Articles | Volume 7, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-333-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-333-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Significant soil degradation is associated with intensive vegetable cropping in a subtropical area: a case study in southwestern China
Ming Lu
College of Resources and Environment, Chongqing Key Laboratory of
Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, Southwest
University, Chongqing 400715, China
David S. Powlson
Interdisciplinary Research Center for Agriculture Green Development in the Yangtze River Basin, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Department of Sustainable Agriculture Sciences, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK
Yi Liang
College of Resources and Environment, Chongqing Key Laboratory of
Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, Southwest
University, Chongqing 400715, China
Dave R. Chadwick
Interdisciplinary Research Center for Agriculture Green Development in the Yangtze River Basin, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor
University, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK
Shengbi Long
Jinping Station of Agricultural Technology Promotion, Guizhou 556700, China
College of Resources and Environment, Chongqing Key Laboratory of
Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, Southwest
University, Chongqing 400715, China
Xinping Chen
College of Resources and Environment, Chongqing Key Laboratory of
Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, Southwest
University, Chongqing 400715, China
Interdisciplinary Research Center for Agriculture Green Development in the Yangtze River Basin, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Related authors
No articles found.
Sana Boubehziz, Emily C. Cooledge, David Robert Chadwick, Vidal Barrón, Antonio Rafael Sánchez-Rodríguez, and Davey Leonard Jones
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2592, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2592, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Alterations in microbial carbon use efficiency and respiration were evaluated at different temperatures (20 to 50 °C) after adding 14C-glucose to two Mediterranean soil types (Inceptisol and Vertisol) when fertilized with bioamendments (as P source). The findings proved that the soils show resistance to high temperature (up to 40 °C), which decreased at 50 °C. The bioamendments rich in organic matter helped in increasing this resistance (maintaining microbial carbon use efficiency).
Yuan Wang, Wei Zhang, Torsten Müller, Prakash Lakshmanan, Yu Liu, Tao Liang, Lin Wang, Huaiyu Yang, and Xinping Chen
SOIL Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2021-127, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2021-127, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
The current study demonstrated that different P sources had different effects on soil P availability. They distributed P differently among different P fractions. Our result show that cattle manure out-performed all other recycled phosphorous (P) sources used in improving soil P availability. And addition of mineral P fertilizer, poultry manure and cattle manure increased P fixation in a red soil more than that in a fluvo-aquic soil.
Cited articles
Bai, Y., Jin, J., and Yang, L.F: Study on the content and distribution of
soil available magnesium and foreground of magnesium fertilizer in China, Soil Fert. Sci. China, 2, 3–5, 2004 (in
Chinese).
Bai, Z., Li, H., Yang, X., Zhou, B., Shi, X., Wang, B., Li, D., Shen, J., Chen,
Q., Qin, W., Oenema, O., and Zhang, F.: The critical soil P levels for crop
yield, soil fertility and environmental safety in different soil types,
Plant Soil, 372, 27–37, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1696-y, 2013.
Bünemann, E. K., Bongiorno, G., Bai, Z., Creamer, R. E., Deyn, G. D.,
Goede, R., Fleskens, L., Geissen V., Kuyper, T. W., Mäder, P., Pulleman, M.,
Sukkel, W., Groenigen J. W., and Brussaard, L.: Soil quality – A critical
review, Soil Biol. Biochem., 120, 105–125, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.01.030, 2018.
Cakmak, I. and Yazici, A. M.: Magnesium: a forgotten element in crop
production, Better Crops Plant Food, 94, 23–25,
2010.
Cao, N., Chen, X., Cui, Z., and Zhang, F.: Change in soil available
phosphorus in relation to the phosphorus budget in China, Nutr. Cycl.
Agroecosys., 94, 161–170, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-012-9530-0, 2012.
Chen, X., Cui, Z., Fan, M., Vitousek, P., Zhao, M., Ma, W., Wang, Z., Zhang,
W., Yan, X., Yang, J., Deng, X., Gao, Q., Zhang, Q., Guo, S., Ren, J., Li, S., Ye,
Y., Wang, Z., Huang, J., Tang, Q., Sun, Y., Peng, X., Zhang, J., He, M., Zhu, Y.,
Xue, J., Wang, G., Wu, L., An, N., Wu, L., Ma, L., Zhang, W., and Zhang, F.:
Producing more grain with lower environmental costs, Nature, 514, 486–492,
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13609, 2014.
