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Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and grain yields under long-term fertilizations in the upland red soil of southern China

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Abstract

A long-term experiment with various fertilizations was carried out during 1990–2006 in a double cropping system rotated with wheat (Triticum Aestivium L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) in the red soil of southern China. The experiment consisted of eight treatments: non-fertilization (CK), nitrogen–phosphorus fertilization (NP), phosphorus–potassium fertilization (PK), nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium fertilization (NPK), pig manure (M), pig manure and NPK fertilization (NPKM), high rates of NPKM (hNPKM), and straw returned with inorganic fertilizers (NPKS). Applications of manure (i.e., M, NPKM and hNPKM) significantly increased soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen contents. Applications of inorganic fertilizers without manure showed small influences on SOC, but resulted in declines of soil total nitrogen over the long-term experiment. Grain yields were more than doubled under fertilizations for both wheat and corn, with the highest under the NPKM and hNPKM treatments and the lowest under non-fertilization. Long-term cropping practices without fertilization or with unbalanced fertilizations (e.g., NP and PK) caused low grain yields. The balanced fertilization of NPK increased grain yields. However, such practice was not able to maintain high grain yields during the last few years of experiment. Our analyses indicate that both wheat and corn grain yields are significantly correlated with SOC, total and available nitrogen and phosphorus. However, the relationships are stronger with total nitrogen (r = 0.5–0.6) than with available nitrogen (r = 0.26–0.3), indicating the importance of maintaining soil total nitrogen in agricultural practice.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the financial support from the Ministry of Science and Technology, China (2006BAD05B09, 2006BAD02A14) and the Project of National Science Foundation of China (40871148). We also acknowledge funding from the Key Monitoring Experimental Station of National Agriculture Red Soil Fertility and Fertilizer Efficiency. We appreciate the constructive comments of two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Nutrient Cycling, Ministry of Agriculture of China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Wenju Zhang, Minggang Xu & Boren Wang

  2. Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland Research Park, College Park, MD, 20740, USA

    Xiujun Wang

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  1. Wenju Zhang
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  2. Minggang Xu
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  3. Boren Wang
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  4. Xiujun Wang
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Correspondence to Minggang Xu.

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Zhang, W., Xu, M., Wang, B. et al. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and grain yields under long-term fertilizations in the upland red soil of southern China. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 84, 59–69 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-008-9226-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-008-9226-7

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