No‐Till Legume Cover Crops Enhance Soil Carbon, Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Increase Yield in Dryland Wheat
A Global Meta‐Analysis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19236199 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Muhammad Adil (0000-0002-0051-5341, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University Yangzhou China, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Land Degradation and Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1085-3278 • E-ISSN: 1099-145X |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/ldr.70702 |
| OpenAlex | W7163339037 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 46 |
Global drylands, essential for wheat production, are increasingly threatened by climate change and conventional agricultural practices that degrade soil and intensify greenhouse gas emissions. This study presents the first global meta‐analysis quantifying the individual and combined effects of no‐till (NT), legume cover crops (LCC), and nonlegume cover crops (NLCC) in dryland winter wheat systems, with an explicit comparison of short‐term ( p p p p p 2 O) emissions by 16.2% ( p 4 ) emissions by 13.5% ( p 2 O by 6%, while CT + LCC increased SOC by 12.3% ( p 0.05). These benefits were strongly time‐dependent: under NT‐LCC, long‐term adoption increased SOC by 45.2% (compared to 28.5% for short‐term; p 0.001) and reduced N 2 O by 24% (compared to 16% for short‐term; p 0.01), with correspondingly greater improvements in WUE, NUE, and grain yield ( p 0.05). Environmental factors hierarchically controlled efficacy, with optimal results observed in fine‐textured soils receiving more than 600 mm annual precipitation. Structural equation modeling identified SOC as a key factor associated with improved resource efficiency and reduced emissions, while other edaphic and management factors also contributed significantly. Overall, NT‐LCC enables sustainable intensification and directly contributes to land degradation mitigation and soil restoration in vulnerable dryland agroecosystems, with its full potential realized through long‐term commitment in suitable agro‐ecological contexts
Agriculture · Cover crop · Crop yield · Greenhouse gas · Legume · Nitrous oxide · Soil carbon · Tillage · Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems · Climate change impacts on agriculture · Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |