CONTEXT

Differences in land tenure regimes are one challenge to implementing soil conservation practices in agricultural systems. It is frequently assumed that tenants are less likely to adopt soil conservation strategies than owners, given a shorter-term engagement with the field. Also, the field's environmental potential (i.e., potential for agricultural production) may influence farmers' investment decisions, since high-potential fields increase the chances of achieving a return on the investment.

OBJECTIVE

Understand the effect of land tenure regimes and environmental potential on fertilization rates and balance of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur in soybean and maize crops in Argentina.

METHODS

We applied mixed-effects models on a database of 52,588 fields of soybean and maize farms, covering a total area of 3.8 M ha in Argentina during the period of 2017–2022.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the balance of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur was (mean ± SE) −29.11 ± 0.15, −2.58 ± 0.38, and 8.26 ± 0.044 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively. Despite 8.04 and 0.63 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ more nitrogen and phosphorus were applied in high-potential compared to low-potential maize fields, nutrient outputs were still higher. Therefore, net nutrient exports of the most productive fields increased by 9.99 and 2.06 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ for nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively. In soybean fields, environmental potential had no effect on nutrient application, but the net export of nitrogen and phosphorus was 9.85 and 2.14 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ higher in high-potential fields compared to low-potential fields. Tenure regime had a weak effect, mainly on phosphorus. On average, owners applied 0.37 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ more and exported 0.28 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ less phosphorus than tenants in both crops. Sulfur application and balance were weakly affected by the studied variables, and the positive balance suggests overfertilization under the assumptions of this paper. We conclude that the Argentine farming system depletes some of the main nutrients, regardless of the field's environmental potential or the land tenure system. The effect of the tenure regime is overwhelmed by the impact of environmental potential on farmers' fertilization management, with high-potential fields degrading due to soil mining at a faster pace than low-potential fields, putting future yields at risk.

SIGNIFICANCE

By exploring a farming system based on nutrient depletion, our results contribute to the general understanding of tenure regime consequences on soil degradation. Argentinean farmers should consider increasing N and P application and contemplate environmental heterogeneity to avoid nutrient mining and degradation of one of the most productive areas of the world.

中文翻译：

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作物生产的环境潜力和权属制度影响大豆和玉米作物的施肥和土壤养分挖掘

语境

土地保有权制度的差异是在农业系统中实施土壤保护措施的一大挑战。人们通常认为，鉴于与田地的接触时间较短，租户比业主更不可能采取土壤保护战略。此外，田地的环境潜力（即农业生产潜力）可能会影响农民的投资决策，因为高潜力田地增加了实现投资回报的机会。

客观的

了解土地保有权制度和环境潜力对阿根廷大豆和玉米作物施肥率和氮、磷、硫平衡的影响。

方法

我们在包含 52,588 个大豆和玉米农场的数据库中应用了混合效应模型，该数据库在 2017 年至 2022 年期间覆盖了阿根廷总面积 380 万公顷。

结果和结论

总体而言，氮、磷和硫的平衡分别为（平均值±标准误差）-29.11 ± 0.15、-2.58 ± 0.38 和8.26 ± 0.044 kg ha ^-1  yr ^-1。尽管与低潜力玉米田相比，高潜力玉米田施用了8.04 和 0.63 kg ha ^-1  yr ^{-1多的氮和磷，但养分产量仍然更高。}因此，最高产田地的氮和磷净养分输出分别增加了 9.99 和 2.06 kg ha ^-1  yr ^-1。在大豆田中，环境潜力对养分施用没有影响，但氮和磷的净输出分别为 9.85 和 2.14 kg ha ^-1  yr ^-1与低电位场相比，在高电位场中更高。权属制度有微弱的影响，主要是对磷。平均而言，所有者应用 0.37 kg ha ⁻¹  yr ⁻¹，出口 0.28 kg ha ⁻¹  yr ⁻¹两种作物的磷含量均低于租户。硫的施用和平衡受研究变量的影响较弱，正平衡表明在本文的假设下存在过度施肥。我们得出的结论是，无论田地的环境潜力或土地保有权制度如何，阿根廷的耕作系统都会耗尽一些主要养分。环境潜力对农民施肥管理的影响压倒了权属制度的影响，由于土壤开采导致高潜力田地退化的速度快于低潜力田地，使未来产量面临风险。

意义

通过探索基于养分耗竭的耕作系统，我们的结果有助于全面了解保有权制度对土壤退化的影响。阿根廷农民应考虑增加 N 和 P 的应用并考虑环境异质性，以避免世界上生产力最高的地区之一的养分开采和退化。