IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v81y2018ip2p2695-2702.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Balancing straw returning and chemical fertilizers in China: Role of straw nutrient resources

Author

Listed:
  • Yin, Huajun
  • Zhao, Wenqiang
  • Li, Ting
  • Cheng, Xinying
  • Liu, Qing

Abstract

Currently, large-scale farmland degradation resulted from the overuse of chemical fertilizers has become a major issue in China. Meanwhile, a large sum of straw nutrient resources have been lost from the farmland due to the straw removal from fields, which in return aggravated the degradation in farmland quality and long-term productive capacity of soil resources. Whether current straw management practices represent rational utilization and how straw can be used more efficiently have become the most important but least studied problems for China's green agricultural development. Based on the China's Official Statistics, we first collected a large number of data on the annual crop yields, crop sown areas and chemical fertilizer consumption of different crop types in 31 China's mainland provinces from 1998 to 2014. Straw yields and straw nutrient resources were calculated to assess the potential contribution of straw resources to chemical fertilizers. Our estimation demonstrates that straw returning to farmlands could counterbalance all of the K2O, the majority of the P2O5, and a portion of the N in chemical fertilizers. Promoting the return of straw to field has a great potential to reduce the use of chemical fertilizer, air pollutant emission and environmental burden. Thus, we propose that the Chinese government should adjust the policies to take promoting straws returned to field as priority, instead of greatly encouraging straw removal from field. Innovative straw decomposing technologies and returning practices are also needed to assure China's green agricultural development and reduce environmental pollution in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Yin, Huajun & Zhao, Wenqiang & Li, Ting & Cheng, Xinying & Liu, Qing, 2018. "Balancing straw returning and chemical fertilizers in China: Role of straw nutrient resources," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2695-2702.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:81:y:2018:i:p2:p:2695-2702
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.06.076
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032117310158
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2017.06.076?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xuejun Liu & Ying Zhang & Wenxuan Han & Aohan Tang & Jianlin Shen & Zhenling Cui & Peter Vitousek & Jan Willem Erisman & Keith Goulding & Peter Christie & Andreas Fangmeier & Fusuo Zhang, 2013. "Enhanced nitrogen deposition over China," Nature, Nature, vol. 494(7438), pages 459-462, February.
    2. John Sheehan & Andy Aden & Keith Paustian & Kendrick Killian & John Brenner & Marie Walsh & Richard Nelson, 2003. "Energy and Environmental Aspects of Using Corn Stover for Fuel Ethanol," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 7(3‐4), pages 117-146, July.
    3. Wang, Xiaoyu & Yang, Lu & Steinberger, Yosef & Liu, Zuxin & Liao, Shuhua & Xie, Guanghui, 2013. "Field crop residue estimate and availability for biofuel production in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 864-875.
    4. Xin Zhang & Eric A. Davidson & Denise L. Mauzerall & Timothy D. Searchinger & Patrice Dumas & Ye Shen, 2015. "Managing nitrogen for sustainable development," Nature, Nature, vol. 528(7580), pages 51-59, December.
    5. Zeng, Xianyang & Ma, Yitai & Ma, Lirong, 2007. "Utilization of straw in biomass energy in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 11(5), pages 976-987, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Xiaoguang, 2016. "Economic potential of biomass supply from crop residues in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 141-149.
    2. Sun, Hui & Wang, Enzhen & Li, Xiang & Cui, Xian & Guo, Jianbin & Dong, Renjie, 2021. "Potential biomethane production from crop residues in China: Contributions to carbon neutrality," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    3. Guo, Xiaoxia & Zhu, Annah Lake & Zhu, Xueqin & An, Zhichao & Xu, Yan & Zhuang, Minghao & Wang, Chong & Zhang, Fusuo, 2024. "Promoting sustainable smallholder farming systems in China," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    4. Weishou Shen & Yaou Long & Zijian Qiu & Nan Gao & Yoko Masuda & Hideomi Itoh & Hirotomo Ohba & Yutaka Shiratori & Adharsh Rajasekar & Keishi Senoo, 2022. "Investigation of Rice Yields and Critical N Losses from Paddy Soil under Different N Fertilization Rates with Iron Application," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-16, July.
