (SIR) in maize season in the subplot. The results showed that the soil nutrient content was higher under the treatments with rotary tillage in the wheat season in the 0–20 cm soil layer, while in the 20–40 cm soil layer, the soil nutrient content was higher under the treatments with deep tillage in the wheat season. The integrated principal component scores indicated that the soil nutrients had improved in the second year. The ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) index was higher with the treatments with rotary tillage in wheat season in the 0–20 cm soil layer, while it was the highest under DT-SIR at 20–40 cm. Correlation analysis showed that the soil EMF index correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with the soil nutrient content mainly in the 0–40 cm soil layer. The higher maize yield was under the treatments with deep tillage compared to that under the treatments with rotary tillage in the wheat season. The yield-increasing effect was higher under the treatments with subsoiling than those utilizing no-till in the maize season, with the highest average yield of 13,910 kg hm⁻² in the DT-SIR during the three years. Maize yield was strongly correlated with nutrients in the subsoil layer. The higher yield stability was found under RT-NT. To sum up, during the three-year experiment, rotary tillage in the wheat season combined with subsoiling in the maize season improved the soil nutrient content and the EMF index in the 0–20 cm layer, while the combination of deep tillage in the wheat season and subsoiling in the maize season improved those indices in the 20–40 cm soil layer, and increased the maize yield, the best one was under DT-SIR.