The Content of Topsoil Nutrients, Ph and Organic Carbon as Affected by Long-Term Application of Mineral and Organic Fertilisers

Soil is the fundamental element in agriculture and is affected in a variety of ways. Besides other things, the long-term application of mineral and organic fertilisers can significantly influence the topsoil pool of nutrients, organic carbon content and pH. Within the scope of longterm field experiments in Praha-Ruzyně, we evaluated the effect of six fertiliser treatments - unfertilised Control, farmyard manure (FYM), cattle slurry (CAT), cattle slurry amended with straw from previous cereals (CAT+STR), mineral fertiliser (NPK) and NPK amended with FYM (NPK+FYM) on a topsoil pool of nutrient content, organic carbon content (Cox) and pH between the years 2001 and 2012. In the selected period, the fertiliser treatment did not influence the N and Cox content (ranging from 0.126% to 0.143%). Phosphorus and potassium were significantly higher in the NPK+FYM treatment (109.82 and 279.27 mg/kg, respectively), while calcium and magnesium were significantly lower in the NPK treatment (2,973 and 134.95 mg/kg, respectively). Application of mineral fertilisers significantly decreased the value of pH, influencing the Ca and Mg topsoil concentrations. Organic fertilisers cannot provide a sustainable amount of nutrients to generate high yields in a short time, but release their nutrients slowly and the range of nutrients is wider. Mineral fertilisers, if not amended with organic fertilisers, can provide huge doses of nutrients, which can be quickly reused for high yields, but negatively influence the pH value, resulting in a decrease in the pool of Ca and Mg.