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Vegetable cultivation under greenhouse conditions leads to rapid accumulation of nutrients, acidification and salinity of soils and groundwater contamination in South-Eastern China

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Abstract

Vegetable cultivation during winter season is economically profitable, but the impact of the intensive production on soil and water quality remains to be studied. The objectives of this study were to investigate the seasonal dynamics of soil nutrients, acidification and salt accumulation in vegetable fields in South-Eastern China. Various vegetables were grown either under open-field conditions or under two different alternating open-field and greenhouse conditions with three replications. Soil samples were collected periodically and analyzed for pH, plant available nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), electrical conductivity (EC), and urease activity. Water samples from wells located in or near the plots were collected and analyzed for nitrate. Soil nitrate, available phosphate and salt concentrations declined in summer under open-field conditions and significantly increased from December to May under greenhouse conditions. Exchangeable K also decreased in summer season, but did not increase in the spring. Under alternating open-field and greenhouse conditions, nutrient accumulation, soil salinity and acidification were significantly higher for soil used for vegetable cultivation for 2 years (2-y-plot) than that for only half year (0.5-y-plot). The accumulation of nitrate significantly correlated with soil EC and soil acidification. Thirty-two percent of groundwater samples from the 2-y-plot showed a nitrate concentration higher than 50 mg NO3 l−1. Conversely, no groundwater sample of 0.5-y-plot showed such high nitrate concentration. It can be concluded that the nitrate accumulation in soil used for vegetable cultivation under alternating open-field and greenhouse conditions not only causes soil salinization and soil acidification but also presents a high pollution potential for groundwater.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. Hailin Zhang (Oklahoma State University, OK, USA) and anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and suggestions for revising the manuscript. This research was supported by the funding from Knowledge Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX3-SW-439) and Research Program on Soil Biosystems and Agro-Product Safety of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CXTD-Z2005-4).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 71 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, P. R. China

    Wei-Ming Shi & Jing Yao

  2. Institute of Crop Science and Plant Breeding, Justus Liebig University, Ludwigstrasse 23, 35390, Gießen, Germany

    Feng Yan

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  1. Wei-Ming Shi
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  2. Jing Yao
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Correspondence to Wei-Ming Shi.

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Shi, WM., Yao, J. & Yan, F. Vegetable cultivation under greenhouse conditions leads to rapid accumulation of nutrients, acidification and salinity of soils and groundwater contamination in South-Eastern China. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 83, 73–84 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-008-9201-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-008-9201-3

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