STRAW MULCHING CAN REALIZE SOIL/PLANTS CARBON SEQUESTRATION AND YIELD INCREASING OF SUMMER MAIZE IN NORTH CHINA

North China Plain is a main grain producing area in China. It is very important for China to find a simple and low carbon method for grain production. To better understand the potential for increasing grain yield and carbon absorption, treatment effects of straw mulching on grain yield, carbon absorption in crop growth period, and soil CO2 emission characteristics in 2012-2014 summer maize growing seasons were quantified. The experiment involved summer maize with two straw mulching rates, i.e., 0 and 0.6 kg m(-2). The result showed that soil respiration rate in straw mulching (M) was significantly lower than that in non-mulching (N). The carbon absorption and grain yield in M was significantly higher than that in N. In the three growing seasons, ear number, kernels per row, 1000-kernel weight, and grain yield in M were higher than that in N by 4.07%, 4.03%, 10.93%, and 20.54%, respectively. The result indicates that straw mulching has the effect of yield increasing and soil carbon sequestration in summer maize crop in North China.