IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/caa/jnlpse/v64y2018i4id768-2017-pse.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Soil nitrate accumulation and leaching in conventional, optimized and organic cropping systems

Author

Listed:
  • Dapeng WANG

    (College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
    Rubber Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agriculture Sciences,)

  • Liang ZHENG

    (College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China)

  • Songdong GU
  • Yuefeng SHI

    (College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China)

  • Long LIANG

    (College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China)

  • Fanqiao MENG

    (College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China)

  • Yanbin GUO

    (College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China)

  • Xiaotang JU

    (College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China)

  • Wenliang WU

    (College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China)

Abstract

Excessive nitrogen (N) and water input, which are threatening the sustainability of conventional agriculture in the North China Plain (NCP), can lead to serious leaching of nitrate-N (NO3--N). This study evaluates grain yield, N and water consumption, NO3--N accumulation and leaching in conventional and two optimized winter wheat-summer maize double-cropping systems and an organic alfalfa-winter wheat cropping system. The results showed that compared to the conventional cropping system, the optimized systems could reduce N, water consumption and NO3--N leaching by 33, 35 and 67-74%, respectively, while producing nearly identical grain yields. In optimized systems, soil NO3--N accumulation within the root zone was about 80 kg N/ha most of the time. In the organic system, N input, water consumption and NO3--N leaching was reduced even more (by 71, 43 and 92%, respectively, compared to the conventional system). However, grain yield also declined by 46%. In the organic system, NO3--N accumulation within the root zone was generally less than 30 kg N/ha. The optimized systems showed a considerable potential to reduce N and water consumption and NO3--N leaching while maintaining high grain yields, and thus should be considered for sustainable agricultural development in the NCP.

