Abstract
Increased fertilizer input in agricultural systems during the last few decades has resulted in large yield increases, but also in environmental problems. We used data from published papers and a soil testing and fertilization project in Shaanxi province during the years 2005 to 2009 to analyze chemical fertilizer inputs and yields of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) on the farmers' level, and soil fertility change from the 1970s to the 2000s in the Loess Plateau in China. The results showed that in different regions of the province, chemical fertilizer NPK inputs and yields of wheat and maize increased. With regard to soil nutrient balance, N and P gradually changed from deficit to surplus levels, while K deficiency became more severe. In addition, soil organic matter, total nitrogen, alkali-hydrolysis nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium increased during the same period. The PFP of N, NP and NPK on wheat and maize all decreased from the 1970s to the 2000s as a whole. With the increase in N fertilizer inputs, both soil total nitrogen and alkali-hydrolysis nitrogen increased; P fertilizer increased soil available phosphorus and K fertilizer increased soil available potassium. At the same time, soil organic matter, total nitrogen, alkali-hydrolysis nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium all had positive impacts on crop yields. In order to promote food safety and environmental protection, fertilizer requirements should be assessed at the farmers' level. In many cases, farmers should be encouraged to reduce nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer inputs significantly, but increase potassium fertilizer and organic manure on cereal crops as a whole.
Highlights
China has only 9% of the world’s arable land and feeds nearly 22% of the world population [1,2]
In the Weibei and Guanzhong regions, chemical fertilizer N inputs for wheat in the 1970s were 45 kg ha21 and 52 kg ha21, respectively, and in the 2000s they increased to 185 kg ha21 and 195 kg ha21, respectively
Chemical fertilizer P2O5 inputs were kg ha21 and kg ha21 in the 1970s and they increased to 112 kg ha21 and 115 kg ha21 in the 2000s
Summary
China has only 9% of the world’s arable land and feeds nearly 22% of the world population [1,2]. This depends heavily on increasing grain production with the use of chemical fertilizers. Since the late 1980s, the practice of applying organic manure in arable cropping systems has nearly come to an end [2,3,4,5,6]. From 1970 to 2010, total annual grain production in China increased from 240 to 546 million tons (a 128% increase). Inorganic fertilizer application increased from 3.51 to 55.62 million tons (a 1485% increase) over the same period [7]
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