ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Nutrition
Replacing chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers at equivalent nitrogen levels enhances soil nitrogen transformation rates in Northwest China's farmlands, consequently impacting crop yields
Provisionally accepted
Xiaohua Shi1
Yuanyuan Zhang1Junmei Liang2
Liguo Jia1Yonglin Qin1Yang Chen1Jing Yu1
Kun Liu1Lan Wu1Bofeng Zhou1Hongli Zhen1
Mingshou Fan1*- 1Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
- 2Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural & Animal Husbandry Sciences, Hohhot, China
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The effectiveness of substituting organic fertilizers for chemical fertilizers in enhancing crop yield and soil quality remains uncertain. This study conducted a two-year field experiment to investigate the effects of replacing chemical fertilizer nitrogen with organic fertilizer nitrogen at varying levels (0%, 30%, 60%, 100%) on soil nitrogen transformation and crop yield in potato and wheat cultivation. We measured soil nitrogen pools and key nitrogen-transforming enzyme activities to evaluate how various fertilization treatments affect the soil nitrogen cycling process. Results showed that replacing 60% of chemical fertilizer nitrogen with organic fertilizer (T2) significantly increased soil nitrate nitrogen content during the potato tuber expansion and wheat jointing stages. It also maintained high mineral nitrogen levels in the later growth period. Additionally, the T2 treatment significantly boosted soil urease (SU) activity by 14 - 38% and Soil alkaline protease (ALPT) activity by 9 - 22%, optimizing nitrogen transport to potato tubers and wheat grains. Compared to full chemical fertilizer treatment, T2 increased potato yield to 47.13 t·ha⁻¹ and wheat yield to 6.06 t·ha⁻¹, marking increases of 18.8% and 22.8%, respectively, and improved nitrogen use efficiency by 73.4 - 76.1%. This study demonstrates that substituting 60% of chemical fertilizer nitrogen with organic fertilizer effectively meets crop needs through a "quick-release and slow-release" coordinated nitrogen supply mechanism. It enhances nutrient release by boosting soil enzyme activities during critical fertilizer-demanding periods, offering a viable solution for reducing fertilizer use and increasing efficiency in arid and cool regions.
Keywords: arid and semi-arid region, crop yield, Organic fertilizer substitution, Soil enzyme activity, Soil nitrogen forms
Received: 22 Dec 2025; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Shi, Zhang, Liang, Jia, Qin, Chen, Yu, Liu, Wu, Zhou, Zhen and Fan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mingshou Fan
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