83

Nutrient Use and Efficiency in East Asian Agriculture
Shin-ichiro MISHIMA1*, Te-Kung OH2, Yung-Ha DUAN3, Yilai LOU3, Hong-Be YUN2,
Dong-Bae LEE2, Minggang XU3 and Youn LEE4
*1National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences,3-1-3 Kannondai, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki, 305-8604, Japan
2
National Academy of Agricultural Science, Suwon, Korea
3
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
4
Korea International Co-operation Agency, Seoul, Korea*e-mail: shin@affrc.go.jp

Abstract
To determine the available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) resource budgets (application
minus plant uptake), we obtained data on inorganic fertilizers and livestock manure from statistical yearbooks
for Japan, the Republic of Korea and China. Uptake of N, P and K via crop production was also calculated using national nutrient content factors. From the budget and crop production data, we calculated the N, P and K
surpluses and use efficiencies. Japan used too much P, Korea balanced its use of inorganic fertilizer but
needed to improve manure use, and China had high nutrient inputs and outputs in crop yield. To improve
nutrient use efficiency and decrease the surplus, we set some guidelines, such as N, P and K output by crop
yield should be more than 60 percent, 40 percent and 75 percent of applied inorganic fertilizer plus manure,respectively, or the inorganic N fertilizer application level should be around half of the crop yield, with theeffectiveness of organic P and K as 100 percent of inorganic P and K fertilizers. Based on this analysis, wefound that Japan should apply inorganic P fertilizer primarily to compensate for soil P deficiency, Korea
should develop forage crop production and build recycling pathways within the country, and China should reduce its excessive use of N to reduce the N content of crops.
Key words: East Asia, nitrogen, nutrient balance, nutrient use efficiency, phosphorus, potassium

1. Introduction
Phosphorus (P) is the second-most important elementin crop production, after nitrogen (N). Sheldrick et al.
(2002) identified a rapid increase in P deficiency aroundthe world after 1987. This suggests that more P fertilizer,
obtained mostly from rock phosphate, will be needed tosustain future crop production. Sustaining crop production, however, also requires appropriate amounts of otherkey nutrients, such as N and potassium (K). To develop
more appropriate regimes for the use of N, P and K, thebudgets for these nutrients (i.e., the balances between
application and uptake by crops) need to be determined.
Sheldrick et al. (2003) audited Chinese N, P and K
consumption, and found that K deficiency was the limiting factor in Chinese crop production. They also believedthat the Republic of Korea (hereafter, “Korea”) provided
a useful model for managing nutrient supply to crops.
The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), however, suggested that Korea had thethird-highest soil surface N balance (the total N input tofarmland minus the total N output from farmland) among
OECD countries (OECD, 2008). Thus, Korea might not
Global Environmental Research
19/2015: 83-90
printed in Japanbe an appropriate model for N use by other Asian countries such as China. Japan has the largest P surplus inOECD countries (OECD, 2008). Sheldrick et al. (2002)
also noted high use of P in Japan, in addition to high N
and K application. This appears to be based on the perception that half of Japanese upland fields, which are
dominated by andosols, have strong P fixation activity(i.e., low P availability), and therefore require large inputs of P. Yoshiike (1983) reviewed soil P fertility inJapan and found that Japanese farmland lacks sufficientavailable soil P; 44 mg P kg–1 dry soil would be needed toprovide enough P to sustain crop yields. Japan’s Ministryof Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF, 2005) set
this value as the lower limit for soil P availability in the
Soil Fertility Enhancement Act implemented in 1984. On
the other hand, Japan had the fourth-highest soil surface
N balance among OECD countries (OECD, 2008).
Sheldrick et al. (2002) noted that farmers in Japan use
large amounts of N fertilizers to improve the yield of
paddy rice. Mishima (2001a), however, reported a trend
towards reduced application of inorganic N fertilizer inthe cultivation of paddy rice.
These sometimes conflicting conclusions resulted©2015 AIRIES84

S. MISHIMA et al.

from different assessment perspectives and objectives.
All food produced by farmers ultimately derives fromfood crops (i.e., vegetables and cereals) and feed crops(i.e., livestock fodder). Therefore, sustainable crop production is essential for maintaining a nation’s food supply.
Determining appropriate fertilizer usage is the basis forsustainable crop production. To support this goal, we
calculated the national available N, P and K fertilizer
budgets and crop N, P and K uptake in 2010 for three
representative countries: Japan, as an example of acountry with high fertilizer application levels; Korea, as
an example of a country that practices rational nutrientuse (Sheldrick et al., 2003); and China, as an example ofa country with a K deficit (Sheldrick et al. 2003). We thencompared the results of the three countries to seek insights into better N, P and K use in East Asia.

