Impacts of chemical fertilizer reduction and organic amendments supplementation on soil nutrient, enzyme activity and heavy metal content

• Published in: Journal of Integrative Agriculture Vol. 16; no. 8; pp. 1819 - 1831
• Main Authors: NING, Chuan-chuan, GAO, Peng-dong, WANG, Bing-qing, LIN, Wei-peng, JIANG, Ni-hao, CAI, Kun-zheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Key Laboratory of Tropical Agro-environment,Ministry of Agriculture/South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou 510642,P.R.China 01.08.2017; KeAi Communications Co., Ltd
• Subjects: acid phosphatase; adverse effects; agrochemicals; cadmium; catalase; chemical fertilizer; chromium; economic feasibility; enzyme activity; food safety; heavy metal; heavy metals; mineral fertilizers; nitrogen; organic amendments; organic fertilizers; phosphorus; potassium; risk; soil; soil fertility; soil health; soil nutrients; soil organic matter; soil quality; sustainable agriculture; urease; vegetable; vegetables; zinc; 化肥; 土壤养分; 土壤脲酶活性; 土壤重金属含量; 施用; 有机添加物; 过氧化氢酶活性; 酸性磷酸酶活性; heavy metal; chemical fertilizer; soil fertility; vegetable; soil health; organic amendments
• ISSN: 2095-3119; 2352-3425
• DOI: 10.1016/s2095-3119(16)61476-4

Excessive use of agro-chemicals （such as mineral fertilizers） poses potential risks to soil quality. Application of organic amendments and reduction of inorganic fertilizer are economically feasible and environmentally sound approaches to de- velop sustainable agriculture. This study investigated and evaluated the effects of mineral fertilizer reduction and partial substitution of organic amendment on soil fertility and heavy metal content in a 10-season continually planted vegetable field during 2009-2012. The experiment included four treatments： 100% chemical fertilizer （CF100）, 80% chemical fertilizer （CF80）, 60% chemical fertilizer and 20% organic fertilizer （CF60＋OM20）, and 40% chemical fertilizer and 40% organic fertilizer （CF40＋OM40）. Soil nutrients, enzyme activity and heavy metal content were determined. The results showed that single chemical fertilizer reduction （CF80） had no significant effect on soil organic matter content, soil catalase activity and soil heavy metal content, but slightly reduced soil available N, P, K, and soil urease activity, and significantly reduced soil acid phosphatase activity. Compared with CF100, 40 or 60% reduction of chemical fertilizer supplemented with organic fertilizer （CF60＋OM20, CF40＋OM40） significantly increased soil organic matter, soil catalase activity and urease activity especially in last several seasons, but reduced soil available P, K, and soil acid phosphatase activity. In addition, continu- ous application of organic fertilizer resulted in higher accumulation of Zn, Cd, and Cr in soil in the late stage of experiment, which may induce adverse effects on soil health and food safety.