High-Efficiency Utilization of Water-Fertilizer Resources and Green Production of Crops

Dear Colleagues,

Arid and semi-arid areas account for about 36% of total global land area, hosting more than 80 countries and 40% of the global population. They compose the main food production regions and contain abundant soil and photothermal resources. However, agricultural production in these areas is limited by drought, infertility, soil erosion, etc. Additionally, traditional agronomic management approaches have greatly affected arid and semi-arid agroecosystems through soil degradation, soil nutrient loss, water pollution, etc. The imbalance between agricultural production and the environment seriously hinders the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals related to agriculture in these regions. Recently, many agronomic management approaches have been proposed to promote crop production, increase resource efficiency, and improve farmland environments in arid and semi-arid regions, i.e., film mulching, organic matter application, fertilizer reduction, straw return, intercropping, water-efficient irrigation, and conservation tillage. Thus, we need to explore the mechanisms of these management approaches on crop production and the environment, as well as their synergistic effects on production and ecological functioning. For this reason, we welcome high-quality interdisciplinary studies on the high-efficiency utilization of water–fertilizer resources and green production of crops to address the contradiction between production and the environment in arid and semi-arid areas.

Dr. Peng Zhang
Prof. Dr. Xianqing Hou
Dr. Wenyi Dong
Dr. Peng Wu
Topic Editors