Soil productivity is the ability of a soil, in its normal environment, to support plant growth and can be evaluated with respect to crop production in unfertilized soil within the agricultural ecosystem. Both soil productivity and fertilizer applications affect crop yields. A long-term experiment with a winter wheat-summer maize rotation was established in 1989 in a field of the Fengqiu State Key Agro-Ecological Experimental Station, a region typical of the North China Plain, including seven treatments: 1) a balanced application of NPK chemical fertilizers(NPK); 2) application of organic fertilizer(OM); 3) application of 50% organic fertilizer and50% NPK chemical fertilizers(1/2OMN); 4) application of NP chemical fertilizers(NP); 5) application of PK chemical fertilizer(PK);6) application of NK chemical fertilizers(NK); and 7) unfertilized control(CK). To investigate the effects of fertilization practices on soil productivity, further pot tests were conducted in 2007–2008 using soil samples from the different fertilization treatments of the long-term field experiment. The soil sample of each treatment of the long-term experiment was divided into three pots to grow wheat: with no fertilization(Potunf), with balanced NPK fertilization(PotNPK), and with the same fertilizer(s) of the long-term field experiment(Potori). The fertilized soils of the field experiment used in all the pot tests showed a higher wheat grain yield and higher nutrient uptake levels than the unfertilized soil. Soil productivity of the treatments of the field experiment after 18 years of continuous fertilizer applications were ranked in the order of OM > 1/2OMN > NPK > NP > PK > NK > CK. The contribution of soil productivity of the different treatments of the field experiment to the wheat grain yield of Potoriwas 36.0%–76.7%, with the PK and NK treatments being higher than the OM, 1/2OMN, NPK, and NP treatments since the soil in this area was deficient in N and P and rich in K. Wheat grain yields of PotNPKwere higher than those of Potoriand Potunf. The N, P, and K use efficiencies were higher in PotNPKthan Potoriand significantly positively correlated with wheat grain yield. Soil organic matter could be a better predictor of soil productivity because it correlated more strongly than other nutrients with the wheat grain yield of Potunf. Wheat yields of PotNPKshowed a similar trend to those of Potunf, indicating that soil productivity improvement was essential for a further increase in crop yield. The long-term applications of both organic and chemical fertilizers were capable of increasing soil productivity on the North China Plain, but the former was more effective than the latter. The balanced application of NPK chemical fertilizers not only increased soil productivity, but also largely increased crop yields, especially in soils with lower productivity. Thus, such an approach should be a feasible practice for the sustainable use of agricultural soils on the North China Plain, particularly when taking into account crop yields, labor costs, and the limited availability of organic fertilizers.
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