Table 4 The flow variation (%) that are critical for the N-P-K sign of the arable crops balance.

From: The N-P-K soil nutrient balance of Portuguese cropland in the 1950s: The transition from organic to chemical fertilization

  

Cereals and potato

Legume crops

Fallow land

N

P

K

N

P

K

N

P

K

Outputs

Harvests (Ho)

−37%

381%

11792%

61%

172%

7045%

Cropped or grazed straw (So)

−80%

706%

90%

161%

432%

184%

Cropped or grazed weeds - crops (Wo)

−56%

1045%

92%

69%

233%

120%

Cropped or grazed weeds - fallow (Go)

2%

65%

1%

Leaching and runoff (Lo)

−95%

260%

395%

340%

23%

7%

Erosion (Eo)

689%

383%

790%

500%

764%

7%

N emissions (Vo)

−50%

62%

6%

Inputs

Seeds (Si)

387%

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

Manure (Mi)

86%

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

Field excretions (Ei)

117%

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

−5%

−76%

−3%

Other biomass entries (Bi)

503%

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

Chemical fertilizers (Fi)

33%

−80%

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

Rainfall (Ri)

116%

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

−8%

(−100%)

−6%

Irrigation (Ii)

270%

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

(−100%)

Soil weathering (Wi)

(−100%)

−70%

(−100%)

−92%

−88%

−1%

Symbiotic N fixation - cultivated legumes (Li)

−36%

Symbiotic N fixation - wild legumes (LWi)

174%

(−100%)

−5%

Non-symbiotic N fixation (Oi)

234%

(−100%)

−9%

  1. The bold values identify the smaller critical values and the (−100%) notation identified the flows with negative variation superior to the flow amount.