Summary
This four-season field study developed and applied a weighted additive index (WAI) method to assess soil quality across conventional, organic, and Integrated Nutrient Management rice systems. The research demonstrated that organic and INM practices, particularly when combined with optimised rather than maximised fertiliser doses, maintain higher soil quality indices and crop yields compared to conventional systems. The findings suggest that balancing nutrient inputs to match crop uptake rather than applying super-optimal doses offers a sustainable pathway for managing soil health and productivity in intensive rice ecosystems.
UK applicability
Whilst this study focuses on rice systems in tropical/subtropical conditions, the methodological approach of using a multi-indicator soil quality index weighted by PCA has applicability to UK cereal systems. However, the specific findings on organic versus conventional and INM practices, and optimal fertiliser thresholds, would require validation in UK temperate climates and soil types before direct policy application.
Key measures
Soil quality index (SQI); phosphatase activity (PA); water-holding capacity (WHC); soil microbial biomass carbon (SMB-C); organic carbon (OC); zinc (Zn); urease activity (UA); rice yield (t ha⁻¹); relative weights derived from Principal Component Analysis
Outcomes reported
The study measured soil quality index (SQI) values derived from six key soil indicators (phosphatase activity, water-holding capacity, soil microbial biomass carbon, organic carbon, zinc, and urease activity) across conventional, organic, and INM rice systems under varying fertiliser doses. Results demonstrated that organic and INM systems achieved higher SQI values than conventional systems, with optimal rather than super-optimal fertiliser doses yielding the best soil quality and rice productivity outcomes.
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