Improved and sustainable agroecosystem, food security and environmental resilience through zero tillage with emphasis on soils of temperate and subtropical climate regions: A review

Tillage is one of the agricultural management practices that significantly impacts agroecosystems, crop production, and the environment. Conventional tillage (CT) practices alter the soil environment and induce organic constituents’ decomposition and the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which contribute to the greenhouse effect and global warming. Low organic matter, biological diversity, aggregate stability, high erosion and degradation of the soil environment, and sequestration strength are additional factors associated with CT, which negatively affect food security and environmental sustainability. As a result, CT is no more beneficial in the long run; consequently, zero tillage (ZT) could be a viable candidate for sustainable agriculture. The review to establish this systematically compared and summarized the effect of tillage systems (i.e. CT and ZT) by synthesizing and interpreting published data (>150 peer-reviewed articles) with >200 observations on soil ecosystem services and properties/agroecosystem, crop yield/food security, GHG emission, and carbon sequestration/environmental resilience. The review established that ZT improves soil structure, aggregate stability, biological diversity, organic matter and nutrients, water and water use efficiency, and reduces soil degradation, erosion, tillage machinery impacts, and GHG emissions. It allows timely seeding and better crop growth, increases yield and food security, improves carbon sequestration, strengthens soil storage potential, and helps to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on environmental resilience. Based on various latent direct and indirect benefits, resource-saving ability, and broad adoption scope of ZT, it is corroborated that ZT is a practical and potential approach for improved and sustainable agroecosystem, food security, and environmental resilience.