Ratoon rice monoculture system (RR) is a labor-efficient and high-yielding cropping system in southern China. The rice–duck coculture system has been increasingly recognized as a mutually beneficial agricultural practice. However, the environmental impacts, economic performance, and sustainability of transitioning from a RR monoculture to a ratoon rice–duck system (RR-D) coculture remain unclear. A three-year (2022–2024) field experiment with three replications was therefore conducted in the Jianghan Plain, China (29°41′ N, 112°25′ E), to compare greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, economic benefits, and emergy-based sustainability indicators between the RR and RR-D systems at a significant level of p < 0.05. The results showed that the RR-D significantly reduced CH4 emissions by 25.7–39.5% but increased N2O emissions by 18.7–122.2%. The average global warming potential (GWP) and GHG intensity decreased by 27.8% and 30.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, RR-D increased economic benefits by 131.0–167.1%, but lowered the unit emergy value per economic benefit (UEVBenefits), renewable emergy ratio (%R), emergy yield ratio (EYR), and emergy sustainability index (ESI), and increased the environmental loading ratio (ELR). Overall, RR-D may improve economic returns and GHG mitigation, but its emergy-based sustainability requires optimization of feed, labor, and duck stocking density.

In southern China, Chinese milk vetch is used as green manure to substitute for inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizers and improve soil fertility, but how different incorporation methods affect its decomposition and underlying microbial mechanisms is unclear. This study used four fertilization regimes (CK: no N; CF: sole chemical N; CM: sole vetch; CMCF: vetch + 40% reduced N) to evaluate bacterial diversity, community composition and life history strategies during early vetch decomposition, and the nylon bag method to compare decomposition and C/N release dynamics. The results show that vetch dry matter decomposition reached 81.9-85.2% in 34 days, slowing to 11.8-14.4% after 192 days. CMCF significantly accelerated early decomposition and N release compared with CM. While CMCF reduced the bacterial Ace and Chao indices compared to CK with similar community structure, CF/CM exhibited distinct community structures. Compared to CM, CMCF increased r-strategy bacteria (e.g., Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota) and decreased K-strategy ones (e.g., Chloroflexi). Furthermore, decomposition rate positively correlated with r-strategy and negatively with K-strategy bacteria, with soil temperature as the primary driver. Compared to CMCF, CM reduced bacterial network complexity, decreasing nodes by 63.6% and average degree by 68.5%. In conclusion, combining vetch with chemical N enhances vetch residue decomposition while preserving microbial network structure and functional diversity.

CONTEXT Intensive conventional rice cropping systems in Central China ensure regional food security but face problems of excessive resource use and high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, threatening ecological sustainability. OBJECTIVE To systematically evaluate the sustainability of dominant rice-based cropping systems and identify optimal ones balancing profitability and ecological protection. METHODS A two-year field experiment (2020−2022) was conducted to assess four rice-based systems (RW, rice–wheat rotation; RR, rice–rapeseed rotation; RF, rice–winter fallow; Rr, ratoon rice rotation) using six key indicators; composite scores were calculated via principal component analysis (PCA). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The Rr system delivered the second-highest absolute GWP but achieved the highest annual economic benefits and carbon production efficiency driven by high yields and revenue; RW had the highest total GHG emissions. PCA showed Rr and RR ranked top, with Rr realizing a triple win of lifting farmer income, lowering yield-scaled carbon footprint, and strengthening agroecosystem resilience. SIGNIFICANCE Promoting Rr and RR systems can advance sustainable rice intensification in Central China.

