Long-Term Cropping Effects on Agricultural Sustainability in Alar Oasis of Xinjiang, China

Lu Gong, Guixiang He and Weiguo Liu
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Lu Gong: College of Resources and Environment Science, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
Guixiang He: Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, University of Chinese academy of sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Weiguo Liu: College of Resources and Environment Science, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Agricultural sustainability has become a major concern in arid regions of China. In order to better understand the influence of continuous cropping on soil quality, six experimental fields were established in the Alar Oasis of Xinjiang, including uncultivated land (as a zero year treatment duration) and five different continuous cropping years on cotton fields, with different cropping durations (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years, respectively). Thirteen soil indicators were selected including soil physicochemical properties, nutrient properties and enzymatic activities. The results show that duration of continuous cropping of cotton fields significantly influences a number of soil properties. Cultivation durations ranked according to soil quality indexes (SQI) are as follows: 15 years (0.828) > 20 years (0.816) > 10 years (0.668)> 5 years (0.548) > 25 years (0.377) > 0 years (0.205), and sustainable yield index (SYI) are as follows: 10 years (0.830) > 15 years (0.777) > 20 years (0.667) > 5 years (0.586) > 25 years (0.159).

Keywords: agricultural sustainability; continuous cropping; soil quality; Alar Oasis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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