Excessive phosphorus inputs dominate soil legacy phosphorus accumulation and its potential loss under intensive greenhouse vegetable production system

Kang Tian; Zhe Xing; Yusef Kianpoor Kalkhajeh; Tiantian Zhao; Wenyou Hu; Biao Huang; Yongcun Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114149

Excessive phosphorus inputs dominate soil legacy phosphorus accumulation and its potential loss under intensive greenhouse vegetable production system

J Environ Manage. 2022 Feb 1:303:114149. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114149. Epub 2021 Nov 24.

Authors

Kang Tian¹, Zhe Xing², Yusef Kianpoor Kalkhajeh³, Tiantian Zhao⁴, Wenyou Hu⁵, Biao Huang⁴, Yongcun Zhao²

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.
³ Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Farmland Ecological Conservation and Pollution Prevention, School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
⁵ CAS Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. Electronic address: wyhu@issas.ac.cn.

PMID: 34838376
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114149

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for crop growth and it plays a critical role in agricultural production. Excessive P applications has become a serious concern in Chinese greenhouse vegetable production (GVP) systems. Nevertheless, P accumulation (legacy P) in GVP profile soils and its potential loss remain poorly documented. Hence, this study aimed to response this issue via paired collection of 136 soil samples (0-30, 30-60 and 60-90 cm depth) and 41 vegetable samples from both plastic greenhouses (PG) and solar greenhouses (SG) in Shouguang, Shandong province. Results showed that the annual input of P ranged from 772 to 2458 kg ha^-1 for different vegetables through the whole growing season versus little vegetable P uptake (ranging from 47.8 to 155 kg ha^-1). Results also revealed significant P accumulation in both SG and PG profile soils. Compared to arable soils (background soils), legacy P to the depth of 90 cm in PG and SG soils were 3.28 and 11.16 Mg P ha^-1, respectively. The content of total P in PG and SG soils significantly increased with cultivation duration. The maximum environmental capacity of P in SG soils was 187 Mg ha^-1, and the maximum number of years for safe planting was 38 yrs. After four years of cultivation, P loss would occur in these soils and the loss rate of P increased with cultivation duration. Opposite to PG soils, a potentially higher risk of P losses took place in SG soils. Our results also demonstrated that excessive P inputs driven by intensive agricultural practices dominated legacy P accumulation within the profile soils and its losses in GVP systems. Site-specific P managements, including improving P use efficiency, reducing further P surplus and reusing legacy P in soils, are urgently needed to minimize P loss. At the same time, the potential loss of subsoil P could not be neglected.

Keywords: Greenhouse vegetable production; Legacy P; P surplus; Risk of P loss; Soil profile.

MeSH terms

Agriculture
China
Phosphorus / analysis
Soil Pollutants* / analysis
Soil*
Vegetables

Substances

Soil
Soil Pollutants
Phosphorus