Purpuse Soil aggregates of varying particle sizes create distinct microhabitats due to differences in matrix and pore structure, which are regarded as biochemical reactors for nitrous oxide (N2O). The integrated rice–crayfish (RC) system represents an ecological approach to rice farming. However, limited research has investigated the effects of RC farming on N2O emissions, particularly concerning different soil aggregate levels. Methods This study explored the differences in N2O emissions from soil aggregate between RC and rice monoculture (RM) systems in a fluvo-aquic soils under a 8-year field experiment. A 40-day laboratory incubation was performed at 25◦C, and N2O emissions were measured among three aggregate fraction (> 2 mm, 0.25–2 mm, < 0.25 mm) and two soil depths (topsoil: 0–20 cm, subsoil: 20–40 cm). Results The results show that RC significantly increased N2O emissions, particularly in > 2 mm fraction in the topsoil. When considering cumulative N2O emissions across all aggregate size fractions, potential cumulative N2O emissions in the topsoil under RC were 4.38 times higher than RM, while no significant difference was observed in the subsoil. The temporal analysis revealed that topsoil N2O emissions were more balanced across the first three periods (1–4, 4–10, and 10–20 d), whereas subsoil emissions peaked in the period 2 (4–10 d), accounting for 67.6

Climate change is expected to reshape agroclimatic conditions and intensify extreme weather risks in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB), with major implications for wheat production in rice–wheat systems. Here, we evaluated 27 CMIP6 global climate models against observed climate records from 1980 to 2014 and selected three high-performing models to project future climate conditions under SSP245 and SSP585 scenarios. Downscaled climate projections and agroclimatic indices were used to drive an enhanced APSIM-Wheat model incorporating waterlogging stress effects on phenology and photosynthesis. Results indicate basin-wide warming of 2.1–2.8 °C by the 2050s (2031–2070), accompanied by substantial increases in growing degree days, high-temperature days, heatwave days, consecutive wet days, and heavy rainfall events. Future hydroclimatic changes are projected to intensify waterlogging risk, particularly in the middle and lower reaches of the basin, including Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangsu. Simulated wheat yields declined substantially when waterlogging stress was considered, with basin-average losses increasing from 6.9% under the historical baseline to 10.8% under SSP585 by the 2050s. Uncertainty analysis showed that representation of waterlogging stress dominated uncertainty in projected yield levels, whereas emission scenarios explained most uncertainty in projected yield changes. These findings highlight the importance of explicitly representing waterlogging processes in crop–climate impact assessments and developing region-specific adaptation strategies.

Introduction:Chinese milk vetch (vetch) is a promising winter cover crop that can reduce dependence on fertilizers and enhance crop productivity in southern China. However, its impact on soil microbial communities, soil quality, and rice yield, particularly when comparing the incorporation of green manure residue to mowing, remains insufficiently explored. Methods:To address this gap, an 12-year field experiment was conducted in the Dongting Lake Plain, comparing three vetch management strategies under double-rice cropping system: winter fallow (CK), vetch rotation with residue incorporation (CMI), and vetch rotation with residue mowing (CMR). The soil quality index (SQI) was calculated based on abiotic [e.g., soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N)] and biotic [e.g., bacterial abundance, abundance-based coverage (ACE), Chao 1] factors. Results and discussion:Results indicated that both the vetch management strategies significantly improved rice yield. Compared to CK, CMI and CMR enhanced early, late, and annual rice yields by 6.22%-10.77%, 7.50%-13.49%, and 7.03%-12.40%, respectively. Additionally, CMI improved soil redox potential, alkali-hydrolyzale nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and NO3-N, while CMR enhanced soil SOC, TN, NO3-N levels. Both CMI and CMR resulted in increases in the bacterial ACE index by 2.43%-2.53% and the Chao1 index by 0.92%-2.88% (P < 0.05). Furthermore, CMI reduced the Shannon index by 1.17% but increased the Simpson index by 19.35%, while CMR increased the Shannon index by 1.73% and elevated the Simpson index by 19.35% (P < 0.05). Principal component analysis indicated distinct bacterial community structures between CK and CMR. The dominant bacterial phyla included Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Nitrospirae, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria. Notably, CMR exhibited lower relative abundances of Proteobacteria, Nitrospirae, and Acidobacteria compared to CMI. Compared to CK, CMI increased SQI by 6.92%, while CMR showed more modest improvements in soil quality. Moreover, a strong positive correlation between rice yield and SQI further confirmed the beneficial effect of vetch rotation on soil fertility. These findings underscore the potential of vetch rotation, particularly through vetch incorporation, to enhance soil quality and rice productivity, thereby offering valuable insights for sustainable agricultural practices.