Chen, Y., Yi, X., Fang, L., and Yang, R.: Analysis of cultivated land and grain
production potential in China, Sci. Agric. Sinica., 49,
1117–1131, https://doi.org/10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2016.06.008, 2016 (in Chinese).
Chivenge, P. P., Murwira, H. K., Giller, K. E., Mapfumo, P., and Six, J.:
Long-term impact of reduced tillage and residue management on soil carbon
stabilization: Implications for conservation agriculture on contrasting
soils, Soil Till. Res., 94, 328–337, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2006.08.006, 2007.
Conley, D. J., Paerl, H. W., Howarth, R. W., Boesch, D. F., Seitzinger, S.
P., Havens, K. E., Lancelot C., and Likens, G. E.: Controlling
eutrophication: nitrogen and phosphorus, Science, 323, 1014–1015,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1167755, 2009.
Dong, D., Peng, X., and Yan, X.: Organic acid exudation induced by
phosphorus deficiency and/or aluminium toxicity in two contrasting soybean
genotypes, Physiol. Plant., 122, 190–199, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-3054.2004.00373.x, 2004.
FAO: FAOSTAT Database-Resources. Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations, FAO Statistical Yearbook 2017: World Food and Agriculture,
Rome, 2017.
Fischer, G., Nachtergaele, F. O., Prieler, S., Teixeira, E., Toth, G.,
Velthuizen, H. V., Verelst, L., and Wiberg, D.: Global Agro-Ecological Zones
(GAEZ v 3.0) – Model Documentation, Laxenburg, IIASA and Rome, FAO, 2012.
Gómez, J. A., Guzmán, G., Toloza, A., Resch, C., García-Ruíz, R., and Mabit, L.: Variation of soil organic carbon, stable isotopes, and soil quality indicators across an erosion–deposition catena in a historical Spanish olive orchard, SOIL, 6, 179–194, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-179-2020, 2020.
Guo, J., Liu, X., Zhang, Y., Shen, J., Han, W., Zhang, W., Christie, P.,
Goulding, K. W. T., Vitousek, P. M., and Zhang, F.: Significant acidification
in major Chinese croplands, Science, 327, 1008–1010, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1182570, 2010.
Hesketh, N. and Brookes, P. C.: Development of an indicator for risk of
phosphorus leaching, J. Environ. Qual., 29, 105–110, https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2000.00472425002900010013x, 2000.
Jia, X., Huang, J., Xiang, C., Hou, L., Zhang, F., Chen, X., Cui, Z., and
Bergmann, H.: Farmer's adoption of improved nitrogen management strategies
in maize production in China: an experimental knowledge training, J. Integr.
Agr., 12, 364–373, https://doi.org/10.1016/S2095-3119(13)60237-3, 2013.
Ju, X., Kou, C., Christie, P., Dou, Z., and Zhang, F.: Changes in the soil
environment from excessive application of fertilizers and manures to two
contrasting intensive cropping systems on the North China Plain, Environ.
Pollut., 145, 497–506, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2006.04.017, 2007.
Ju, X., Gu, B., Wu, Y., and Galloway, J.: Reducing China's fertilizer use by
increasing farm size, Global Environ. Chang., 41, 26–32, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2016.08.005, 2016.
Lal, R.: Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food
security, Science, 304, 1623–1627, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1097396, 2004.
Lal, R.: Restoring soil quality to mitigate soil degradation, Sustain., 7, 5875–5895, https://doi.org/10.3390/su7055875, 2015.
Li, H., Huang, G., Meng, Q., Ma, L., Yuan, L., Wang, F., Cui, Z., Shen, J.,
Chen, X., Jiang, R., and Zhang, F.: Integrated soil and plant
phosphorus management for crop and environment in China: A review, Plant
Soil, 349, 157–167, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0909-5, 2011.
Lu, R. (Ed.): Analysis Method of Agricultural Chemistry in Soil, 1st
Edn., Agriculture and Science Press, Beijing, China, ISBN:
7-80119-925-1, 2000.
