Abstract: A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of corn stover returning and biochar application on the CO₂ emission and carbon pool management index (CPMI) in dryland brown soil. The results showed that both stover returning and biochar application increased the cumulative CO₂ emission of soil significantly by 132% and 76%, respectively, compared with the control. Under the same level of fertilization, biochar application significantly decreased the cumulative emission of CO₂ by 24% compared with stover returning. Biochar played a positive role in CO₂ emission reduction, in contrast with stover direct returning. Stover returning significantly increased CPMI, and this effect of stover direct returning was more significant compared with biochar application.

Key words: drip irrigation amount, winter wheat, quality, grain filling properties, yield