Depth profile of plant nutrients and acidity in a non-allophanic Andosol as affected by a half-century of fertilization

To clarify the effects of long-term fertilization on the depth profile of plant nutrients and soil acidity in non-allophanic Andosols, a soil survey was conducted on fertilized grassland and adjacent secondary forest in Kuju highland, Oita Prefecture, Japan. Both of the experimental plots had been managed as a semi-natural grassland (managed by cutting, mowing, and burning for raising cows) before mid of the 1960s, and then, the former had been converted into reclaimed grassland with applying agricultural materials such as fertilizers, manure, and lime, and the latter had been abandoned which resulted in secondary succession into the secondary forest. The comparison of the depth profiles between the two plots revealed that the applied Ca2+ and Mg2+ reached at least 100 cm depth of the non-allophanic Andosol profile. The soil pH was increased at least at the depth of 100 cm, and the plant-toxic level of soil acidity (≥12 mmol kg−1), which is one of the characteristic properties of non-allophanic Andosols, was decreased in the fertilized grassland soil. Soil available P was also observed to be increased at least 80 to 100 cm depth, although the mobility was smaller than those of exchangeable cations and soil acidity. Other soil chemical properties, such as cation exchange capacity, total C and N contents, pyrophosphate-extractable Al (Alp) and Fe (Fep), acid-oxalate-extractable Al (Alo), Fe (Feo), and Si (Sio), Alp/Alo ratio, and Alo + 1/2 Feo, were not significantly altered by the modern grassland management activities. This study reveals considerable loss of plant nutrients from the fertilized grassland soil of a non-allophanic Andosol during a half-century. The loss of plant nutrients should be reduced for sustainable agriculture and conserving the natural environment.