Cropland provides the base for the rising food demand. Recent studies highlighted the more systematic cropland management from ecosystem services (ESs) perspective, rather than solely depending on the provisioning services. However, the driving mechanism of cropland related ESs has not been well understood, hindering the co-benefits of sustainable crop-management practices. Taking the world’s largest grain producer, China, as a study case, this work contributed to determine the dynamic changes and driving mechanism of cropland related ESs by integrating InVEST model, geographically weighted regression and partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). It was found that, from 2000 to 2020, the increased water purification (WP) was along with the decreased grain production (GP), soil retention (SR), carbon storage (CS) and water retention (WR) which mainly occurred in southern China. Aggregation of ESs were identified with strong spatial heterogeneity, while CS-WR and WR-WP almost showed persistent trade-offs. The direct effects of climate on WR and WP, vegetation on GP, terrain on SR and human activities on CS were found to be most significant. While the opposite effects of climate on GP during the study period were also observed. The positive effect of human activities on GP and WR was lessen by the indirect effect of terrain, highlighting the synergy management of interaction mechanisms among drivers. Finally, implications of these findings were discussed.

Xinjiang, one of China’s most water-scarce provinces, produces 25% of the world’s cotton. However, changes in water consumption of cotton production in Xinjiang under two climate change scenarios is unclear. This study considered three irrigation techniques (i.e., furrow, micro (drip) and sprinkler irrigation) and simulated the blue and green water footprints of cotton production in Xinjiang at a 5-arcmin grid level in response to climate change scenarios in the 2050s and 2090s. Taking the period 2000–2018 as the baseline, results showed that this footprint of cotton in Xinjiang for the baseline period was 4264 m³·t^–1, with blue water accounting for 83%. Under climate change scenarios, Xinjiang was predicted to have an increasing drought trend and intensifying pressure on water resources. Owing to increased CO₂ concentrations, the water footprint of cotton tended to decrease by 19.3% and 35.7% under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathway scenarios—SSP2-4.5, representing a moderate socioeconomic development path with lower emissions, and SSP5-8.5, indicating a scenario of high growth with higher emissions—respectively, for the 2090s. The blue water footprint was predicted to have an overall decrease. However, its proportion of the total would increase slightly, with the highest increase being 3.4%. The green water footprint was also predicted to have decreasing trend, with reductions of 33.7% (SSP2-4.5) and 47.2% (SSP5-8.5), respectively. Of the three irrigation techniques, sprinkler irrigation was predicted to have the greatest water conservation potential, with a reduction of up to 40.1%.

Intercropping has emerged as a pivotal strategy in modern ecological agriculture, significantly contributing to biodiversity enhancement, ecological system services and soil quality improvement. In light of global food security challenges and the scarcity of arable land, intercropping is anticipated to become increasingly important for enhancing farmland quality and ensuring food security in China. Current research primarily highlights the benefits of intercropping in improving farmland quality and crop productivity, with some attention also given to its role in promoting biodiversity and ecological system services. However, the mechanisms by which intercropping specifically enhances soil physical, chemical and biological properties to sustain long-term soil health and improve farmland quality require further investigation. This review examines the concept of sugarcane intercropping and its role in promoting soil health and enhancing ecological system services. It systematically synthesizes recent research findings on the effects of sugarcane intercropping on soil physical, chemical and biological properties in southern China. Additionally, this review outlines future research directions and priorities for developing intercropping systems that prioritize farmland quality improvement, aiming to provide insights into the broader value that intercropping in China’s strategies for farmland quality enhancement.

School feeding programs (SFPs) have been extensively implemented as a public policy investment aimed at fostering the development of children across various countries. This study evaluated the impact of the implementation of SFPs on the physical development of school-age children in rural China using a data set comprising over 400 thousand observations. It was found that participation in the Nutrition Improvement Program (NIP) in China promoted the development of height and weight of children in rural schools, and reduced the gap in growth between urban and rural schoolchildren. However, the physical examination performance of children in rural schools was better than that of children in urban schools, and this advantage is gradually expanding with the increase of participation time. This research provides insights for the development and evaluation of SFPs in African countries, including the importance of long-term program participation, targeted interventions to address regional disparities and the use of comprehensive evaluation measures such as physical examination performance. These results provide a framework for enhancing SFPs in Africa, supporting their role in addressing malnutrition, improving education outcomes and driving long-term socioeconomic development.

Rice is the staple food of nearly half the global population, and its production must steadily increase to meet the growing demand driven by an increasing global population. While an increase in rice production heavily relies on substantial water and fertilizer inputs, which not only decreases water and fertilizer use efficiencies, but also pose significant environmental risks. Therefore, it is an urgent need to enhance yield and resource use efficiency through the development and adoption of innovative, sustainable and environmentally-friendly technologies. This paper reviews progress in green rice production over recent decades based mainly on such research. Firstly, it explores physiological strategies aimed at enhancing yield and improving resource use efficiency in rice production. Secondly, it proposes three key agronomic and physiological strategies to achieve green rice production: optimizing the grain-leaf ratio to balance source-sink dynamics, enhancing the sugar-spikelet ratio to improve sink strength and facilitate non-structural carbohydrates remobilization during grain filling, and increasing ratio of productive tillers to optimize canopy structure. Based on these strategies, a quantitative evaluation of rice population characteristics was undertaken to achieve high yield and resource use efficiency. Thirdly, green technologies for rice production is introduced, including alternate wetting-drying irrigation, three-criteria nitrogen application (based on soil, leaf color and cultivar), and water-nitrogen coupling regulation. Finally, the implication of these technologies is summarized for the major rice-growing areas in China, including Anhui, Heilongjiang, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jilin and Sichuan, and Shanghai. The future prospects for sustainable rice production is then discussed, emphasizing the potential of green technologies to meet the growing demand for rice in an environmentally sustainable way.