Marschner, P. (Ed.): Marschner's Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants, 3rd
Edn., Academic Press, USA, ISBN: 978-0-12-384905-2, 2012.
Morton, A. R., Trolove, S. N., and Kerckhoffs, L. H. J.: Magnesium deficiency in
citrus grown in the Gisborne district of New Zealand, New Zealand J. Crop
Hortic. Sci., 36, 199–213, https://doi.org/10.1080/01140670809510236, 2008.
National Bureau of Statistics: National Agricultural Product Cost-benefit
Compilation (NAPCC), China, available at: http://data.stats.gov.cn/index.htm, last access: 8 October 2017.
Nieder, R., Benbi, D. K., and Scherer, H. W.: Fixation and defixation of
ammonium in soils: a review, Biol. Fert. Soils, 47, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-010-0506-4, 2011.
Oleghe, E., Naveed, M., Baggs, E. M., and Hallett, P. D.: Residues with varying
decomposability interact differently with seed or root exudate compounds to
affect the biophysical behaviour of soil, Geoderma, 343, 50–59, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.02.023, 2019.
Pires, L. F., Borges, J. A. R., Rosa, J. A., Cooper, M., Heck, R. J.,
Passoni, S., and Roque, W. L.: Soil structure changes induced by tillage
systems, Soil Till. Res., 165, 66–79, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2016.07.010, 2017.
Powlson, D. S., Stirling, C. M., Thierfelder, C., White, R. P., and Jat, M.
L.: Does conservation agriculture deliver climate change mitigation through
soil carbon sequestration in tropical agro-ecosystems?, Agr. Ecosyst.
Environ., 220, 164–174, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.01.005, 2016.
Ryan, M. H. and Graham, J. H.: Is there a role for arbuscular mycorrhizal
fungi in production agriculture?, Plant Soil, 244, 263–271, https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1020207631893, 2002.
Sarker, J. R., Singh, B. P., Dougherty, W. J., Fang, Y., Badgery, W., Hoyle,
F. C., Dalal, R. C., and Cowie, A. L.: Impact of agricultural management
practices on the nutrient supply potential of soil organic matter under
long-term farming systems, Soil Till. Res., 175, 71–81, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2017.08.005, 2018.
Shen, Y., Duan, Y., Huang, S., Guo, D., Zhang, S., and Xu, M.: Response of
CaCl2-P to phosphorus fertilization and leaching risk in fluvo-aquic
soils, J. Plant Nutr. Fert., 24, 1689–1696, https://doi.org/10.11674/zwyf.18167, 2018 (in Chinese).
Six, J., Elliott, E. T., and Paustian, K.: Soil macroaggregate turnover and
microaggregate formation: a mechanism for C sequestration under no-tillage
agriculture, Soil Biol. Biochem., 32, 2099–2103, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0038-0717(00)00179-6, 2000.
Ti, C., Luo, Y., and Yan, X.: Characteristics of nitrogen balance in
open-air and greenhouse vegetable cropping systems of China, Environ. Sci.
Pollut. Res., 22, 18508–18518, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5277-x, 2015.
Tisdale, S. L., Nelson, W. L., and Beaton, J. D.: Soil Fertility and
Fertilizers, 5th Edn., Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, 1993.
Wang, H., Guan, D., Zhang, R., Chen, Y., Hu, Y., and Xiao, L.: Soil
aggregates and organic carbon affected by the land use change from rice
paddy to vegetable field, Ecol. Eng., 70, 206–211, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.05.027, 2014.
Wang, R., Min, J., Kronzucker, H. J., Li, Y., and Shi, W.: N and P runoff
losses in China's vegetable production systems: Loss characteristics,
impact, and management practices, Sci. Total Environ., 663, 971–979, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.368, 2019.
Wang, X., Zou, C., Gao, X., Guan, X., Zhang, W., Zhang, Y., and Chen, X.:
Nitrous oxide emissions in Chinese vegetable systems: a meta-analysis,
Environ. Pollut., 239, 375–383, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.03.090, 2018a.
