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Agronomy
Special Issues
New Pathways Towards Carbon Neutrality in Agricultural Systems
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New Pathways Towards Carbon Neutrality in Agricultural Systems

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 720

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kun Cheng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Interests: carbon neutral; carbon sequestration; greenhouse gas; ecosystem model
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Qian Yue

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
Interests: agricultural ecology; ecosystem model; greenhouse gas; crop rotation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The pursuit of carbon neutrality in agricultural systems has gained significant momentum in recent years, driven by the urgent need to mitigate climate change and its adverse impacts on global food security. Agriculture has been both a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and a potential solution through carbon sequestration practices. This Special Issue of Agronomy seeks to explore innovative pathways towards achieving carbon neutrality in agricultural systems.

This Special Issue covers a diverse array of topics, including but not limited to novel agricultural practices, advances in soil carbon sequestration, precision farming technologies, bio-based solutions, and multi-objective collaborative management strategies. We aim to highlight cutting-edge theoretical and applied research addressing the complex interplay between agricultural practices, carbon emission, and climate change adaptation and offering actionable insights for farmers, scientists, and policymakers alike.

We invite submissions of original research and review articles that contribute to the understanding of the role of agricultural systems in carbon neutrality and propose new solutions for reducing the sector's carbon footprint. Special consideration will be given to interdisciplinary studies that combine agronomy, soil science, and environmental modeling to offer comprehensive solutions.

Dr. Kun Cheng
Guest Editor

Dr. Qian Yue
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • carbon sequestration
  • greenhouse gas emission
  • carbon footprint
  • ecosystem model
  • carbon sink
  • carbon accounting

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3315 KiB  
Article
Using Machine Learning to Assess the Effects of Biochar-Based Fertilizers on Crop Production and N2O Emissions in China
by Yuan Zeng, Sujuan Chen, Yunpeng Li, Li Xiong, Cheng Liu, Muhammad Azeem, Xiaoting Jie, Mei Chen, Longjiang Zhang and Jianfei Sun
Agronomy 2025, 15(5), 1238; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15051238 - 19 May 2025
Viewed by 35
Abstract
The growing global population and increasing agricultural demands have made nitrogen fertilizers essential for modern agriculture. However, nearly 50% of applied nitrogen fertilizers are lost to the environment, causing pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Biochar-based fertilizers (BBFs), combining biochar with chemical fertilizers, [...] Read more.
The growing global population and increasing agricultural demands have made nitrogen fertilizers essential for modern agriculture. However, nearly 50% of applied nitrogen fertilizers are lost to the environment, causing pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Biochar-based fertilizers (BBFs), combining biochar with chemical fertilizers, enhance nutrient efficiency, boost crop yields, and reduce N2O emissions. However, comprehensive field studies on BBF impacts remain limited. This study uses a global dataset of BBF field experiments to build predictive models with three machine learning algorithms for crop yields and N2O emissions, and to assess BBFs’ potential to increase yields and mitigate emissions in China’s major crops. The artificial neural network (ANN) model outperformed random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM) in predicting N2O emissions (R2: 0.99; EF: 0.99), while all models showed high accuracy for crop yields (R2, EF: 0.98–0.99). Variable importance analysis revealed that BBF C/N and BBF N/Mineral N explained 4.25% and 3.95% of yield variation, and 3.19% and 0.55% of N2O emission variation, respectively. BBFs could increase China’s major crop yields by 4.3–5.0% and reduce N2O emissions by 3.7–6.3%, based on simulations. Challenges like high costs and limited adaptability persist, necessitating optimized production, standardized protocols, and expanded trials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Pathways Towards Carbon Neutrality in Agricultural Systems)
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18 pages, 2864 KiB  
Article
Soil Organic Carbon Stocks Under Daylily Cultivation and Their Influencing Factors in the Agro-Pastoral Ecotone of Northern China
by Zhen Wang, Zelong Yao, Hongfen Zhu and Rutian Bi
Agronomy 2025, 15(3), 756; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030756 - 20 Mar 2025
Viewed by 290
Abstract
Perennial crops are crucial for enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks to mitigate climate change, yet the effects of planting duration on SOC stocks remain inconsistent. In the agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China, where soil degradation is a growing concern, daylily, a perennial [...] Read more.
Perennial crops are crucial for enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks to mitigate climate change, yet the effects of planting duration on SOC stocks remain inconsistent. In the agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China, where soil degradation is a growing concern, daylily, a perennial crop cultivated for over 600 years, presents both ecological and agricultural potential. This study evaluates the impact of long-term (LD, >10 years) and short-term (SD, ~5 years) daylily cultivation on SOC stocks and identifies key drivers. Paired soil samples (0–100 cm) from eight sites under LD, SD, and long-term maize cultivation (CK) were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation analysis, random forest, and structural equation modeling (SEM). LD significantly increased SOC stocks by 19.63% compared to CK, while SD showed no significant difference. The sampling site had a greater impact on SOC stocks than the treatment across different geographic locations. At the same location, SEM revealed that soil factors influenced SOC differently across treatments: for LD, soil total nitrogen (TN) > pH > soil water content (SWC); for SD, TN > SWC > soil available phosphorus (AP); for CK, TN > soil available potassium (AK) > SWC. This study provides insights for regional soil management and carbon sequestration strategies, highlighting the role of LD in enhancing soil quality and promoting ecological restoration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Pathways Towards Carbon Neutrality in Agricultural Systems)
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