Soil organic matter (SOM) is an important store of carbon and is vital to maintaining soil health. Growing crops generally causes a reduction in SOM. However, organic farming systems often adopt practices that partially mitigate this loss. Biodegradable plastic film mulch (PFM) can increase yields by improving soil hydrothermal conditions, increasing nitrogen use efficiency and suppressing weeds. It can also speed up SOM breakdown and induce changes to the soil microbiome. Further, the increased return of C from rhizodeposition and crop residues from PFM-grown crops can compensate for SOM breakdown, although outcomes vary substantially with agronomic and environmental conditions. To address these uncertainties, a plot-scale field experiment was conducted on an organic farm with a 3-year vegetable rotation measuring SOM content from treatments with and without biodegradable PFM, inputs of poultry manure or green waste compost, and with or without an overwinter green manure. Biodegradable PFM caused a significant increase in yield in all the crops grown (43%–46%) and the overwinter green manures (18%), resulting in more organic matter incorporated into the soil. Despite this, there was no significant difference in the SOM content between the biodegradable PFM- and non-PFM-mulched plots over the 3 years, nor was there any significant change in soil bacterial diversity. In contrast, the large difference in the mass of green waste compost and poultry manure addition resulted in a 15% increase in SOM after 3 years. Biodegradable PFM did not affect alpha (Shannon) or beta diversity of soil bacterial community.

In the face of rising food demand and declining wheat acreage, improving wheat yield and resource use efficiency will be key to sustainable wheat production. To address the challenge, this study proposed a framework for wheat green production, quantified the benefits of key technologies and technology models based on the framework in wheat yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and developed a new model for the promotion of technology. The framework included soil, root layer and canopy systems, where the adoption of single technologies based on the framework could increase wheat yield and NUE by improving soil fertility, managing soil nutrient supply and building high-yielding systems. Through combining specific single technologies, a year-round plastic film mulching model in dryland cropping, and an efficient nutrient and water management technique model for irrigated cropping were established, providing benefits in wheat yield and NUE. A multi-subject joint innovation technology model was also developed to serve as a bridge to transform agricultural technology into agricultural productivity. In the future, a sustainable increase in wheat production in China will require innovation in key technologies and technology models, the development of new technology promotion models, and the combined efforts of the whole community.

Amid climate change and food security challenges, transforming agricultural systems in middle- and low-income countries is crucial for carbon neutrality and sustainable development. China and Africa, responsible for 32% of global agricultural emissions, share agricultural similarities despite different development stages. China’s modernization efforts offer valuable insights for Africa, highlighting opportunities for increased Sino-African cooperation. This study, analyzing FAO data from 2000 to 2021, compares emission trends, sources, inputs, and mitigation policies in China and Africa. It reveals that Africa’s emissions remained consistently higher than China’s, which grew faster compared to Africa’s 40% increase. Notably, Africa shows regional disparities in emissions, with the highest increases in East and Central Africa (56% and 54%, respectively), while North and South Africa show slower growth. Structurally, China’s emissions have transitioned from production to pre- and post-production stages. Conversely, Africa’s emissions mainly stem from agricultural production (42%) and land-use changes (43%), emphasizing challenges in resource management and reliance on land expansion. The rapid growth of Africa’s pre- and post-production emissions highlights the supply chain’s growing role in emissions, with regional variations, such as livestock and rice cultivation driving emissions in East and West Africa, and land-use changes in Central Africa. China and Africa’s agricultural policies differ significantly. China adopts multi-objective policies promoting green, low-carbon development, whereas Africa focuses on short-term yield increases with heavy reliance on fertilizers, conflicting with low-carbon objectives. Learning from China could help Africa balance food security, income stability, and environmental sustainability, providing a pathway to achieve both food security and carbon reduction.

Mulching practices substantially affect soil CO₂ emissions from agricultural ecosystems. However, the impacts of mulching practices and their enduring effects on soil CO₂ fluxes in humid plantations have not been investigated. To address this research gap, a field experiment was conducted in a Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) plantation in a humid area of China to investigate the effects of various durations of straw mulching and its enduring effects on soil CO₂ fluxes and soil organic carbon (SOC). Straw mulching significantly increased the soil CO₂ flux by about 18 times relative to the control, mainly due to the increase in soil temperature during the mulching stage. During the period of enduing effect, straw mulching still significantly increased the soil CO₂ flux by 230%–270% relative to the control, primarily due to the enhancement of microbial activity resulting from improved soil nutrient contents, demonstrating that straw mulching had an enduring positive impact on soil CO₂ flux. Additionally, straw mulching significantly increased SOC by 27%–72% during the mulching and period of enduing effect. These results indicated that straw mulching in plantations in humid regions could be a potential carbon storage strategy by increasing soil carbon content.