Wang, X., Zou, C., Zhang, Y., Shi, X., Liu, J., Fan, S., Liu, Y., Du, Y., Zhao,
Q., Tan, Y., Wu, C., and Chen, X.: Environmental impacts of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)
production affected by nutrient management: A case study in southwest China,
J. Clean. Prod., 171, 934–943, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.258, 2018b.
Wang, X., Liu, B., Wu, G., Sun, Y., Guo, X., Jin, G., Jin, Z., Zou, C., Chadwick, D., and Chen, X.: Cutting carbon footprint of vegetable production with integrated soil –
crop system management: A case study of greenhouse pepper production,
J. Clean. Prod., 254, 120158, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120158, 2020.
White, P. J. and Broadley, M. R.: Biofortification of crops with seven mineral elements often lacking in human diets – iron, zinc, copper, calcium, magnesium, selenium and iodine, New Phytol., 182, 49–84, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02738.x, 2009.
Wu, Y., Xi, X., Tang, X., Luo, D., Gu, B., Lam, S. K., Vitousek P. M., and
Chen, D.: Policy distortions, farm size, and the overuse of agricultural
chemicals in China, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 115, 7010–7015, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1806645115, 2018.
Yan, B., Zhou, T., Wang, H., Chen, Z., Cao, J., Liu, S., and Zhou, J.:
The relationships between magnesium deficiency of tomato and cation
balances in solar greenhouse soil, Sci. Agr. Sin., 49,
3588–3596, https://doi.org/10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2016.18.013, 2016 (in Chinese).
Yan, Y., Tian, J., Fan, M., Zhang, F., Li, X., Christie, P., Chen, H., Lee, J., Kuzyakov, Y., and Six, J.: Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in intensively managed
arable soils, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 150, 102–110, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2012.01.024, 2012.
Yan, Z., Liu, P., Li, Y., Ma, L., Alva, A., Dou, Z., Chen, Q., and Zhang, F.: Phosphorus in China's intensive vegetable production
systems: overfertilization, soil enrichment, and environmental implications,
J. Environ. Qual., 42, 982–989, https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2012.0463, 2013.
Zhang, B.: Theory, model and route on spatial recombination of arable land
use system based on land fragmentation perspective, PhD
dissertation, China Agricultural University, 2017 (in Chinese).
Zhang, B., Li, Q., Cao, J., Zhang, C., Song, Z., Zhang, F., and Chen, X.:
Reducing nitrogen leaching in a subtropical vegetable system, Agr. Ecosyst.
Environ., 241, 133–141, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2017.03.006, 2017.
Zhang, F., Chen, X., and Chen, Q.: Fertilization recommendations for major
crops in China, China Agricultural University Press, Beijing,
2009 (in Chinese).
Zhang, W., Ma, W., Ji, Y., Fan, M., Oenema, O., and Zhang, F.: Efficiency,
economics, and environmental implications of phosphorus resource use and the
fertilizer industry in China, Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosys., 80, 131–144, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-007-9126-2, 2008.
Zhang, W., Zhang, F., Li, Y., Huang, G., and Wu, L.: China fertilizer
development research report, China Agricultural
University Press, Beijing, 2012 (in Chinese).
Zhang, X., Zhang, S., Li, Q., Lu, Y., and Liang, W.: Contributions of soil
biota to C sequestration varied with aggregate fractions under different
tillage systems, Soil Biol. Biochem., 62, 147–156, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2013.03.023, 2013.
Zhang, Y., He, X., Liang, H., Zhao, J., Zhang, Y., Xu, C., and Shi, X.:
Long-term tobacco plantation induces soil acidification and soil base cation
loss, Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., 23, 5442–5450, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5673-2, 2016.
Zhang, Y., Fan, Z., Chen, X., Yang, H., Wu, Y., and Zhang, W.: Effect of
phosphorus supply on root morphology and rhizosphere traits in pepper, China Veg., 11, 49–55, 2019 (in
Chinese).
Short summary
Land use changes are an important anthropogenic perturbation that can cause soil degradation, but the impacts of land conversion from growing cereals to vegetables have received little attention. Using a combination of soil analyses from paired sites and data from farmer surveys, we found significant soil degradation in intensive vegetable cropping under paddy rice–oilseed rape rotation in southwestern China. This study may alert others to the potential land degradation in the subtropics.
Land use changes are an important anthropogenic perturbation that can cause soil degradation,...