Abstract
Reconciling agricultural productivity with greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation remains a pivotal challenge for achieving climate-smart food systems. This study evaluates the capacity of legume-based crop rotations to balance economic viability, yield stability, and GHG reduction in the North China Plain. A two-year randomized complete block field experiment compared six cropping systems: conventional wheat–maize (WM) rotations and legume-integrated systems (wheat–soybean, WS; wheat–soybean–maize, WSM), under fertilized and unfertilized regimes. Results revealed that nitrogen fertilization increased cumulative N2O emissions and global warming potential (GWP), with seasonal peaks occurring post-fertilization. Legume systems enhanced CH4 uptake but showed no significant effect on N2O emissions compared to conventional systems. N2O fluxes correlated positively with soil moisture and soil temperature, while CH4 uptake increased with soil moisture alone. Soybean phases reduced short-term yields by 32–52% relative to the maize yield of conventional systems, but boosted subsequent wheat/maize productivity by 2–47% through hydraulic redistribution and N priming. The wheat–soybean rotation with 200 kg N ha−1 (WS200) achieved optimal sustainability, delivering the highest net profit (8061.56 USD ha−1) alongside a 9% reduction in global warming potential (3980.21 kg CO2-eq ha−1) versus conventional systems. These findings provide actionable insights for sustainable intensification in global cereal systems, demonstrating that strategic legume integration can advance both food security and climate goals.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Nitrogen fertilization increased cumulative N2O emissions and global warming potential.
- Treatment
- nitrogen fertilizatione1
- Outcome
- cumulative N2O emissions and global warming potentiale1
- Direction
- increasede1
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e1“nitrogen fertilization increased cumulative N2O emissions and global warming potential (GWP)”
Claim · model-written summary
Legume systems enhanced CH4 uptake compared with conventional systems.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e1“Legume systems enhanced CH4 uptake but showed no significant effect on N2O emissions compared to conventional systems”
Claim · model-written summary
Legume systems showed no significant effect on N2O emissions compared with conventional systems.
- Treatment
- Legume systemse1
- Outcome
- N2O emissionse1
- Direction
- no significant effecte1
- Comparator
- conventional systemse1
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e1“Legume systems enhanced CH4 uptake but showed no significant effect on N2O emissions compared to conventional systems”
Claim · model-written summary
N2O fluxes correlated positively with soil moisture and soil temperature.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e1“N2O fluxes correlated positively with soil moisture and soil temperature”
Claim · model-written summary
CH4 uptake increased with soil moisture alone.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e1“CH4 uptake increased with soil moisture alone”
Claim · model-written summary
Soybean phases reduced short-term yields by 32-52% relative to the maize yield of conventional systems.
- Taxon
- Soybean
Glycine maxe1 - Treatment
- Soybean phasese1
- Outcome
- short-term yieldse1
- Direction
- reducede1
- Value
- 32–52%e1
- Comparator
- the maize yield of conventional systemse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Soybean phases reduced short-term yields by 32–52% relative to the maize yield of conventional systems”
Claim · model-written summary
Soybean phases boosted subsequent wheat/maize productivity by 2-47%.
- Taxon
- wheat/maize
Triticum aestivum
Zea mayse1 - Treatment
- Soybean phasese1
- Outcome
- subsequent wheat/maize productivitye1
- Direction
- boostede1
- Value
- 2–47%e1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Soybean phases reduced short-term yields by 32–52% relative to the maize yield of conventional systems, but boosted subsequent wheat/maize productivity by 2–47% through hydraulic redistribution and N priming”
Claim · model-written summary
The boost in subsequent wheat/maize productivity after soybean phases is attributed to hydraulic redistribution and N priming.
- Taxon
- wheat/maizeTriticum aestivumZea mayse1
- Outcome
- subsequent wheat/maize productivitye1
- Qualifier
- hydraulic redistribution and N priminge1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“boosted subsequent wheat/maize productivity by 2–47% through hydraulic redistribution and N priming”
Claim · model-written summary
The wheat-soybean rotation with 200 kg N per ha (WS200) delivered the highest net profit (8061.56 USD per ha).
- Taxon
- wheat–soybeanGlycine maxTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- wheat–soybean rotation with 200 kg N ha−1 (WS200)e1
- Outcome
- net profite1
- Direction
- higheste1
- Value
- 8061.56 USD ha−1e1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“The wheat–soybean rotation with 200 kg N ha−1 (WS200) achieved optimal sustainability, delivering the highest net profit (8061.56 USD ha−1) alongside a 9% reduction in global warming potential (3980.21 kg CO2-eq ha−1) versus conventional systems”
Claim · model-written summary
The WS200 rotation reduced global warming potential by 9% (3980.21 kg CO2-eq per ha) versus conventional systems.
- Taxon
- wheat–soybeanGlycine maxTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- wheat–soybean rotation with 200 kg N ha−1 (WS200)e1
- Outcome
- global warming potentiale1
- Direction
- reductione1
- Value
- 9%e1
- Qualifier
- 3980.21 kg CO2-eq ha−1e1
- Comparator
- conventional systemse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“The wheat–soybean rotation with 200 kg N ha−1 (WS200) achieved optimal sustainability, delivering the highest net profit (8061.56 USD ha−1) alongside a 9% reduction in global warming potential (3980.21 kg CO2-eq ha−1) versus conventional systems”
Claim · model-written summary
Strategic legume integration can advance both food security and climate goals.
Verbatim
e1“strategic legume integration can advance both food security and climate goals”
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See all 29 papers →8 of 13 groups shown: named compounds and organisms first, then groups whose results differ (checked claim by claim), then those with positive and negative results, then the smaller groups.
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.