Effects of long-term fertilization on reddish paddy soil quality and its evaluation in a typical double rice cropping region of China.

In order to quantify the effects of 27 years application of chemical fertilizers, pig manure, and rice straw on the reddish paddy soil quality in double rice cropping region, the indices of soil bulk density, porosity, maximum water holding capacity, normalized mean weight diameter, pH, cation exchange capacity, available nutrients, organic matter, microbial biomass C, enzyme activities, and rice yield were selected as the evaluation indicators, and classified into four functional groups, i.e., resistance to physical degradation, plant nutrients supply and storage, resistance to biochemical degradation, and sustaining of crop productivity. The soil quality index (SQI) was calculated based on the four functional groups. The results showed that the SQI ranged from 0.544 in treatment CK to 0.729 in treatment NPK plus rice straw. Treatments PK, NP, and NK induced soil degradation, compared to treatment NPK. The deficiencies of soil P and K were the main limiting factors for the double rice productivity in reddish paddy soil area. Even though 30 t∙hm_-2∙a^-1 of pig manure and 4.2 t∙hm^-2∙a^-1 of rice straw were applied, the soil P and K were still not adequate for the requirement of rice growth. There was no obvious effect of long-term application of lime on the reddish paddy soil quality. The combined application of NPK with organic manure was an important and effective measure in improving soil quality in double rice cropping regions of Southern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]