Rising temperatures, extreme precipitation events such as excessive or insufficient rainfall, increasing levels of carbon dioxide, and associated climatic factors will persistently impact crop growth and agricultural production. The warming temperatures have reduced the agricultural crop yields. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the major food crop, which is particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change. It is very important to accurately evaluate the impacts of climate change on rice growth and rice yield. In this study, the rice growth during 1981-2018 (baseline period) and 2041-2100 (future period) were separately simulated and compared within the CERES-Rice model (v4.6) using high-quality weather data, soil, and field experimental data at six agro-meteorological stations in Hainan Province. For the climate data of the future period, the SSP1-2.6, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 scenarios were applied, with carbon dioxide (CO2) fertilization effects considered. The adaptation strategies such as adjusting planting dates and switching rice cultivars were also assessed. The simulation results indicated that the early rice yields in the 2050s, 2070s, and 2090s were projected to decrease by 6.2%, 11.8%, and 20.0% when the CO2 fertilization effect was not considered, compared with the results of the baseline period, respectively, while late rice yields would decline by 9.9%, 23.4%, and 36.3% correspondingly. When accounting for the CO2 fertilization effect, the yields of early rice and late rice in the 2090s increased 16.9% and 6.2%, respectively. Regarding adaptation measures, adjusting planting dates and switching rice cultivars could increase early rice yields by 22.7% and 43.3%, respectively, while increasing late rice yields by 20.2% and 34.2% correspondingly. This study holds substantial scientific importance for elucidating the mechanistic pathways through which climate change influences rice productivity in tropical agro-ecosystems, and provides a critical foundation for formulating evidence-based adaptation strategies to mitigate climate-related risks in a timely manner. Cultivar substitution and temporal shifts in planting dates constituted two adaptation strategies for attenuating the adverse impacts of anthropogenic climate change on rice.

The rice-crayfish (RC) integrated farming system has been recognized for improving spatial efficiency, diversifying food chains, and enhancing biodiversity. However, the long-term impacts of RC co-culture on soil organic carbon stock (SOCS), total nitrogen stock (TNS) and soil quality index (SQI), across different soil depths remain poorly understood. Here, we conducted an 8-year field study in the Jianghan Plain, comparing the SOCS and SQI in the topsoil (0–20 cm) and subsoil (20–40 cm) of rice monoculture (RM) and the RC system. Our findings indicate that the RC system increased SQI by 38.6

Rice and Azolla co-cultivation, an ancient rice cropping pattern in China, is a promising nature-based solution for reducing CH4 emissions while maintaining high yields. However, the reduction potential and underlying mechanisms remain unclear when considering water management and N2O emissions. This study investigated the comprehensive effects of rice and Azolla co-cultivation on both CH4 and N2O emissions through their influence on soil physicochemical properties, enzymes, and related functional genes, using a series of pot experiments with three irrigation regimes (AWD, 2 cm, and 5 cm flooding depth). Rice and Azolla co-cultivation reduced CH4 emissions by 2.9 %-13.2 % across all irrigation regimes, with the most significant reductions observed at 2 cm and 5 cm flooding depths. Higher water depths were associated with higher CH4 emissions. This reduction can be clearly attributed to the decrease in the abundance of mcrA, mcrA/pmoA, and beta-1,4-glucanase, as well as the increase in the abundance of pmoA, Eh, and DO. Meanwhile, rice and Azolla co-cultivation had a reduction of N2O emission by 1.7 %-8.6 %. Compared to AWD, 2 cm and 5 cm irrigation regimes greatly reduced N2O emissions by 22.0 %-26.5 % and 35.2 %-39.7 %, respectively. It was observed that rice and Azolla cocultivation decreased the abundance of AOA, AOB, nirS, protease, and nitrite reductase, while enhancing the abundance of nosZ and denitrification enzyme. Additionally, rice and Azolla co-cultivation enhanced the rice yield by 6.2 %-8.3 % under all irrigation regimes. Results confirmed rice and Azolla co-cultivation as a naturebased solution for low-carbon and high-yield rice planting, especially under 5 cm irrigation regime.

