Abstract: Taking Chiping County in the Yellow River alluvial plain of Shandong Province as study area, a systematical survey was conducted on the 20 parameters of farmland soil physical and chemical properties under wheat/corn rotation, open air vegetable planting, sunlight greenhouse vegetable planting, and plastic shed vegetable planting, aimed to evaluate the effects of different planting patterns on the farmland soil quality in the plain. Significant differences (P<0.05 or P<0.01) were observed in the soil pH, soil moisture content, and the contents of soil organic matter, N, P, K, available S and Zn, and total salt under different planting patterns. The soil available P under all tested planting patterns and the soil available S under sunlight greenhouse vegetable planting presented a comparatively higher variability. Different planting patterns had significant effects on the soil quality, with the trend of protected vegetable planting>open air vegetable planting>wheat/corn rotation. The effects were higher on soil chemical properties than on soil physical properties, and higher on soil organic matter and macronutrients than on soil secondary nutrients. Soil micronutrients were less affected. The main causes for these were the straw-returning of wheat and corn, the application of sulfur-containing and zinc fertilizers, and the long-term high rate fertilization of protected vegetable planting.

Key words: wheat/corn rotation, vegetable, planting pattern, soil physical and chemical properties, cut chrysanthemum, continuous cropping obstacle, bio-organic fertilizer, fungicide, cut chrysanthemum quality, soil enzymatic activities.