The Mollisols in Northeast China are a precious arable land resource in China and a core base for safeguarding national food security. Long-term intensive tillage can readily cause soil degradation, compaction, and declines in soil fertility. As a mainstream conservation tillage practice, no-tillage with straw mulching (NTSM) has been widely promoted in Northeast China; this practice can stabilize soil, conserve water, and increase soil organic matter content. However, continuous NTSM can also cause soil compaction and impede water infiltration, restricting the sustainable use of arable land resources. At present, China is vigorously promoting Mollisols protection and green, low-carbon agricultural development. Improving arable land quality is not only the foundation of modern agriculture but is also closely related to development goals such as farmland carbon sequestration and agricultural emission reduction. Meanwhile, large-scale agricultural machinery operations and the construction of rotational tillage systems in Northeast China still face practical challenges, and the mechanisms by which different tillage practices affect the physicochemical properties of Mollisols remain unclear. Targeted field positioning experiments are urgently needed to provide theoretical and technical support.
Recently, the team led by Professor Haitao CHEN at Northeast Agricultural University published a research paper titled “Effects of different tillage practices after short-term no-tillage with straw mulching on soil physical properties in Mollisols region of Northeast China” in ENGINEERING Agriculture (DOI: 10.15302/J-FASE-2026677). The study revealed the effects of different tillage practices after short-term NTSM on soil physical properties in the Mollisols region of Northeast China, providing an important scientific basis for Mollisols protection and the construction of rotational tillage systems.
From 2019 to 2022, the research team conducted a field positioning experiment in a typical Mollisols region of Northeast China. Following two consecutive years of NTSM, three treatments were established: deep plowing (DP), rotary tillage following subsoiling (RTFS), and subsoil tillage (SST). A randomized block design was used, and indicators such as soil water content (SWC), bulk density (SBD), temperature (ST), and penetration resistance (SPR) were systematically measured in different soil layers.
The results showed that the three tillage practices had different emphases in improving the physical properties of Mollisols. DP effectively broke the compacted layer formed by NTSM, significantly reduced SBD and SPR in deep soil, and optimized the vertical distribution of soil water, showing the best overall improvement. RTFS had a prominent loosening effect on shallow soil and was more conducive to soil and water conservation in the surface layer. SST stabilized deep soil water and thermal conditions under drought conditions, enhancing farmland resilience. Considering all indicators, after two consecutive years of NTSM, DP was the optimal rotational tillage practice for the Mollisols of Northeast China and for improving comprehensive soil properties.
The study also emphasized that Mollisols in Northeast China have high organic matter content and a unique soil structure, and the region has a cold climate with concentrated rainfall; therefore, the responses of soil to tillage practices differ markedly from those in other regions. The general applicability of the conclusions of this study to other regions still requires further experimental verification. Nevertheless, these results provide solid localized experimental evidence for scientifically selecting tillage practices and constructing a rational rotational tillage system in the Mollisols region of Northeast China, and have important practical value for maintaining Mollisols fertility, stabilizing grain production capacity, and achieving sustainable utilization of Mollisols resources.
DOI: 10.15302/J-FASE-2026677