Globally increased cropland soil exposure to climate extremes in recent decades

Globally increased cropland soil exposure to climate extremes in recent decades | 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 Research Article Globally increased cropland soil exposure to climate extremes in recent decades Luwei Feng, Yumiao Wang, Rasmus Fensholt, Xiaoye Tong, Torbern Tagesson, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6166075/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Cropland soil quality is fundamental to nutrient-rich food production and cropland soil management strategies are decisive for sustainable agriculture. However, inappropriate agricultural practices often lead to persistent soil exposure to air and sunlight, which largely increases the losses of soil microorganisms and organic carbon, particularly under climate extremes. Here, we provide a satellite-based mapping of daily soil exposure occurrence across global croplands from 2001 to 2022 and evaluate the associated degradation risks caused by extreme climate events. We find that 57% of global croplands experienced a reduction in soil exposure duration in the past two decades (23% significant at p < 0.05), mainly located in India, the United States, and China, while 43% experienced an increasing trend (11% significant at p < 0.05). On average, the duration of global cropland soil exposure decreased by five days during 2001–2022. Yet, despite the overall reduction in exposure duration, 86% of the global cropland soils are increasingly subjected to climate extremes (30% significant at p < 0.05). The areas exposed to increasing climate extremes tend to have higher soil organic carbon levels than areas with decreasing exposure, indicating an intensified degradation risk of global nutrient-rich cropland soils. Our study offers insights into global cropland soil exposure and its vulnerability to climate extremes under climate change, providing evidence to support improvements in sustainable land management practices. cropland soil exposure climate extremes remote sensing Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted 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-6166075","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":424790143,"identity":"e892f5ce-4773-4347-9975-4f4386a12226","order_by":0,"name":"Luwei Feng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Wuhan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Luwei","middleName":"","lastName":"Feng","suffix":""},{"id":424790144,"identity":"0ba45bde-c6bd-4fed-a9bf-89ce34680893","order_by":1,"name":"Yumiao Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ningbo 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However, inappropriate agricultural practices often lead to persistent soil exposure to air and sunlight, which largely increases the losses of soil microorganisms and organic carbon, particularly under climate extremes. Here, we provide a satellite-based mapping of daily soil exposure occurrence across global croplands from 2001 to 2022 and evaluate the associated degradation risks caused by extreme climate events. We find that 57% of global croplands experienced a reduction in soil exposure duration in the past two decades (23% significant at p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), mainly located in India, the United States, and China, while 43% experienced an increasing trend (11% significant at p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). On average, the duration of global cropland soil exposure decreased by five days during 2001\u0026ndash;2022. 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