Ratoon rice is a planting system that efficiently utilizes temperature and light resources. However, multiple fertilization applications are typically required to maintain stable rice yields. Improper fertilization not only poses challenges to scarce labor resources but also increases carbon footprints (CFs). Research on the effects of different fertilization strategies on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yield, CF, and ecosystem net economic benefits (NEEBs) in ratoon rice systems remains limited. A two-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of one conventional fertilization strategy and four optimized fertilization strategies on GHG emissions, yield, CF, and NEEBs in the ratoon rice system. The conventional fertilization strategy applied urea in five splits (FFP, 280 kg N·ha−1). The optimized strategies included (1) one-time side deep application controlled-release fertilizer (CRF, 280 kg N·ha−1); (2) CRF with 20% N replaced by organic fertilizer (OF + CRF1); (3) the same as (2) with a 10% N reduction (OF + CRF2, 252 kg N·ha−1); and (4) the same as (2) with a 20% N reduction (OF + CRF3, 224 kg N·ha−1). The results showed that compared with FFP, optimized fertilization treatments reduced CH4 and N2O emissions by 28.69% to 55.27% and 25.08% to 40.32%, respectively. They also increased the annual rice yields by 2.22% to 19.52% (except OF + CRF3). Optimizing fertilization treatments reduced annual CF, CFY, and CFEC by 26.66% to 49.59%, 34.11% to 51.12%, and 25.35% to 41.47%, respectively. These treatments also increased NEEBs by 8.27% to 34.23%. Among them, OF + CRF1 and OF + CRF2 treatments achieved the highest NEEB. In summary, CRF treatments can balance ratoon rice yield and environmental benefits. Replacing part of the N with organic fertilizer further enhances annual yield and NEEBs.

Water regime and fertilization are key factors regulating rice yield and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in paddy soils. However, the knowledge of the interaction effect of irrigation regime and green manure application on GHG emissions is still lacking. This study was carried out across three incorporation rates (0 %, 25 %, 75 % of urea-N) of Chinese milk vetch ( Astragalus sinicus L., CMV), a widely used green manure, under three irrigation regimes (alternate wet and dry (AWD), flooding with 2 cm and 5 cm water depth, respectively). Results showed that water management, fertilizer regime and their interaction affected GHG emissions and grain yields significantly. CH4 emissions increased with water depth and CMV substitution ratio, while N2O emissions showed the opposite. The lowest global warming potential of CH4 and N2O was observed in 25 % CMV under AWD condition. Moreover, the 25 % CMV treatments had higher rice yields and lower GHGI under different water management. In the labile decomposition, the rates of C and N mineralization decreased with increasing water depth. Treatments with 25 % CMV had higher C and N mineralization rates. In summary, 25 % CMV substitution ratio has the highest potential to mitigate GHG emissions under AWD condition.

Light, as an energy source and environmental signal, can significantly impact plant growth, development, and metabolism. This study explored three aspects of light environment, including light quality (different red and blue combination), intensity (9-90 mu mol/m2/s), and photoperiod (4-20 h/d) to identify and utilize the optimal light conditions for promoting morphogenesis and the accumulation of phenolic compounds in pea (Pisum sativum L.) sprouts of variety Taiwanxiaobaihua. The results showed that dark conditions and red light promoted the longitudinal growth of pea sprouts, while blue light had an inhibitory effect. The appropriate ratio of red and blue light could positively affect the morphological establishment of pea sprouts, promoting the accumulation of total phenolic and total flavonoid contents and improving the antioxidant properties. Within a certain light range, the total flavonoid content and total flavonoid yield of pea sprouts showed an increasing trend with the light intensity increase and the photoperiod extension. Precise estimation of optimal light parameters was achieved using regression models, the total flavonoid content, total flavonoid yield, and dry matter mass of pea sprouts reached an optimal amount at red/blue light ratios of 0.33, 0.46, and 0.71, at 105.86, 90.00, and 9.00 mu mol/m2/s of light intensity and at 32.33, 23.28 and 8.23 h/d of photoperiod, respectively. Specifically, increasing dry matter mass by 1 mg decrease in total flavonoid content by 0.78 mg in pea sprouts under these conditions. The scientifically guided light regulation technologies can improve the yield and quality of sprouts and provide a scientific basis for the sustainable development of the sprout industry.

