Abstract
Straw mulching is used widely to improve soil fertility in the black soil region of northeastern China, but there have been few evaluations of its effects on soil water content, N use by crops, and crop growth. Field experiments were conducted during two growing seasons in Jilin Province, to study the effects of straw mulching on maize yield, evapotranspiration (ET), water use efficiency (WUE), and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) under rainfed conditions. Measurements were conducted in a treatment with maize straw mulch on the soil surface (SM) and a control treatment with no mulch (NM). The SM treatment caused a significant decline of soil temperature and increase of soil moisture in the early growing season, compared to the NM treatment. However, the use of mulching reduced maize yields by 18% in 2011 and 26% in 2012. It also decreased WUE by 16% in 2011 and 21% in 2012, and decreased NUE by 27% in 2012, though it had no effect on total ET. Therefore, the use of mulch is not recommended as an approach for improving water and N use and maize yields, in the semi‐humid black soil region of northeastern China, when the water content of soil is sufficient for maize growth.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Straw mulch significantly lowered soil temperature in the early growing season.
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The SM treatment caused a significant decline of soil temperature and increase of soil moisture in the early growing season, compared to the NM treatment”
e1“maize straw mulch on the soil surface (SM)”
Claim · model-written summary
Straw mulch significantly increased soil moisture in the early growing season.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The SM treatment caused a significant decline of soil temperature and increase of soil moisture in the early growing season, compared to the NM treatment”
e1“maize straw mulch on the soil surface (SM)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching reduced maize yield by 18% in 2011.
- Treatment
- mulchinge0
- Outcome
- maize yieldse0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 18%e0
- Qualifier
- 2011e0
- Comparator
- no mulche1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the use of mulching reduced maize yields by 18% in 2011”
e1“a control treatment with no mulch (NM)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching reduced maize yield by 26% in 2012.
- Treatment
- mulchinge0
- Outcome
- maize yieldse0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 26%e0
- Qualifier
- 2012e0
- Comparator
- no mulche1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the use of mulching reduced maize yields by 18% in 2011 and 26% in 2012”
e1“a control treatment with no mulch (NM)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching decreased water use efficiency by 16% in 2011.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“decreased WUE by 16% in 2011 and 21% in 2012”
e1“the use of mulching”
e2“effects of straw mulching on maize yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching decreased water use efficiency by 21% in 2012.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“decreased WUE by 16% in 2011 and 21% in 2012”
e1“the use of mulching”
e2“effects of straw mulching on maize yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching decreased nitrogen use efficiency by 27% in 2012.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“decreased NUE by 27% in 2012”
e1“the use of mulching”
e2“effects of straw mulching on maize yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching had no effect on total evapotranspiration.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“it had no effect on total ET”
e1“the use of mulching”
e2“effects of straw mulching on maize yield”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors do not recommend mulch for improving water and nitrogen use and maize yields when soil water is sufficient in the semi-humid black soil region of northeastern China.
- Outcome
- use of mulch is not recommendede0
- Qualifier
- when the water content of soil is sufficient for maize growthe0
- Setting
- semi‐humid black soil region of northeastern Chinae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the use of mulch is not recommended as an approach for improving water and N use and maize yields, in the semi‐humid black soil region of northeastern China, when the water content of soil is sufficient for maize growth”
The same questions in other papers
mulching · nutrient: efficiency · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 11 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
9 papers more in this group
See all 13 papers →mulching · physiology: water · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
7 papers in the same direction as this paper · 108 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
112 papers more in this group
See all 116 papers →mulching · yield · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
33 papers in the same direction as this paper · 330 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
360 papers more in this group
See all 364 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.