title: Model-Based Analysis of the Long-Term Effects of Fertilization Management on Cropland Soil Acidification.
abstract: Agricultural soil acidification in China is known to be caused by the over-application of nitrogen (N) fertilizers, but the long-term impacts of different fertilization practices on intensive cropland soil acidification are largely unknown. Here, we further developed the soil acidification model VSD+ for intensive agricultural systems and validated it against observed data from three long-term fertilization experiments in China. The model simulated well the changes in soil pH and base saturation over the last 20 years. The validated model was adopted to quantify the contribution of N and base cation (BC) fluxes to soil acidification. The net NO3-leaching and NO4+input accounted for 80% of the proton production under N application, whereas one-third of acid was produced by BC uptake when N was not applied. The simulated long-term (1990-2050) effects of different fertilizations on soil acidification showed that balanced N application combined with manure application avoids reduction of both soil pH and base saturation, while application of calcium nitrate and liming increases these two soil properties. Reducing NH4+input and NO3-leaching by optimizing N management and increasing BC inputs by manure application thus already seem to be effective approaches to mitigating soil acidification in intensive cropland systems.
authors.affiliation: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, Key Lab of Plant-Soil Interactions, MOE, China Agricultural University , Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Mufan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Environmental Systems Analysis Group, Wageningen University , P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.|Alterra-Wageningen UR , Soil Science Centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.affiliation: Alterra-Wageningen UR , Soil Science Centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Luc T C
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Bonten
authors.affiliation: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, Key Lab of Plant-Soil Interactions, MOE, China Agricultural University , Beijing 100193, China.|Environmental Systems Analysis Group, Wageningen University , P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Qichao
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9389-6437
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, Key Lab of Plant-Soil Interactions, MOE, China Agricultural University , Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Tianxiang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, Key Lab of Plant-Soil Interactions, MOE, China Agricultural University , Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Xuejun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Nutrient Cycling, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences , Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Minggang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University , Chongqing 400716, China.
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, Key Lab of Plant-Soil Interactions, MOE, China Agricultural University , Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Fusuo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, Key Lab of Plant-Soil Interactions, MOE, China Agricultural University , Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Jianbo
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8943-948X
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D002681:China; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D005308:Fertilizers; D009584:Nitrogen; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D013995:Time
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D012987:Soil; D009584:Nitrogen