Background and aims

Intercropping is an effective practice for increasing crop diversity and achieving sustainable agricultural development, especially in areas with limited agricultural land. Although the nitrogen turnover and trade-off responses of plant–soil systems to intercropping have been extensively studied, quantitative information on the association between P and crop productivity is lacking. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to elucidate the effects of intercropping on plant P concentration, uptake, and use efficiency and soil P availability.

Methods

We conducted a quantitative meta-analysis using a database containing 453 comparisons from 56 peer-reviewed studies.

Results

Intercropping significantly increased the soil available P concentration and phosphatase activity by 14.68% and 11.74%, respectively, compared with monocropping. However, the effects of intercropping on other P characteristics and grain yield were not significant. Among the evaluated influencing factors, crop type (cereal or legume) had the greatest effect on soil P availability, followed by soil pH and P fertilizer input. Regression analysis revealed that plant P concentration and uptake were significantly and linearly correlated with soil available P concentration and phosphatase activity. Notably, in maize–legume intercropping systems, maize exhibited increased P concentration and uptake and increased grain yield, whereas legumes exhibited constrained growth.

Conclusion

Overall, we determined that intercropping improves soil P availability, depending on the ecological environment, nutrient management, and intercropping system. This study serves as a valuable reference for effective P fertilizer input in cereal–legume intercropping systems under different management practices.

中文翻译：

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间作对植物-土壤系统中磷可用性的影响：荟萃分析

 背景和目标

间作是增加作物多样性和实现可持续农业发展的有效做法，尤其是在农业用地有限的地区。尽管已经广泛研究了植物-土壤系统对间作的氮周转和权衡响应，但缺乏关于 P 与作物生产力之间关联的定量信息。因此，在本研究中，我们旨在阐明间作对植物 P 浓度、吸收、利用效率和土壤 P 有效性的影响。

 方法

我们使用包含来自 56 项同行评审研究的 453 项比较的数据库进行了定量荟萃分析。

 结果

与单作相比，间作显著提高了土壤速效磷浓度和磷酸酶活性，分别提高了 14.68% 和 11.74%。然而，间作对其他 P 特性和籽粒产量的影响并不显著。在评价的影响因素中，作物类型（谷物或豆科植物）对土壤 P 有效性的影响最大，其次是土壤 pH 值和 P 肥投入。回归分析显示，植物 P 浓度和吸收量与土壤速效 P 浓度和磷酸酶活性呈显著线性相关。值得注意的是，在玉米-豆类间作系统中，玉米表现出更高的 P 浓度和吸收以及更高的谷物产量，而豆类表现出生长受限。

 结论

总体而言，我们确定间作可以提高土壤磷的可用性，具体取决于生态环境、养分管理和间作系统。本研究为不同管理措施下谷物-豆类间作系统中磷肥的有效投入提供了有价值的参考。