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What has caused the use of fertilizers to skyrocket in China?

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Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The consumption of fertilizers in China has skyrocketed in the last six decades and this raises strong environmental concerns. The study was conducted to determine which crop production factors have contributed to the increased use of fertilizers in China. Firstly, annual fertilizer application data for 16 major crops over the period 1950–2010 were estimated, and periodic changes were analyzed to determine the contributions made by total cropping area (TCA), fertilizer application rate (kg ha−1, FAR), and crop type (proportions of TCA for individual crops, CT). Results show that total fertilizer consumption increased from 0.07 Mt in 1950 to 49.6 Mt in 2000, and 74.7% of the increase is attributable to FAR, 0.05% to TCA, and 25.3% to CT. The contribution of FAR to total fertilizer consumption decreased (from 98.3% in the 1950s to 65.6% in the 2000s), while the contributions of TCA and CT increased (from 0.90 and 0.81% in the 1950s to 17.5 and 16.8% in the 2000s, respectively). Maize, rice, and wheat were the major crops to which most of the fertilizers (up to 87.9%) were applied before the 1980s. However, after the 1980s maize, vegetables and fruits became the major drivers of fertilizers consumption. These three crops contributed 59.6% in the 1990s and 90.6% in the 2000s to the increased consumption of fertilizers. Results suggest that shifts in FAR and CT may be the critical control points for future fertilizer consumption, and increased integrated soil-crop system management in China should focus on vegetables and fruits.

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Fig. 1

This figure was drawn using Microsoft Visio 2007 software. (Color figure online)

Fig. 2

Source of data: China Compendium of Statistics 60 years (NBS 2010), IFA (2016), National Data (2016), China Rural Statistics Yearbook (NBS 1983), and Fertilizer Technology and Development in China (Zhang et al. 2007a)

Fig. 3

Data were obtained from National Data (2016) and FAO (2016)

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the China 973 Program (Grant 2015CB150405). We also thank Dr. Yuxin Miao of China Agricultural University and Prof. P. Christie, Belfast, UK, for their linguistic revision.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Resources, Environment and Food Security, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China

    Xiaohui Chen, Zhenling Cui, Yong Hou & Fusuo Zhang

  2. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resource Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 286 Huaizhong Road, Shijiazhuang, 050021, Hebei, China

    Lin Ma

  3. College of Resources and Environmental Science, Agricultural University of Hebei, Baoding, 071001, Hebei, China

    Wenqi Ma

  4. University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, 3800 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Zhiguo Wu

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  1. Xiaohui Chen
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Chen, X., Ma, L., Ma, W. et al. What has caused the use of fertilizers to skyrocket in China?. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 110, 241–255 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-017-9895-1

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