Globally increased cropland soil exposure to climate extremes in recent decades

Luwei Feng, Yumiao Wang, Rasmus Fensholt, Xiaoye Tong, Torbern Tagesson, Xiaoxin Zhang, Jonas Ardö, Jie Zhou, Wenxuan Shao, Yujie Dou, Yirong Sang and Feng Tian ()
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Luwei Feng: Wuhan University
Yumiao Wang: Ningbo University
Rasmus Fensholt: University of Copenhagen
Xiaoye Tong: University of Copenhagen
Torbern Tagesson: Lund University
Xiaoxin Zhang: The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Jonas Ardö: Lund University
Jie Zhou: Central China Normal University
Wenxuan Shao: Wuhan University
Yujie Dou: Wuhan University
Yirong Sang: Wuhan University
Feng Tian: Wuhan University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Soil quality is fundamental to nutrient-rich food production and the sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems. However, inappropriate agricultural practices often lead to persistent soil exposure to air and sunlight, which increases soil organic matter losses and erosion risks, 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 while 57% of global croplands experienced a reduction in soil exposure duration in the past two decades, 86% are increasingly subjected to climate extremes. The areas exposed to increasing climate extremes tend to have higher soil organic carbon levels, indicating an intensified degradation risk of global nutrient-rich cropland soils. Our study offers spatio-temporally explicit insights into global cropland soil exposure and its vulnerability to climate extremes, providing evidence to support improvements in sustainable agriculture practices.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59544-1

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