Due to the fact that silicon (Si) increases the resistance of plants against diverse abiotic and biotic stresses, Si nowadays is categorized as beneficial substance for plants. However, humans directly influence Si cycling on a global scale. Intensified agriculture and corresponding harvest-related Si exports lead to Si losses in agricultural soils. This anthropogenic desilication might be a big challenge for modern agriculture. However, there is still only little knowledge about Si cycling in agricultural systems of the temperate zone, because most studies focus on rice and sugarcane production in (sub)tropical areas. Furthermore, many studies are performed for a short term only, and thus do not provide the opportunity to analyze slow changes in soil–plant systems (e.g., desilication) over long periods. We analyzed soil and plant samples from an ongoing long-term field experiment (established 1963) in the temperate zone (NE Germany) to evaluate the effects of different nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) fertilization rates and crop straw recycling (i.e., straw incorporation) on anthropogenic desilication in the long term. Our results clearly show that crop straw recycling not only prevents anthropogenic desilication (about 43–60% of Si exports can be saved by crop straw recycling in the long term), but also replenishes plant available Si stocks of agricultural soil–plant systems. Furthermore, we found that a reduction of N fertilization rates of about 69% is possible without considerable biomass losses. This economy of the need for N fertilizers potentially can be combined with the benefits of crop straw recycling, i.e., enhancement of carbon sequestration via straw inputs and prevention of anthropogenic desilication of agricultural soil–plant systems. Thus crop straw recycling might have the potential to act as key management practice in sustainable, low fertilization agriculture in the temperate zone in the future.

由于硅（Si）可以增加植物对各种非生物和生物胁迫的抵抗力，因此如今的Si被归类为对植物有益的物质。然而，人类直接影响着全球范围内的硅循环。农业集约化和相应的与收获有关的硅出口导致农业土壤中的硅损失。这种人为的去硅化对现代农业可能是一个巨大的挑战。但是，关于温带地区农业系统中硅的循环利用的知识仍然很少，因为大多数研究都集中在（亚）热带地区的稻米和甘蔗生产上。此外，许多研究仅在短期内进行，因此没有提供机会分析长期的土壤-植物系统缓慢变化（例如干旱）。我们分析了来自温带地区（德国东北部）正在进行的长期田间试验（成立于1963年）的土壤和植物样本，以评估不同氮磷钾钾（NPK）施肥速率和农作物秸秆回收（即秸秆）的影响长期而言）。我们的结果清楚地表明，农作物秸秆的回收利用不仅可以防止人为破坏（长期来看，硅秸秆的回收可以节省约43-60％的硅出口），而且还可以补充农业土壤-植物系统中可利用的硅资源。此外，我们发现在不造成大量生物量损失的情况下，可以将氮肥的施肥率降低约69％。这种对氮肥需求的节约可能会与农作物秸秆回收的好处相结合，即 通过秸秆输入促进固碳，并防止农业土壤-植物系统的人为破坏。因此，未来在温带地区，农作物秸秆的回收利用可能会成为可持续，低肥力农业中关键管理实践的潜力。