Net-Zero Emissions for Sustainable Food Production and Land Management

In the face of global climate change, resource scarcity, and population growth, ensuring food security [1] and human well-being has become the core goal of agricultural development. However, while able to meet the increasing food demand, traditional food production and land management practices are often accompanied by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, environmental degradation, and a reduction in biodiversity [2]. The question, therefore, is how do we ensure stable or increased food production while reducing GHG emissions and maintaining soil quality and health? To address this, a transformation of global agriculture is imperative, with a focus on promoting sustainable food production and land management practices. Achieving the “net-zero emissions” goal, which involves sequestering soil organic carbon, reducing GHG emissions, enhancing the efficiency of agricultural resource utilization, and adopting innovative technologies and green management approaches, has become a critical issue in the agricultural sector; it aims to ensure a stable food supply without increasing the carbon footprint, with one example illustrated in Figure 1 [3].

Through the proposed life cycle assessment framework, a comprehensive evaluation was conducted to optimize the system boundaries of carbon footprint, reactive nitrogen footprint (Nr footprint), and net ecosystem economic benefits for vegetable production. This approach accounted for the interrelationships between agriculture, the environment, and the economy, yielding a more nuanced framework for understanding sustainability in vegetable production systems. As an example, Bi et al. [3] found that biochar demonstrates significant potential to enhance the sustainability of vegetable production by reducing emissions, increasing yields, and improving economic benefits.

Not only the topsoil, but also deep soil shows an increasingly important role in preserving soil organic and inorganic carbon stocks. Trueman et al. [4] found that in as little as two years, carbon content in the surface soils (0–15 cm) of previously CO₂-enriched plots had dropped to levels below those of the ambient and pretreatment soil. In contrast, carbon retained in response to CO₂ enrichment was more durable in the deeper soil layers (>25 cm), where both organic and inorganic carbon were on average 26% and 55% greater, respectively, than the carbon content of ambient plots. Biofuel GHG emissions showed as much as a 154% difference between using only near-surface SOC stock changes and when accounting for both near-surface and sub-surface SOC stock changes [5].

Net Ecosystem Carbon Balance (NECB), which is defined as the difference between the total organic C input and output, serves as a critical indicator for evaluating ecosystem health, offering a comprehensive measure of how ecosystems respond to environmental changes [6]. As global climate change intensifies, understanding the dynamics of carbon storage and release within ecosystems has become essential. Green manure application from three cover crops increased NECB during the rice-growing season but significantly increased CH₄ emissions [7]. In addition, modeling approaches are widely used to calculate NECB. Lopez et al. [8] optimized Earth System Models and integrated observations and simulated data to accurately calculate GHG fluxes and to reduce uncertainties in the evaluation of NECB in extreme Arctic regions.

Numerous meta-analyses have discovered the key drivers for improving soil carbon sequestration and GHG mitigations in agricultural fields while ensuring stable yields. These include nitrogen inputs, exogenous organic carbon (biochar, organic manure, and so on), tillage practices, irrigation methods, and planting density [9,10,11,12,13]. These optimization practices have also been thoroughly validated in numerous long-term field experiments. Zhang et al. [14] found that if the basal/topdressing fertilization rate is 50%:50%, the split nitrogen fertilizer can maintain a higher grain yield and reduce GHG emissions in winter wheat. Through a 7-year experiment in a paddy field, Chen et al. [15] found that biochar application can significantly improve SOC sequestration and reduce the carbon footprint, but it also has a negative effect on NEEB. The high cost of biochar is likely the primary reason behind this; moving forward, optimizing its production processes to improve quality and reduce costs will be crucial. After a long-term experiment, Zhang et al. [16] concluded that no tillage provides a good option for increasing SOC sequestration in a double cropping system of winter wheat and summer corn on the North China Plain. Based on a 6-year experiment, Yang et al. [17] found that winter wheat–summer maize–spring maize with irrigation was the most effective treatment for promoting SOC sequestration and mitigating GHG emissions with a relatively high yield.

While the above mitigation strategies tackle the causes of climate change (by reducing the sources or enhancing the sinks of greenhouse gases), adaptation tackles the effects of the phenomenon (the adjustment of systems to a new or changing environment) to exploit beneficial opportunities. Khan et al. [18] explored crop growth responses to future CO₂ enrichment, focusing on the intricate responses of maize metabolism to varying CO₂ levels; they highlighted adaptive strategies for primary and secondary metabolism and physiological and biochemical responses under changing atmospheric conditions.

As an emerging pollutant, microplastics interact with the soil organic carbon pool [19]. In a semi-arid agroecosystem, different prolonged plastic film mulching times for ridge and furrow system would threaten soil fertility due to the decreasing light fraction of organic carbon and mineral nitrogen. Organic manure is thus recommended to enhance the sustainability of the farming system in semi-arid regions [19].

Future agricultural production will be more intelligent, precise, and low-carbon. Smart agriculture leverages a wide range of advanced technologies, such as wireless sensor networks, IT, robotics, agricultural bots, drones, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing [20]. The adoption of these technologies enables all stakeholders to develop better managerial decisions and obtain higher yields. The integration of agriculture with modern biosynthetic technologies will be a key future trend. Utilizing microalgae as a bio-fertilizer pathway improves soil health and reduces greenhouse gas emissions [21,22]. With ongoing advancements in biotechnology, information technology, and other fields, the analysis and driving of agricultural production through large-scale data models is becoming increasingly prominent.

Currently, more and more industries and companies are pledging to become carbon-neutral, net-zero, or even carbon-negative in order to combat global climate changes. The close integration of agriculture with other industries is expected to garner greater attention, particularly through scientific resource allocation models that combine agriculture with aquaculture, livestock farming, and other forms of integrated farming [23,24]. Patra revealed that GHG emissions (total as well as per unit of products) from dairy and other categories of livestock could be reduced substantially through proper herd management, without compromising animal production. In addition, Fatima et al. also found an integrated farming system encompassing various enterprises, such as crops, dairy, poultry, and fisheries, can offer benefits in terms of enhanced farm productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability (lower GHG emissions). Hence, an appropriate combination of diversified and complementary enterprises in the form of an integrated farming system provides a robust approach to sustainable food production.

This Special Issue (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy/special_issues/2M878QVH49 (accessed on 31 July 2024)) was closed on 31 July 2025, having published 11 high-quality papers and been viewed 27,153 times. Due to the sustained interest in this topic from numerous authors and the continuous evolution of research, we have since launched “Net-Zero Emissions for Sustainable Food Production and Land Management—2nd Edition” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy/special_issues/E2E0HIK15S (accessed on 1 October 2025)).

Finally, we would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to all the authors, reviewers, and editorial team members whose contributions have made this Special Issue possible. We trust that these works will foster further research and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration in the field.