Affiliation:
1. College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
2. College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
3. State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Abstract
Due to containing an abundance of essential nutrients, straw has significant potential to mitigate carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) deficits in soil. However, a lack of comprehensive and systematic reviews on C, N, P, and K release and conversion from straw and on the impact of available nutrients in soils supplemented using straw-returning (SR) practices is noticeable in the literature. Therefore, we investigated straw decomposition, its nutrient release characteristics, and the subsequent fate of nutrients in soils. At early stages, straw decomposes rapidly and then gradually slows down at later stages. Nutrient release rates are generally in the K > P > C > N order. Nutrient fate encompasses fractions mineralized to inorganic nutrients, portions which supplement soil organic matter (SOM) pools, and other portions which are lost via leaching and gas volatilization. In future research, efforts should be made to quantitatively track straw nutrient release and fate and also examine the potential impact of coordinated supply-and-demand interactions between straw nutrients and plants. This review will provide a more systematic understanding of SR’s effectiveness in agriculture.
Funder
The National Key Research and Development Program of China
The Province Key Research and Development Program of Jiangsu, China