Suggested Citation

  • Dapeng WANG & Liang ZHENG & Songdong GU & Yuefeng SHI & Long LIANG & Fanqiao MENG & Yanbin GUO & Xiaotang JU & Wenliang WU, 2018. "Soil nitrate accumulation and leaching in conventional, optimized and organic cropping systems," Plant, Soil and Environment, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 64(4), pages 156-163.
    • Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:64:y:2018:i:4:id:768-2017-pse
    DOI: 10.17221/768/2017-PSE
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/768/2017-PSE.html
    Download Restriction: free of charge
    File URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/768/2017-PSE.pdf
    Download Restriction: free of charge
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17221/768/2017-PSE?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. de Ponti, Tomek & Rijk, Bert & van Ittersum, Martin K., 2012. "The crop yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 1-9.
    2. Gheysari, Mahdi & Mirlatifi, Seyed Majid & Homaee, Mehdi & Asadi, Mohammad Esmaeil & Hoogenboom, Gerrit, 2009. "Nitrate leaching in a silage maize field under different irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer rates," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(6), pages 946-954, June.
    3. David Tilman & Kenneth G. Cassman & Pamela A. Matson & Rosamond Naylor & Stephen Polasky, 2002. "Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices," Nature, Nature, vol. 418(6898), pages 671-677, August.
    4. Iduna ARDUINI & Roberto CARDELLI & Silvia PAMPANA, 2018. "Biosolids affect the growth, nitrogen accumulation and nitrogen leaching of barley," Plant, Soil and Environment, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 64(3), pages 95-101.
    5. Verena Seufert & Navin Ramankutty & Jonathan A. Foley, 2012. "Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture," Nature, Nature, vol. 485(7397), pages 229-232, May.
    6. Nathaniel D. Mueller & James S. Gerber & Matt Johnston & Deepak K. Ray & Navin Ramankutty & Jonathan A. Foley, 2012. "Closing yield gaps through nutrient and water management," Nature, Nature, vol. 490(7419), pages 254-257, October.
    7. Wang, Huanyuan & Ju, Xiaotang & Wei, Yongping & Li, Baoguo & Zhao, Lulu & Hu, Kelin, 2010. "Simulation of bromide and nitrate leaching under heavy rainfall and high-intensity irrigation rates in North China Plain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(10), pages 1646-1654, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tiziano Gomiero, 2013. "Alternative Land Management Strategies and Their Impact on Soil Conservation," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-20, August.
    2. Marull, Joan & Padró, Roc & La Rota-Aguilera, María José & Pino, Joan & Giocoli, Annalisa & Cirera, Jacob & Ruiz-Forés, Núria & Coll, Francesc & Serrano-Tovar, Tarik & Velasco-Fernández, Raúl, 2023. "Modelling land use planning: Socioecological integrated analysis of metropolitan green infrastructures," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    3. Valeria Borsellino & Emanuele Schimmenti & Hamid El Bilali, 2020. "Agri-Food Markets towards Sustainable Patterns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-35, March.
    4. Atanu Mukherjee & Emmanuel C. Omondi & Paul R. Hepperly & Rita Seidel & Wade P. Heller, 2020. "Impacts of Organic and Conventional Management on the Nutritional Level of Vegetables," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-25, October.
    5. Janet MacFall & Joanna Lelekacs & Todd LeVasseur & Steve Moore & Jennifer Walker, 2015. "Toward resilient food systems through increased agricultural diversity and local sourcing in the Carolinas," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(4), pages 608-622, December.
    6. Nesar Ahmed & Shirley Thompson & Giovanni M. Turchini, 2020. "Organic aquaculture productivity, environmental sustainability, and food security: insights from organic agriculture," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(6), pages 1253-1267, December.
    7. SIngh Verma, Juhee & Sharma, Pritee, 2019. "Potential of Organic Farming to Mitigate Climate Change and Increase Small Farmers’ Welfare," MPRA Paper 99994, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. de la Cruz, Vera Ysabel V. & Tantriani, & Cheng, Weiguo & Tawaraya, Keitaro, 2023. "Yield gap between organic and conventional farming systems across climate types and sub-types: A meta-analysis," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    9. Natalia Brzezina & Birgit Kopainsky & Erik Mathijs, 2016. "Can Organic Farming Reduce Vulnerabilities and Enhance the Resilience of the European Food System? A Critical Assessment Using System Dynamics Structural Thinking Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-32, September.
    10. Patrick M. Carr & Greta G. Gramig & Mark A. Liebig, 2013. "Impacts of Organic Zero Tillage Systems on Crops, Weeds, and Soil Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(7), pages 1-30, July.
    11. Debuschewitz, Emil & Sanders, Jürn, 2021. "Bewertung der Umweltwirkungen des ökologischen Landbaus im Kontext der kontroversen wissenschaftlichen Diskurse," 61st Annual Conference, Berlin, Germany, September 22-24, 2021 317076, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    12. Benjamin Blumenstein & Torsten Siegmeier & Carsten Bruckhaus & Victor Anspach & Detlev Möller, 2015. "Integrated Bioenergy and Food Production—A German Survey on Structure and Developments of Anaerobic Digestion in Organic Farming Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-24, August.
    13. Bellassen Valentin & Drut Marion & Diallo Abdoul & Antonioli Federico & Donati Michele & Brečić Ružica & Ferrer-Pérez Hugo & Gauvrit Lisa & Hoang Viet & Nguyen An & Knutsen Steinnes Kamilla & Vittersø, 2021. "The Carbon and Land Footprint of Certified Food Products," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 19(2), pages 113-126, December.
    14. Carlson, Andrea & Greene, Catherine & Raszap Skorbiansky, Sharon & Hitaj, Claudia & Ha, Kim & Cavigelli, Michel & Ferrier, Peyton & McBride, William, 2023. "U.S. Organic Production, Markets, Consumers, and Policy, 2000-21," USDA Miscellaneous 333551, United States Department of Agriculture.
    15. Zou, Haiyang & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Xiang, Youzhen & Wu, Lifeng & Yan, Shicheng, 2020. "Optimization of drip irrigation and fertilization regimes for high grain yield, crop water productivity and economic benefits of spring maize in Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    16. Lars Biernat & Friedhelm Taube & Ralf Loges & Christof Kluß & Thorsten Reinsch, 2020. "Nitrous Oxide Emissions and Methane Uptake from Organic and Conventionally Managed Arable Crop Rotations on Farms in Northwest Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-19, April.
    17. Tina L. Saitone & Richard J. Sexton, 2017. "Agri-food supply chain: evolution and performance with conflicting consumer and societal demands," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 44(4), pages 634-657.
    18. Xinyi Li & Xiong Wang & Xiaoqing Song, 2021. "Impacts of Agricultural Capitalization on Regional Paddy Field Change: A Production-Factor Substitution Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-18, February.
    19. Elise Wach, 2021. "Market Dependency as Prohibitive of Agroecology and Food Sovereignty—A Case Study of the Agrarian Transition in the Scottish Highlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-23, February.
    20. Dazhuan Ge & Hualou Long & Li Ma & Yingnan Zhang & Shuangshuang Tu, 2017. "Analysis Framework of China’s Grain Production System: A Spatial Resilience Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-21, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:64:y:2018:i:4:id:768-2017-pse. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ivo Andrle (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cazv.cz/en/home/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.