Fertilizer use patterns in Yunnan Province, China: implications for agricultural and environmental policy

Balancing the need to increase crop yields with the need to reduce the environmental impacts of fertilizers will pose major policy, regulatory, and extension challenges for China. A growing number of studies have demonstrated the potential for improving fertilizer use efficiency in China, but it is...

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Autores principales: Yunju L, Kahrl F, Jianjun P, Roland-Holst, D., Yufang S, Wilkes, Andreas, Jianchu X
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/52169
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author Yunju L
Kahrl F
Jianjun P
Roland-Holst, D.
Yufang S
Wilkes, Andreas
Jianchu X
author_browse Jianchu X
Jianjun P
Kahrl F
Roland-Holst, D.
Wilkes, Andreas
Yufang S
Yunju L
author_facet Yunju L
Kahrl F
Jianjun P
Roland-Holst, D.
Yufang S
Wilkes, Andreas
Jianchu X
author_sort Yunju L
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Balancing the need to increase crop yields with the need to reduce the environmental impacts of fertilizers will pose major policy, regulatory, and extension challenges for China. A growing number of studies have demonstrated the potential for improving fertilizer use efficiency in China, but it is not clear how to achieve these efficiency improvements on a larger scale. The empirical foundation for fertilizer policy in China is still weak, particularly in inland provinces. This paper examines fertilizer use patterns in Yunnan Province, an inland and ecologically important province in Southwest China, drawing on two household surveys. We find that fertilizer application rates in the survey areas are highly heterogeneous, among crops, households, and regions. Managing this diversity poses the largest challenge to fertilizer policy in Yunnan and, by extension, in China. None of the factors that we examine in this study are robust predictors of fertilizer intensity (kg ha−1) in the survey regions, though in one survey there is a strong inverse relationship between farm size and fertilizer intensity. The lack of clearer signals in the survey data, a consequence of heterogeneity in cropping patterns, agroecosystems, and local economies, underscores the importance of locally tailored approaches to fertilizer regulation in China, and of a strong, service-oriented agricultural extension system oriented around sustainable agriculture.
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spelling CGSpace521692024-08-27T10:35:46Z Fertilizer use patterns in Yunnan Province, China: implications for agricultural and environmental policy Yunju L Kahrl F Jianjun P Roland-Holst, D. Yufang S Wilkes, Andreas Jianchu X climate agriculture fertilizers crop yield environmental policies Balancing the need to increase crop yields with the need to reduce the environmental impacts of fertilizers will pose major policy, regulatory, and extension challenges for China. A growing number of studies have demonstrated the potential for improving fertilizer use efficiency in China, but it is not clear how to achieve these efficiency improvements on a larger scale. The empirical foundation for fertilizer policy in China is still weak, particularly in inland provinces. This paper examines fertilizer use patterns in Yunnan Province, an inland and ecologically important province in Southwest China, drawing on two household surveys. We find that fertilizer application rates in the survey areas are highly heterogeneous, among crops, households, and regions. Managing this diversity poses the largest challenge to fertilizer policy in Yunnan and, by extension, in China. None of the factors that we examine in this study are robust predictors of fertilizer intensity (kg ha−1) in the survey regions, though in one survey there is a strong inverse relationship between farm size and fertilizer intensity. The lack of clearer signals in the survey data, a consequence of heterogeneity in cropping patterns, agroecosystems, and local economies, underscores the importance of locally tailored approaches to fertilizer regulation in China, and of a strong, service-oriented agricultural extension system oriented around sustainable agriculture. 2012-07 2014-12-16T06:37:37Z 2014-12-16T06:37:37Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/52169 en Limited Access Elsevier Yunju L, Kahrl F, Jianjun P, Roland-Holst D, Yufang S, Wilkes A, Jianchu X. 2012. Fertilizer use patterns in Yunnan Province, China: implications for agricultural and environmental policy. Agricultural Systems 110: 78-89.
spellingShingle climate
agriculture
fertilizers
crop yield
environmental policies
Yunju L
Kahrl F
Jianjun P
Roland-Holst, D.
Yufang S
Wilkes, Andreas
Jianchu X
Fertilizer use patterns in Yunnan Province, China: implications for agricultural and environmental policy
title Fertilizer use patterns in Yunnan Province, China: implications for agricultural and environmental policy
title_full Fertilizer use patterns in Yunnan Province, China: implications for agricultural and environmental policy
title_fullStr Fertilizer use patterns in Yunnan Province, China: implications for agricultural and environmental policy
title_full_unstemmed Fertilizer use patterns in Yunnan Province, China: implications for agricultural and environmental policy
title_short Fertilizer use patterns in Yunnan Province, China: implications for agricultural and environmental policy
title_sort fertilizer use patterns in yunnan province china implications for agricultural and environmental policy
topic climate
agriculture
fertilizers
crop yield
environmental policies
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/52169
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