Abstract
At present, the contradiction between survival and ecology necessitates the integration of crop planting, chemical fertilizer application, and livestock and poultry breeding. Reasonably integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLSs) have become an important part of regional ecological and agricultural development. In this study, the relationship between manure nutrient demands for crops and manure nutrient supply from livestock is considered based on the balance of ICLSs in Jiangxi Province, China. The land carrying capacity index and potential of livestock breeding under uncoordinated systems are further discussed. The study also addresses water environmental risk due to surplus nutrients by integrating a traditional land carrying capacity framework and hydrological model. The results show that phosphorus absorption in land areas is the main limiting factor for the development of the livestock and poultry industries. In addition, manure nutrient demand exceeded supply in most districts, while the unbalanced regions with nutrient pollution are located in the upper and middle reaches of the Ganjiang basin. In addition, expanding the crop demand for manure or increasing the manure collection rate will help reduce environmental harm; however, attention should be paid to the risk of excessive manure returns. Additional livestock manure can be transferred to regions with developed crop planting systems. This study supports more harmonious and common ICLSs construction.
Highlights
Nowadays, the global agricultural system faces continual changes, including climate change, changes in demand for agricultural products, fluctuations in energy prices, and restrictions on land, water and other natural resources
Phosphorus pollution was more severe than nitrogen pollution in Jiangxi, as shown in Fig. 8, which was related to the low demand for phosphate fertilizer by crops and the large amount of phosphorus produced by livestock manure
The relationship between the manure nutrient demands of crops and manure nutrient supply from livestock were investigated and the environmental impact caused by the uncoordinated crop-livestock systems was assessed
Summary
The global agricultural system faces continual changes, including climate change, changes in demand for agricultural products, fluctuations in energy prices, and restrictions on land, water and other natural resources. Agricultural systems have become concentrated on specialized farms and there has been a dramatic growth in farm output to meet domestic and international market demands (Sulc & Franzluebbers et al.,2014). This growth accelerated the decoupling of crop and livestock production and caused a series of unintended negative environmental and ecological impacts, including soil erosion, water pollution and low crop diversity, leading to pest-related disasters (Peyraud et al.,2014; Hilimire.,2011; Russelle et al.,2007). When designing systems, integrated croplivestock systems (ICLSs) have good potential based on their productivity in ecosystem functions and services; these systems utilize ecological interactions among crops and livestock to make agricultural ecosystems more efficient at cycling nutrients and preserving ecological functions and the environment, which are still highly marginalized worldwide (Bonaudo et al.,2014; Lemaire et al.,2014)
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