Root biomass and nutrient potential of major crops in China

Root biomass and nutrient potential of major crops in China | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Root biomass and nutrient potential of major crops in China Jie Xie, Jingmiao Shao, Chunyu Gao, Maofang Gao, Patience Afi Seglah, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6470033/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Crop roots are an important source of organic matter in agricultural soils. Assessing the potential of crop root biomass and nutrient resources can help optimize fertiliser and irrigation management strategies and provide scientific support for improving soil structure and quality. This paper combines data from the literature, establishes an indicator parameter system for crop root-to-shoot ratio, and based on the 2022 national crop straw resource account data, measures the root biomass of China's major crops in detail, and analyses the effective nutrient resources and fertiliser substitution potential of the root system in the current season. In 2022, the total root biomass of major crops nationwide was 152 million tons, accounting for 18.63% of the straw production. The root biomass of rice, wheat, and corn alone comprised 90.2% of the total. The total nutrient resource amount from the underground root systems of these crops was 3.22 million tons, with an effective nutrient resource amount of 2.32 million tons for the growing season. Specifically, the effective nutrient resource amounts per unit area for N, P 2 O 5 , and K 2 O were 4.71 kg/ha, 1.39 kg/ha, and 12.85 kg/ha, respectively. The K 2 O nutrient resource amount could substitute for 13.09% of the applied K 2 O fertilizer. Crop roots are rich in nutrient resources and the contribution of their roots to soil carbon sequestration is considerable. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental impact Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences Root biomass Root-grass ratio Seasonal available nutrients Substitution potential of chemical fertilizer Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 03 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 27 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 May, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 01 May, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 01 May, 2025 Editor invited by journal 25 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 24 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 17 Apr, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6470033","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":450967343,"identity":"3765f29b-d5e7-4ba6-bcbd-94e348576c1b","order_by":0,"name":"Jie Xie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jie","middleName":"","lastName":"Xie","suffix":""},{"id":450967344,"identity":"27254a53-81ef-4c8b-97fb-969dc0956757","order_by":1,"name":"Jingmiao Shao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Beijing 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Seasonal available nutrients, Substitution potential of chemical fertilizer","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6470033/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6470033/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eCrop roots are an important source of organic matter in agricultural soils. Assessing the potential of crop root biomass and nutrient resources can help optimize fertiliser and irrigation management strategies and provide scientific support for improving soil structure and quality. This paper combines data from the literature, establishes an indicator parameter system for crop root-to-shoot ratio, and based on the 2022 national crop straw resource account data, measures the root biomass of China's major crops in detail, and analyses the effective nutrient resources and fertiliser substitution potential of the root system in the current season. In 2022, the total root biomass of major crops nationwide was 152\u0026nbsp;million tons, accounting for 18.63% of the straw production. The root biomass of rice, wheat, and corn alone comprised 90.2% of the total. The total nutrient resource amount from the underground root systems of these crops was 3.22\u0026nbsp;million tons, with an effective nutrient resource amount of 2.32\u0026nbsp;million tons for the growing season. Specifically, the effective nutrient resource amounts per unit area for N, P\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e5\u003c/sub\u003e, and K\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO were 4.71 kg/ha, 1.39 kg/ha, and 12.85 kg/ha, respectively. The K\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO nutrient resource amount could substitute for 13.09% of the applied K\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO fertilizer. 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