Substituting nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer with optimal amount of crop straw improves rice grain yield, nutrient use efficiency and soil carbon sequestration

Crop straw return after harvest is considered an important way to achieve both agronomic and environmental benefits. However, the appropriate amount of straw to substitute for fertilizer remains unclear. A field experiment was performed from 2016 to 2018 to explore the effect of different amounts of straw to substitute for fertilizer on soil properties, soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, grain yield, yield components, nitrogen (N) use efficiency, phosphorus (P) use efficiency, N surplus, and P surplus after rice harvesting. Relative to mineral fertilization alone, straw substitution at 5 t ha−1 improved the number of spikelets per panicle, effective panicle, seed setting rate, 1000-grain weight, and grain yield, and also increased the aboveground N and P uptake in rice. Straw substitution exceeding 2.5 t ha−1 increased the soil available N, P, and K concentrations as compared with mineral fertilization, and different amounts of straw substitution improved SOC storage compared with mineral fertilization. Furthermore, straw substitution at 5 t ha−1 decreased the N surplus and P surplus by up to 68.3 and 28.9%, respectively, compared to mineral fertilization. Rice aboveground N and P uptake and soil properties together contributed 19.3% to the variation in rice grain yield and yield components. Straw substitution at 5 t ha−1, an optimal fertilization regime, improved soil properties, SOC storage, grain yield, yield components, N use efficiency (NUE), and P use efficiency (PUE) while simultaneously decreasing the risk of environmental contamination.