Incorporation of crop residues into the soil has been widely recommended as an effective method to sustain soil fertility and improve soil carbon sequestration in arable lands. However, it may lead to an increase in the emission of nitrous oxide (N₂O) and leaching of nitrate (NO₃⁻) to groundwater due to higher nitrogen (N) availability after crop residue incorporation. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis based on 345 observations from 90 peer-reviewed studies to evaluate the effects of crop residue return on soil N₂O emissions and NO₃⁻ leaching for different locations, climatic and soil conditions, and agricultural management strategies. On average, crop residue incorporation significantly stimulated N₂O emissions by 29.7%, but decreased NO₃⁻ leaching by 14.4%. The increase in N₂O emissions was negatively and significantly correlated with mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation, and with the most significant changes occurring in the temperate climate zone. Crop residues stimulated N₂O emission mainly in soils with pH ranging between 5.5 and 6.5, or above 7.5 in soils with low clay content. In addition, crop residue application decreased NO₃⁻ leaching significantly in soils with sandy loam, silty clay loam, and silt loam textures. Our analysis reveals that an appropriate crop residue management adapted to the site-specific soil and environmental conditions is critical for increasing soil organic carbon stocks and decreasing nitrogen losses. The most important novel finding is that residue return, despite stimulation of N₂O emissions, is particularly effective in reducing NO₃⁻ leaching in soils with loamy texture, which are generally among the most productive arable soils.

将作物残留物掺入土壤已被广泛推荐为维持土壤肥力和改善耕地土壤碳固存的有效方法。然而，由于在作物残留物掺入后更高的氮 (N) 可用性，这可能会导致一氧化二氮 (N ₂ O)排放和硝酸盐 (NO ₃ ^- ) 向地下水的排放增加。在这里，我们根据来自 90 项同行评审研究的 345 项观察结果进行了荟萃分析，以评估作物残留物回收对不同地点、气候和土壤条件以及农业管理策略的土壤 N ₂ O 排放和 NO ₃ ⁻浸出的影响. 平均而言，作物残留物掺入显着刺激了 N₂ O 排放量减少了 29.7%，但 NO ₃ ^-浸出量减少了 14.4%。N ₂ O排放量的增加与年平均气温和年平均降水量呈显着负相关，变化最显着的是温带气候区。作物残留物刺激了 N ₂ O 排放，主要是在 pH 值介于 5.5 和 6.5 之间的土壤中，或在低粘土含量的土壤中高于 7.5。此外，作物残留物施用减少了 NO ₃ ^-在具有砂质壤土、粉砂质粘壤土和粉砂壤土质地的土壤中浸出显着。我们的分析表明，适应特定地点土壤和环境条件的适当作物残留管理对于增加土壤有机碳储量和减少氮损失至关重要。最重要的新发现是，尽管刺激了 N ₂ O 排放，但残留物返回对于减少具有壤土质地的土壤中的NO ₃ ^-浸出特别有效，这些土壤通常是生产力最高的可耕土壤之一。