The use of oilseed rape (OS, Brassica napus L.) as a winter green manure is crucial for enhancing soil fertility and reducing chemical N application in paddy fields. However, the impacts of replacing varying amounts of chemical N with OS on CH4 and N2O emissions in paddy soils have not been well evaluated. In this study, GHG emissions, soil properties and OS decomposition in a rice-ratooning system with different OS-urea N replacement rates (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) were investigated. Our results indicate that 84.7–90.7% of the initial C and 97.5–98.4% of the N were released during the 192-day decomposition process, and that the mineralization patterns of net C and net N in the OS residue were consistent with a single exponential decay model. The lowest CH4 emissions (9.97 g m−2) were observed at 0% OS, while the highest N2O emissions (0.40 g m−2) were observed at this level of substitution. Conversely, the highest CH4 emissions (20.71 g m−2) and lowest N2O emissions (0.07 g m−2) were observed at 100% OS. Compared to 0% substitution, 25% substitution significantly decreased GWP and GHGI without reducing rice grain yield. Environmental parameters such as soil redox, NH4+-N and residual N and C were shown to be significantly associated with CH4 emissions, whereas soil redox, NH4+-N and residual C were the main drivers of N2O emissions. In conclusion, 25% substitution of OS was the most cost-effective measure for balancing greenhouse gas emission and rice yield.

Livestock manure is widely used for soil fertility improvement and land restoration in intensive cropping systems. However, annual carbon emission (CE) of intensified double cropping systems under manure application and limited irrigation has rarely been evaluated. Here, a 3-year field experiment was conducted to assess the effects of manure application (no fertilizer, F0; 100% chemical fertilizer N, Fc; 50% chemical N + 50% manure N, Fc+m; and 100% manure N, Fm) and irrigation (without irrigation, W0; and with irrigation at wheat jointing stage, W1) on global warming potential (GWP) and CE in the North China Plain. The results show that soil CO2 emission contributed the main parts of total GWP and CE (i.e., 97.7% and 81.5%) under water-limited conditions. The irrigation regime W0 increased annual GWP by 21.9% and 11.1% in 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 than W1 (p < 0.05), respectively. The annual GWP and area-scaled CE (CEA) were both increased by manure application in 2015-2018 compared with Fc. Notably, the CEA of Fc+m and Fm was 17.0-34.9% higher (p < 0.05) than that of F0 in 2015-2018. The irrigation regime W1 reduced annual yield-scaled CE (CEY) by 8.6-18.2% than W0 due to increased annual grain yield. In contrast, manure application greatly increased annual CEA but had no impact on CEY compared to F0. The structural equation model (SEM) analysis indicated that CO2 emission is the main driver of CEY. In conclusion, the combined application of manure and chemical fertilizer, along with one additional irrigation, resulted in decreased CE and CEY when compared to manure alone. This implies that effective manure and irrigation management is essential for sustainable crop production, and innovative practices are desirable for climate mitigation under livestock manure application in agroecosystems.

