Scientia Agricultura Sinica ›› 2018, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (3): 406-416.doi: 10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2018.03.002

• Nutrient Management in Soil-Crop-Animal Production System • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Significance and Research Priority of Nutrient Management in Soil-Crop-Animal Production System in China

MA Lin1, BAI ZhaoHai1, WANG Xuan1, CAO YuBo1, MA WenQi2, ZHANG FuSuo3   

  1. 1Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences/Hebei Key Laboratory of Water-Saving Agriculture/Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021; 2College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural University of Hebei, Baoding 071001,  Hebei; 3College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100193
  • Received:2017-07-31 Online:2018-02-01 Published:2018-02-01

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Abstract: With a rapid development and decoupling between crop and animal production, China already faces serious groundwater pollution by nitrate leaching, eutrophication of surface waters, as well as air quality degradation caused by over-fertilization and manure discharge. It is important to (1) quantify nutrient flows in “soil-crop-livestock” production system, (2) optimize nutrient flows and recycling by coupling crop and livestock systems, and (3) mitigate nutrient losses and improve nutrient use efficiency. These studies provide a scientific basis for national action (e.g. reduction of chemical fertilizer application, replacement of chemical fertilizer by manure, resource utilization of livestock waste and mitigation of non-point source pollutions). The objectives of this study are to review the published studies on nutrient management in crop and animal production, analyze the characters of nutrient inputs, use efficiencies and losses of crop and animal production in China in the past decades, and to prospect research priority of nutrient management in soil-crop-animal production systems in China. For increasing productivities of grain, overuse of chemical fertilizer is common, lack of manure recycling. The biggest challenge facing China today is de-coupling crop and animal production. The nutrient use efficiency of crop and animal production decreased and nutrient losses increased dramatically in the past decades in China. The highest emissions are estimated in or around big metropolitans. Coupling crop and animal production is the main solution of sustainable intensive agriculture. According to the international research experiences, research should focus on improving manure management, mitigation of nutrient losses and increasing nutrients recycling rate of agricultural wastes. The integrated nutrient management of the soil-crop-animal production systems has become the focus of global concern. Key research topics of nutrient management in crop and animal production include (1) quantifying nutrient flows and environmental impacts of ‘soil-crop-animal’ production systems, (2) strategies of chemical fertilizer replacement by manure, (3) mitigation options of manure management from ‘feeding-housing-storage-treatment-application’ chain, and (4) farming system design for achieving high productivities and nutrient use efficiencies in crop and animal production.

Key words: integrated crop and animal production, nutrient management, manure recycling, rotation, non-point source pollution, ammonia emission, leaching

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