How Does Specialization in Agricultural Production Affect Soil Health?

Magdalena Szymańska, Wiktoria Gubiec, Bożena Smreczak, Aleksandra Ukalska-Jaruga and Tomasz Sosulski ()
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Magdalena Szymańska: Division of Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Wiktoria Gubiec: Division of Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Bożena Smreczak: Department of Soil Science Erosion and Land Conservation, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, State Research Institute, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland
Aleksandra Ukalska-Jaruga: Department of Soil Science Erosion and Land Conservation, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, State Research Institute, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland
Tomasz Sosulski: Division of Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the specialization of agricultural production on selected parameters of soil health, i.e., soil organic carbon content (SOC), soil acidification, soil nutrient status, i.e., total nitrogen content (N T ), available forms of phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium, and microelements content, as well as the content of selected potentially toxic metals (PTMs). For the study, 18 farms located in the Masovian Voivodeship in Central Poland were selected. They were grouped into six types, and each type was represented by three farms. The study included organic farms; farms specializing in: crop, vegetable, poultry, dairy cattle, and pigs production. A total of 144 soil samples were analyzed. The results showed that the specialization of agricultural production and fertilizer management had a significant impact on most of the tested soil health parameters, except SOC and N T content. Despite the high organic fertilizer doses introduced into soils in poultry (170 kg N per hectare as poultry manure) and pig farms (150 kg N per hectare as pig manure), there was no significant influence of these amendments on SOC content. This may indicate low organic carbon sequestration potential in some Polish agricultural soils. Organic farms had the lowest levels of plant nutrients in the tested soil samples, which may limit soil productivity. All the tested soils were strongly acidified, which could restrict both production and regulatory soil functions. Based on the synthetic index of soil fertility (SSFI), vegetable and poultry farms were characterized by very high fertility, while crop, dairy cattle, and pig farms fell into the medium fertility class. Organic farms were in the lowest fertility class. However, the study suggests that the SSFI may not be the best indicator for assessing soil fertility and health; therefore, further research is needed.

Keywords: agricultural specialization; soil health; soil functions; ecosystem services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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