Legume-based crop diversification is recommended to enhancing yields as well as agroecosystem functions and services. However, the effect of legume inclusion with optimal nitrogen (N) fertilization on subsequent crop yield and soil quality remains incomplete. Herein, a 5-year field experiment was carried out to explore the effect of two cropping systems (wheat-soybean vs. wheat-maize rotation) and three N fertilization rates (0, 120, and 240 kg N ha-1) on winter wheat yield and soil quality in the North China Plain. Our findings revealed that the yield benefits of soybean inclusion on subsequent wheat became more pronounced with longer rotation cycles, particularly under low N fertilization. After five years, soybean inclusion increased the subsequent wheat yield by 213 % under 0 N fertilization and 49 % under 120 kg N ha-1, compared to wheat-maize rotation. Further, the benefits of increased wheat yield associated with soybean-based rotation were compromised by high N fertilization, but with a reduced annual N input in contrast to wheat-maize. Additionally, soybean inclusion along with 0 N notably improved the subsequent wheat yield stability by 25 %, which may be attributed to soybean N fixation. Alternatively, soybean inclusion with medium N fertilization enhanced soil organic carbon (7.5 %), dissolved organic carbon (6.4 %), total N (5.4 %), and total dissolved N (30.2 %) in the topsoil versus wheatmaize rotation. Consequently, soybean inclusion with medium N fertilization increased the soil quality index by 0.8 times in the topsoil, which was attributed to the enhanced soil nutrient cycling by accelerated microbial activities and biomass as demonstrated by partial least squares path modeling analysis. In conclusion, integrating soybean-based rotation with optimal N fertilization benefits crop production and soil quality, which serves as a sustainable practice, particularly under a low-input agroecosystem.

The North China Plain (NCP) serves as a crucial production base for wheat and maize in China. However, the intensive winter wheat-summer maize (WM) cropping system has also led to high carbon emissions. It is imperative to optimize crop rotations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while ensuring food security. Thus, we conducted a 6-year field experiment in the NCP to evaluate the productivity, carbon footprint (CF), and sustainability of the five rotation systems. These included four 2-year rotation systems: spring maize → WM (WMME), spring millet → WM (WMML), spring peanut → WM (WMMP), and spring soybean→ WM (WMMS), with WM serving as the control. Our results indicated that the 2-year rotation systems significantly reduced GHG emissions and improved agricultural sustainability. Wheat yield following the spring crops was 38.6%–47.5% higher than that following summer maize. The energy use efficiency, energy productivity, maize economic equivalent yield (MEEY), and net income in WMMP were higher by 9.7%, 51.8%, 4.4%, and 15.5%, respectively, compared to WM. This was mainly attributed to the high yield, price, energy equivalent coefficient, and pre-crop effect of spring peanut. The reduction of N and electricity inputs in the 2-year rotation systems reduced on-farm N2O emissions and indirect emissions by 39.0%–56.2% and 41.9%–42.9%, respectively, thus lowering CF per unit area by 25.7%–36.6% compared with WM. WMMP demonstrated a 38.2% reduction in CF per kg MEEY, 16.1% reduction in CF per unit net energy, and 44.1% reduction in CF per unit net income, while increasing the sustainable evaluation index by 42.9% compared to WM. In conclusion, the 2-year rotation systems can reduce carbon footprint and improve agricultural sustainability in the NCP, among which the introduction of spring peanut into winter wheat-summer maize rotation can simultaneously enhance system productivity.

Extreme weather events threaten food security, yet global assessments of impacts caused by crop waterlogging are rare. Here we first develop a paradigm that distils common stress patterns across environments, genotypes and climate horizons. Second, we embed improved process-based understanding into a farming systems model to discern changes in global crop waterlogging under future climates. Third, we develop avenues for adapting cropping systems to waterlogging contextualised by environment. We find that yield penalties caused by waterlogging increase from 3-11% historically to 10-20% by 2080, with penalties reflecting a trade-off between the duration of waterlogging and the timing of waterlogging relative to crop stage. We document greater potential for waterlogging-tolerant genotypes in environments with longer temperate growing seasons (e.g., UK, France, Russia, China), compared with environments with higher annualised ratios of evapotranspiration to precipitation (e.g., Australia). Under future climates, altering sowing time and adoption of waterlogging-tolerant genotypes reduces yield penalties by 18%, while earlier sowing of winter genotypes alleviates waterlogging by 8%. We highlight the serendipitous outcome wherein waterlogging stress patterns under present conditions are likely to be similar to those in the future, suggesting that adaptations for future climates could be designed using stress patterns realised today.

