Nutrient limitation of soil organic carbon stocks under straw return

Straw return has been widely used to increase SOC storage globally, but such C accrual is frequently constrained by other nutrients which are needed to maintain soil ecological stoichiometry balance. However, the impact of fertilization on SOC stocks under straw return remains unexplored at broad spatial scales. We constructed a national-scale dataset to explore the fertilization effect on SOC stocks (0–20 cm) under straw return and identified the dominant drivers and pathways in upland and paddy systems across China. On average, straw return enhanced SOC stocks and sequestration rate by 1.74 Mg C ha−1 and 0.27 Mg C ha−1 y−1 relative to straw removal (CK). Yet, straw co-applied with nutrient enrichment further increased SOC stock and sequestration rate by 0.81 Mg C ha−1 and 0.12 Mg C ha−1 y−1, compared to straw return only. These results indicated a general nutrient limitation on SOC sequestration under straw return. The fertilization effect on SOC stocks varied greatly across nutrient enrichment types and cropping systems, with greater soil C gain occurring under balanced fertilization (i.e., NPK) and more in uplands than in paddy fields. In the uplands, SOC sequestration with fertilization was positively correlated with increased belowground biomass. In paddy fields, however, improved biomass with fertilization did not translate into increased SOC accumulation, owing to the co-limitations of soil acidification and initial SOC. We further clarified the differential pathways by which chemical fertilization altered SOC stocks, i.e., productivity pathway in uplands but decomposition pathway in paddy fields. These mechanistic insights on the fertilization control over SOC can help us optimize the context-specific integrated straw and fertilization management strategies for greater SOC sequestration, and also inform the development of soil C projections by incorporating fertilization management into biogeochemical models in agroecosystems.