COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SOIL PROPERTIES IN ORGANIC, CONVENTIONAL, AND ABANDONED VEGETABLE CULTIVATION SYSTEMS IN VEGETABLE-GROWING AREAS OF HANOI

Summary

This study provides a comparative assessment of soil quality across organic farming, conventional farming, and abandoned land in specialised vegetable-producing areas of southern Hanoi, drawing on samples from eighteen fields across four communes. Results suggest that organically managed soils exhibited superior physicochemical properties and higher organic matter and nutrient contents relative to conventionally managed and abandoned soils, though conventional soils appeared to show elevated concentrations of certain inputs, likely reflecting agrochemical residues. The findings contribute empirical evidence to debates around farming system effects on soil health in peri-urban Asian horticultural contexts.

UK applicability

This study is conducted in a peri-urban Vietnamese context with distinct soil types, climatic conditions, and farming practices that differ substantially from UK horticultural systems; however, the broad finding that organic management supports improved soil organic matter and nutrient balance is consistent with comparable UK and European evidence, and may inform general principles relevant to UK vegetable growers transitioning to organic management.

Key measures

Soil texture (loamy/sandy loam classification); organic matter content (%); macronutrient concentrations (likely N, P, K); micronutrient concentrations; physicochemical parameters (likely pH, bulk density, moisture)

Outcomes reported

The study measured physical, chemical, and nutrient properties of soils across three land-use systems (organic, conventional, and abandoned) in vegetable-growing communes of southern Hanoi. Key outcomes included comparisons of soil texture, organic matter content, and macro- and micronutrient concentrations among the three systems.

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