Changes in Organic Carbon and Nutrient Contents of Highly Productive Paddy Soils in Yujiang County of Jiangxi Province, China and Their Environmental Application

Abstract

Paddy field is an important land use in subtropical China. Development of high soil fertility and productivity is the management goal of paddy field. Fertilization and management practices have not only influenced the status of organic matter and nutrients in the soil but also affected the environmental quality. This article investigates the contents of organic carbon and the nutrients, and the change over the last 20 years in highly productive paddy soils and their environmental application. Field soils were sampled and the analytical results were compared with the corresponding values in the Second Soil Survey in Yujiang County of Jiangxi Province, China. The results showed that surface soils at a depth of 0-10 cm in highly productive paddy fields in Yujiang County of Jiangxi Province had contents of organic carbon (20.2±3.88) g kg −1, total nitrogen (2.09±0.55) g kg −1, and available phosphorus (42.7±32.7) mg kg −1, respectively, which were all at very rich levels. Over the last 20 years, the organic carbon pool of the highly productive paddy soils reached a steady state. Total N and available P significantly increased, whereas available K changed a little. The amount and percentage of P immobilization in the surface soil (0-10 cm) of highly productive paddy fields were (142.7±41.1) mg kg −1 and (36.2±10.4)% of added P, and CEC (7.93±1.32) cmol kg −1. These two parameters were not higher than the mean values of paddy soils and upland red soils in the areas. Results also showed that fertilizer P in highly productive paddy soils had a high mobility and was prone to move toward a water body, which is the main source of nutrients causing eutrophication. Because of a weak K-fixing capacity, the available K content was not high in highly productive paddy soils. This suggests that attention should be paid to the K balance and the increase of soil K pool.