Sulfur (S) is an essential nutrient for plant growth. Despite increasing reports of yield responses of crops to S fertilization, there is limited information about changes in the soil test concentrations of S. This study used a soil chemical analysis dataset from 2002 to 2014 to evaluate changes in soil S and other nutrient levels. The soil‐test database comprised 8,428 topsoil samples (0–20 cm depth layer) collected from 143 farm fields located in the northwest (NW) Ohio counties of Defiance, Paulding, and Williams. Except for S, the database showed no significant changes in soil chemical properties from NW Ohio between 2002 and 2014. Soil sulfate (SO₄²⁻) levels have linearly decreased by 63% from 2002 to 2014, reaching the range of concentration considered deficient for the main cereal crops. With no changes in soil organic matter (SOM) and pH, this result was attributed primarily to enactment of air quality regulations, since soil SO₄²⁻ decreases were directly correlated with the reductions of SO₂ emissions (−70%), SO₄²⁻ in rainwater (−66%) and deposited (−52%) in NW Ohio between the years of 2002–2013. Furthermore, combined increasing crop yields and insufficient compensation by fertilization had role on decreasing soil SO₄²⁻ levels. Current fertilization practices and wet deposition of S have not been sufficient to balance S removals from soil leading to the declines in the soil test S levels. It is imperative to paid more attention to practices that maintain soil S fertility levels to avoid yield penalties associated with soil S deficiencies.

中文翻译：

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2002年至2014年之间美国俄亥俄州西北部土壤中硫含量的时间趋势

硫（S）是植物生长必需的营养素。尽管农作物对硫肥的产量响应的报告有所增加，但有关土壤硫浓度测试变化的信息有限。本研究使用2002年至2014年的土壤化学分析数据集来评估土壤硫和其他养分水平的变化。土壤测试数据库包括从位于俄亥俄州西北（definance），保尔丁（Paulding）和威廉姆斯（Williams）县的143个农田收集的8,428个表层土壤样品（0-20厘米深的层）。除S之外，该数据库显示2002年至2014年之间，俄亥俄州西北部的土壤化学性质没有明显变化。土壤硫酸盐（SO ₄ ²⁻）的水平从2002年到2014年线性下降了63％，达到了主要谷物作物不足的浓度范围。在土壤有机质（SOM）和pH不变的情况下，该结果主要归因于空气质量法规的制定，因为土壤SO ₄ ^2-的减少与SO ₂排放量的减少（-70％），SO ₄直接相关。^2-在多年的2002年至2013年之间在NW俄亥俄雨水（-66％）和沉积（-52％）。此外，作物单产的提高和施肥补偿的不足对降低土壤SO ₄ ^2-的作用水平。当前的施肥做法和硫的湿沉降不足以平衡土壤中的硫去除量，导致土壤测试硫水平下降。必须更加注意保持土壤肥力水平的做法，以避免与土壤硫缺乏相关的产量损失。