2018 Volume 13 Issue 2 Pages 511-533
Soil and water pollution due to the excessive application of chemical fertilizers and agricultural chemicals was found regionally in the Chinese Loess Plateau where the traditional agricultural production structure has changed due to the effects of rural development policies and measures to control land degradation. Accordingly, the relationships between agricultural production structural changes and the chemical environmental load should be understood comprehensively. This study determined the time-series and regional differences in chemical fertilizer and agricultural chemical consumption in northern Shaanxi province using multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that the following agricultural structural changes contributed to the increased consumption: 1） the introduction of agricultural products, especially for the purpose of marketing via processing, such as apples, dent corn, and potatoes; 2） the decreased use of draft animals, which are conducive to soil fertility enhancement; and 3） the decrease in millet and sunflower cultivation, which contributes to weed control due to their allelopathic effects.
