An adaptive straw returning strategy proves more effective in improving soil quality and increasing yields of newly reclaimed red croplands

To evaluate the effects of different straw return practices on soil quality and crop yield in newly reclaimed farmland, fifteen fixed experimental plots were established on eroded sloping land in 2017. Five management treatments were implemented, including three straw mulching practices—no-till mulching (NM), trench-applied mulching (TM), and surface straw mulching (SM)—as well as two control treatments: bare soil (BS) and conventional tillage (CT). The experiment was conducted from 2018 to 2023, encompassing five consecutive rapeseed–peanut rotation cycles (T1–T5). After each crop harvest, surface soil samples (0–20 cm) were randomly collected from each treatment plot.