Regional difference for soil fertility after land consolidation in the Guanzhong Plain

Abstract

Maintaining adequate soil nutrient in newly cultivated soil is critically important for crop growth. In this study, knowledge of the regional distribution patterns of soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK) factors of 565 soil samples from major land consolidation areas in the Guanzhong Plain in northwest of China, were investigated from 2012 to 2014. Soil organic matter content were found range from 2.3 g kg−1 to 36.7 g kg−1, with a corresponding total nitrogen content from 0.17 g kg−1 to 3.64 g kg−1, and 0.29 mg kg−1to 55.7 mg kg−1 for soil available phosphorus, available potassium content between 22.7 mg kg−1 and 389 mg kg−1, respectively. Compared to the recommended land consolidation samples, SOM and TN content belongs to 2-3 level account for the largest proportion among all samples while AP and AK were the 3-4 standard predominantly. SOC was positively correlated with AP and AK content for all samples. For Each 1 g kg−1 increase in TN content resulted in a corresponding increase in SOC content of 0.5 g kg−1, each 1 g kg−1 increase in SOC content resulted in a corresponding decrease in AP content of 3.7 mg kg−1 and AK content of 0.28 mg kg−1 in the consolidated soil. Therefore efforts to simultaneously increase soil essential nutrient in order to achieve high standard farmland remain a challenging endeavor for farmers.