Increasing soil organic carbon sequestration while closing the yield gap in Chinese wheat production

Abstract Managing soil organic carbon (SOC) to maximize crop yield is a vital strategy to feed the world's growing population. However, the low SOC contents in agricultural soils limits the maximization of wheat yield. Here, we used modeling and a long‐term field experiment to determine whether improved crop management (IM) and an integrated procedure that combined IM with manure application (IMsoil) would close the yield gap while increasing SOC sequestration during wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production in China. The yield of conventional farmers' practice (CM), operating with high fertilizer inputs, suboptimal management, and straw removal, was 5.3 Megagrams per hectare (Mg/ha), reaching 48% of yield potential (Yp, 11.0 Mg/ha) while reducing SOC sequestration during the year 2012–2019. The IM procedure with optimized density, planting dates, and nutrient management increased yield to 8.0 Mg/ha (i.e., 73% of Yp), and increased SOC sequestration. The IMsoil treatment further elevated wheat yield to 9.3 Mg/ha (i.e., 85% of Yp) by increasing spike number and pre‐anthesis dry matter accumulation. The SOC sequestration in the IMsoil increased by 15.4 Mg C/ha at a rate of 2.20 Mg C ha‐1 yr through large C inputs and high SOC transfer efficiencies compared with the beginning of this experiment. These results highlight the importance of combining optimized crop managements with soil amendment to close the yield gap with less fertilizer inputs while contributing to sustainable agriculture objectives.