    5. Wu, Bo & Wang, Yan-Wei & Dai, Yong-Hua & Song, Chao & Zhu, Qi-Li & Qin, Han & Tan, Fu-Rong & Chen, Han-Cheng & Dai, Li-Chun & Hu, Guo-Quan & He, Ming-Xiong, 2021. "Current status and future prospective of bio-ethanol industry in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    6. Fan Fan & Bei Li & Weifeng Zhang & John R. Porter & Fusuo Zhang, 2021. "Evaluation of Sustainability of Irrigated Crops in Arid Regions, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, January.
    7. Jianxing Zhu & Yanlong Jia & Guirui Yu & Qiufeng Wang & Nianpeng He & Zhi Chen & Honglin He & Xianjin Zhu & Pan Li & Fusuo Zhang & Xuejun Liu & Keith Goulding & David Fowler & Peter Vitousek, 2025. "Changing patterns of global nitrogen deposition driven by socio-economic development," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.
    8. Wang, Hongzhang & Ren, Hao & Zhang, Lihua & Zhao, Yali & Liu, Yuee & He, Qijin & Li, Geng & Han, Kun & Zhang, Jiwang & Zhao, Bin & Ren, Baizhao & Liu, Peng, 2023. "A sustainable approach to narrowing the summer maize yield gap experienced by smallholders in the North China Plain," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    9. Liang Meng & Ahmed Alengebawy & Ping Ai & Keda Jin & Mengdi Chen & Yulong Pan, 2020. "Techno-Economic Assessment of Three Modes of Large-Scale Crop Residue Utilization Projects in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-19, July.
    10. Kang Luo & Yongjun Zeng & Ziming Wu & Lin Guo & Xiaobing Xie & Qinghua Shi & Xiaohua Pan, 2022. "Nutrient Utilization and Double Cropping Rice Yield Response to Dense Planting with a Decreased Nitrogen Rate in Two Different Ecological Regions of South China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-15, June.
    11. Zhuang, Minghao & Liu, Yize & Yang, Yi & Zhang, Qingsong & Ying, Hao & Yin, Yulong & Cui, Zhenling, 2022. "The sustainability of staple crops in China can be substantially improved through localized strategies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    12. Lyu, Yanfeng & Yang, Xiangdong & Ma, Xiaohan & Pan, Hengyu & Zhang, Xiaohong, 2023. "Promoting coordinated development of the fertilizer production-crop plantation combined system through an integrated approach," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 478(C).
    13. Wangzheng Shen & Liang Zhang & Emily A. Ury & Sisi Li & Biqing Xia & Nandita B. Basu, 2025. "Restoring small water bodies to improve lake and river water quality in China," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.
    14. Fang, Yan Ru & Wu, Yi & Xie, Guang Hui, 2019. "Crop residue utilizations and potential for bioethanol production in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1-1.
    15. Zhu, Wei & Qi, Lixia & Wang, Ruime, 2021. "Impact of Market Price Support Measures on Chemical Fertilizer Use in China," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 9(01), January.
    16. Danilo Arcentales-Bastidas & Carla Silva & Angel D. Ramirez, 2022. "The Environmental Profile of Ethanol Derived from Sugarcane in Ecuador: A Life Cycle Assessment Including the Effect of Cogeneration of Electricity in a Sugar Industrial Complex," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-24, July.
    17. Paul L. G. Vlek & Asia Khamzina & Hossein Azadi & Anik Bhaduri & Luna Bharati & Ademola Braimoh & Christopher Martius & Terry Sunderland & Fatemeh Taheri, 2017. "Trade-Offs in Multi-Purpose Land Use under Land Degradation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-19, November.
    18. Xin Nie & Jianxian Wu & Han Wang & Weijuan Li & Chengdao Huang & Lihua Li, 2022. "Contributing to carbon peak: Estimating the causal impact of eco‐industrial parks on low‐carbon development in China," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(4), pages 1578-1593, August.
    19. Khoo, Hsien H., 2015. "Review of bio-conversion pathways of lignocellulose-to-ethanol: Sustainability assessment based on land footprint projections," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 100-119.
    20. Zhongen Niu & Huimin Yan & Fang Liu, 2020. "Decreasing Cropping Intensity Dominated the Negative Trend of Cropland Productivity in Southern China in 2000–2015," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-14, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:81:y:2018:i:p2:p:2695-2702. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.