Long-term Variations of Chemical Properties in Controlled Horticultural Soils of Gyeongnam Province

The monitoring of chemical dynamic changes in controlled horticultural lands is very important for agricultural sustainability. Field monitoring was performed to evaluate the soil chemical properties of 200 controlled horticultural soil samples in Gyeongnam province every 4 years from 2000 to 2012. Soil chemical properties such as pH, amount of organic matter, available phosphate, nitrate nitrogen, and exchangeable potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium were analyzed. The amount of exchangeable calcium and soil pH were significantly higher in 2012 than in 2000. In 2012, the frequency distribution for values of pH, organic matter, available phosphate, and exchangeable potassium, calcium, and magnesium that were within the optimum range was 16.0%, 22.5%, 11.5%, 3.5%, 2.5%, and 5.0%, respectively. Especially, available phosphate and exchangeable calcium were excess level with portions of 76.0% and 96.5%, respectively. These results indicated that a balanced management of soil chemical properties can reduce the amount of fertilizer applied for sustainable agriculture in controlled horticultural lands.