Impacts of urbanization on topsoil nutrient balances—a case study at a provincial scale from Fujian, China

With increasing urbanization, the demands for high quality agricultural products induced changes in local cropping patterns. Although grain production still occupied a large portion in sown and planted areas, the share of sown areas declined from 67% to 44% for total grain crops, and 54% to 35% for rice between 1989 and 2002 in Fujian province. The change in crop spectrum and land use by urbanization has resulted in two extreme trends in topsoil — nutrient depletion in grain-dominated regions and nutrient overload in city suburbs. The positive correlation between nitrogen balance and local urban population in some years showed that urbanization affected nutrient balance in topsoil. The rapid changes in land use and crop spectrum caused by urbanization therefore created a challenge to the traditional soil nutrient management derived mainly from paddy fields and an urgent need for new management schemes in the province. The study provides valuable insights into nutrient management and soil sustainability in the context of rapid urbanization and population growth in Fujian.