Societal Impact Statement Despite comprising a small proportion of global agricultural land use, irrigated agriculture is enormously important to the global agricultural economy. Burgeoning food demand driven by population growth—together with reduced food supply caused by the climate crisis—is polarising the existing tension between water used for agricultural production versus that required for environmental conservation. We show that sustainable intensification via more diverse crop rotations, more efficient water application infrastructure and greater farm area under irrigation is conducive to greater farm business profitability under future climates. Summary Research aimed at improving crop productivity often does not account for the complexity of real farms underpinned by land‐use changes in space and time. Here, we demonstrate how a new framework— WaterCan Profit —can be used to elicit such complexity using an irrigated case study farm with four whole‐farm adaptation scenarios ( Baseline , Diversified , Intensified and Simplified ) with four types of irrigated infrastructure ( Gravity , Pipe & Riser , Pivot and Drip ). Without adaptation, the climate crisis detrimentally impacted on farm profitability due to the combination of increased evaporative demand and increased drought frequency. Whole‐farm intensification—via greater irrigated land use, incorporation of rice, cotton and maize and increased nitrogen fertiliser application—was the only adaptation capable of raising farm productivity under future climates. Diversification through incorporation of grain legumes into crop rotations significantly improved profitability under historical climates; however, profitability of this adaptation declined under future climates. Simplified systems reduced economic risk but also had lower long‐term economic returns. We conclude with four key insights: (1) When assessing whole‐farm profit, metrics matter: Diversified systems generally had higher profitability than Intensified systems per unit water, but not per unit land area; (2) gravity‐based irrigation infrastructure required the most water, followed by sprinkler systems, whereas Drip irrigation used the least water; (3) whole‐farm agronomic adaptation through management and crop genotype had greater impact on productivity compared with changes in irrigation infrastructure; and (4) only whole‐farm intensification was able to raise profitability under future climates.

Legume-based crop rotation is conducive to improve soil multifunctionality, but how the legacy effect of previous legumes influenced the rhizosphere microbial community of the following crops along with growth stages remains unclear. Here, the wheat rhizosphere microbial community was assessed at the regreening and filling stages with four previous legumes (mungbean, adzuki bean, soybean, and peanut), as well as cereal maize as a control. The composition and structure of both bacterial and fungal communities varied dramatically between two growth stages. The differences in fungal community structure among rotation systems were observed at both the regreening and filling stages, while the difference in bacterial community structure among rotation systems was observed only at the filling stage. The complexity and centrality of the microbial network decreased along with crop growth stages. The species associations were strengthened in legume-based rotation systems than in cereal-based rotation system at the filling stage. The abundance of KEGG orthologs (KOs) associated with carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur metabolism of bacterial community decreased from the regreening stage to the filling stage. However, there was no difference in the abundance of KOs among rotation systems. Together, our results showed that plant growth stages had a stronger impact than the legacy effect of rotation systems in shaping the wheat rhizosphere microbial community, and the differences among rotation systems were more obvious at the late growth stage. Such compositional, structural, and functional changes may provide predictable consequences of crop growth and soil nutrient cycling.

Peanut (Arachis hypogea L.) yield is dramatically declined by extreme weather stresses under climate change. Adjusting the sowing date and plant density are effective strategies to mitigate these stresses and improve peanut yield. However, a mechanistic understanding of the influence of environmental drivers and an optimized strategy have yet to be developed. Here, a 3-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the sowing date (April 25, early sowing; May 5, middle sowing; May 15, late sowing) and plant density (24, 30, and 36 plants m(-2) as low, medium, and high) of peanut in the North China Plain. We found that higher pod yield was observed in the middle sowing (& SIM;4492.4 kg ha(-1)) compared with the early and late sowing (& SIM;3317.2 and 4088.1 kg ha(-1), respectively). Meanwhile, the pod yield in high density (& SIM;4162.5 kg ha(-1)) was 10.6% and 4.7% higher than low and medium density, respectively, mainly due to higher leaf area index. The relative peanut pod yield was positively correlated with the average minimum temperature 5 days before and after the flowering pegging stage, whilst it was negatively correlated with average maximum temperature 5 days before and after pod filling stage. Therefore, optimizing temperature conditions to improve the peanut yield can be achieved by adjusting the sowing date. In conclusion, sowing date and plant density manipulation constitute a useful method to mitigate heat and chilling stress and improve peanut yield.