Rice-Residue Management Practices of Smallholder Farms in Vietnam and Their Effects on Nutrient Fluxes in the Soil-Plant System

Dao Trong Hung, Harold J. Hughes, Markus Keck and Daniela Sauer
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Dao Trong Hung: Department of Physical Geography, Institute of Geography, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 5, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Harold J. Hughes: Department of Physical Geography, Institute of Geography, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 5, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Markus Keck: Department of Human Geography, Institute of Geography, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 5, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Daniela Sauer: Department of Physical Geography, Institute of Geography, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 5, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: In Vietnam, approximately 39 million tons of rice ( Oryza sativa ) residues accrue every year. In this study, we quantified soil nutrient balances of paddy rice fields under different crop-residue management practices in northern Vietnam. On twelve farms, we calculated nutrient balances for the four prevalent rice-residue management practices, i.e., (1) direct incorporation of rice residues into the soil, (2) application of rice-residue compost, (3) burning of rice residues on the field, and (4) the use of rice residues as fodder for livestock. Soils under practices (1) to (3) showed a positive nutrient balance, which indicates that soil fertility can be maintained under these practices and that the amounts of chemical fertilizers can be considerably reduced. If not, there is a risk of eutrophication in the surrounding surface waterbodies. Practice (4), in contrast, resulted in a negative nutrient balance, which indicates the need for returning nutrients to the soils. From our findings we conclude that knowledge about the effects of rice-residue management practices on nutrient cycles may help to optimize the use of fertilizers, resulting in a more sustainable form of agriculture.

Keywords: paddy-rice farming; crop-residue management; nutrient balance; smallholders; fertilizer use; Vietnam (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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