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Agriculture
Volume 16
Issue 15
10.3390/agriculture16151601
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Prolonged Dry Spells During the Reproductive Stage Significantly Suppress Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes in Maize Cropland

by
Lin Zhang
1,2,3,
Weijun Luo
1,2,*,
Yanwei Wang
4,
Xuegang Xing
5,
Junming Yang
4,
Jia Chen
1,2,
Anyun Cheng
1,2 and
Shijie Wang
1,2
1
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550081, China
2
Puding Karst Ecosystem Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Anshun 562100, China
3
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
4
School of Geography and Planning, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
5
School of Geography and Resource Science, Guizhou Education University, Guiyang 550018, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agriculture 2026, 16(15), 1601; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16151601
Submission received: 22 June 2026 / Revised: 23 July 2026 / Accepted: 25 July 2026 / Published: 27 July 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mass and Energy Fluxes over Agricultural Ecosystems)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The carbon budget of maize croplands has been widely studied across the Chinese Maize Belt. However, the effects of drought on ecosystem-scale carbon fluxes in rain-fed maize croplands remain poorly understood in Southwest China. To address this gap, we conducted long-term, continuous eddy covariance measurements of carbon fluxes at a rain-fed maize field in Guizhou Province from 2022 to 2025. During the maize growing season, the mean net ecosystem exchange (NEE) was −310 ± 21 g C m−2, with over 50% of the total seasonal NEE occurring in July. Interannual variability in the NEE was primarily driven by prolonged dry spells during the reproductive stage. Maize cropland without straw return acted as a net C source when harvest removals were considered. We therefore recommend promoting straw return practices in the region to strengthen soil carbon sequestration capacity and enhance agroecosystem resilience to drought. And further research is needed to evaluate the role of straw return practices on the carbon budget in the area.
Keywords: drought; eddy covariance; karst ecosystem; the Chinese maize belt; NBP drought; eddy covariance; karst ecosystem; the Chinese maize belt; NBP

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Zhang, L.; Luo, W.; Wang, Y.; Xing, X.; Yang, J.; Chen, J.; Cheng, A.; Wang, S. Prolonged Dry Spells During the Reproductive Stage Significantly Suppress Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes in Maize Cropland. Agriculture 2026, 16, 1601. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16151601

AMA Style

Zhang L, Luo W, Wang Y, Xing X, Yang J, Chen J, Cheng A, Wang S. Prolonged Dry Spells During the Reproductive Stage Significantly Suppress Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes in Maize Cropland. Agriculture. 2026; 16(15):1601. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16151601

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhang, Lin, Weijun Luo, Yanwei Wang, Xuegang Xing, Junming Yang, Jia Chen, Anyun Cheng, and Shijie Wang. 2026. "Prolonged Dry Spells During the Reproductive Stage Significantly Suppress Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes in Maize Cropland" Agriculture 16, no. 15: 1601. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16151601

APA Style

Zhang, L., Luo, W., Wang, Y., Xing, X., Yang, J., Chen, J., Cheng, A., & Wang, S. (2026). Prolonged Dry Spells During the Reproductive Stage Significantly Suppress Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes in Maize Cropland. Agriculture, 16(15), 1601. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16151601

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