Managing Agricultural Nutrients for Food Security in China: Past, Present, and Future

Over the past 2000 yr, agriculture in China has transformed from a low-input, low-output organic-based system to an intensive production system that relies heavily on inorganic inputs. The modern high-input, high-output system has provided the nation with basic food self-sufficiency, although at escalating environmental costs. Meanwhile, crop production has been nearly stagnant since the mid-1990s, despite continued increases in production inputs, such as chemical fertilizers. In the future, China must increase agricultural output by 50% to meet its growing food demand. New advances to increase agricultural productivity and improve resource (e.g., N and P) use efficiency will be critical in China for sustainable agriculture and ecosystem services. Here, we discuss an integrated soil-crop system management (ISSM) paradigm that may help achieve the sustainable intensification goal. This paradigm features (i) improving soil quality, (ii) enhancing the use of various nutrient resources, (iii) closing the yield gap, and (iv) effectively reducing N losses. Recent on-farm trials based on ISSM principles almost doubled corn yield, while fertilizer N amounts were similar to current farming methods. This ISSM in China is a novel agricultural paradigm that can improve food security and environmental quality worldwide, especially in regions of high input with low-efficiency systems.