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Optimized nitrogen management in diversified cropping systems can increase China’s maize and soybean production at lower environmental cost
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DOI：10.1016/j.resconrec.2026.109098.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Crop production is constrained by yield gaps and high environmental costs, yet it remains unclear whether diversified cropping systems (DCS) can consistently deliver benefits without optimized nitrogen (N) management. Here, we integrated a meta-analysis of 506 field experiments with spatial modeling to assess the effects of DCS and site-specific N management on maize and soybean yields and N surplus across China. Relative to conventional monocropping, DCS alone increased maize and soybean yields by 14.2% and 13.4%, respectively, but responses were spatially heterogeneous, with soybean yield declines occurring in 9.7–20.2% of locations. N management was identified as the dominant controllable driver of crop responses under DCS. When combined with optimized N management scenarios (S2–S4), maize yield potential increased by 24.9–31.3% and soybean yield potential by 14.1–23.9%, while maize N inputs and N surplus decreased by 56–63 and 45–59 kg N ha–1, respectively. The site-specific optimal scenario (S5) delivered the greatest overall benefits, increasing maize and soybean yields by 34.7% and 27.7%, respectively, while further reducing N inputs and N surplus and enabling global nitrogen fertilizer savings of approximately 0.8 Mt N. Overall, integrating DCS with site-specific N management provides a robust and spatially explicit pathway toward sustainable and efficient crop production.
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