2. Materials and Methods
2.1 Framework
Figure 1 shows the nutrient flow model that we usedas the framework for our study. We set a goal of assigning
all livestock waste to storage and composting. We set
human waste in rural areas as a source of nutrients in
China. During storage and composting of livestock waste
in the three countries and human waste in China, part of
the K and P is lost through leaching. Part of the N is lost
through volatilization as ammonia, nitrous oxide or N2
and through leaching. The remaining livestock wastes
stabilize as manure with certain N, P and K concentrations that differ among the countries. Manure represents
an important potential national source of N, P and K thatcan be recycled via crop production. National statistics
on inorganic fertilizer demand and consumption wereobtained from statistical yearbooks (see Section 2.2 fordetails) and used to represent the N, P and K supplies
used for crop production. The sum of manure and inorganic N, P and K fertilizer represents the total potential
inputs to farmland soils to support crop production. The
crop yield represents the output of N, P and K from thefarmland. The balance for each element represents thebudget (amount applied) minus the output in crops, andindicates a surplus or deficiency.

Crop yieldFig. 1 Framework of this study.

To calculate the uptake and output values, we usedconversion factors specific to each country that translated
the statistical data for inputs and outputs into amounts of
N, P and K.
2.2 Calculations
In Japan, livestock waste N, P and K production perhead of livestock was obtained from feed consumption
data (MAFF, 2011a), multiplied by the concentrations ofN, P and K in the feed (Japan Livestock Industry Association: JLIA 2010). Consumption of feed by different
kinds of livestock (MAFF, 2011b) was used in the calculation developed by Tsuiki and Harada (1997) for N and P
and the equation by Ikumo (2001) for K to get livestock
waste production. For Korea, data on livestock waste
production per capita were obtained from Yun et al.
(2013). For China, data on livestock and human waste
production per capita were obtained from CAAS
(Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, 1994). Here,half of the Chinese population was considered rural (Mou,2011), who would use their waste as manure. The loss of
P from manure during composting was based on datafrom Matsumoto et al. (2006). Losses of N and K were
calculated as the difference between the N:P and K:P
ratios in livestock wastes and the corresponding ratios in
the composted manure (Mishima et al. 2008). National
manure N, P and K concentrations were obtained from
Furuya (2005) for Japan, Um and Lee (2001) for Korea,
and CAAS (1994) for China.
Inorganic fertilizer demand and consumption forJapan and Korea were obtained from the Pocket Fertilizer
Handbook (Norin Tokei Kyokai, 2012) and from MFAFF(Ministry of Food Agricultre, Forestry and Fisheries,2012), respectively. The China Agricultural Yearbook(Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), 2011) provided thenational consumption of single-ingredient N, P and K
fertilizers and of compound inorganic fertilizers. Because
N, P and K ratios in typical compound inorganic fertilizers are not provided, we estimated these ratios by dividing the amount of compound inorganic fertilizer by the
N:P:K ratios in single fertilizers. We used the sum of thesingle and compound inorganic fertilizers to represent the
Chinese national total.
The total inputs of N, P and K to farmland equaled thesum of the manure and inorganic fertilizer inputs.
Crop yield data were obtained from the Statistical
Yearbooks of Japan (MAFF, 2011a), Korea (MFAFF,
2012) and China (MoA, 2011). The N, P and K contents
of agricultural crops were obtained from each country’s
native values: the Food Composition Table 5th edition forJapan (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scienceand Technology (MECSST), 2001), the Feed Composition Standard for Japan (JLIA, 2010), the Food Composition Table 8th edition for Korea (Rural Development
Agency, 2011) and the China Fertilizer (CAAS, 1994).
The yield of each crop was multiplied by the corresponding N, P and K concentrations to determine the N,
P and K outputs from farmland.
Inputs of N, P and K minus the corresponding outputs

Agricultural nutrient use in East Asia

in crops equaled the corresponding surplus (a positive
value) or deficiency (a negative value). We calculated thenutrient-use efficiency by dividing the outputs of crops
by the corresponding inputs. We defined the inorganic
fertilizer efficiency or manure efficiency as the outputs
divided by the corresponding inputs.
To allow a comparison among the three countries, all
input, output and balance values were expressed per unit
cultivated area (per ha). Data on the cultivated areas wereobtained from MAFF (2011a) for Japan, MFAFF (2012)
for Korea, and MoA (2011) for China. Note that because
cultivation of multiple crops per year was possible insome regions, we counted some areas two or three times
to estimate the total cultivated area. This is justifiablebecause a new fertilizer application is performed for eachnew crop.

85

Higher productivity in Japan was supported by fodder
production to sustain dairy and beef cattle (MAFF,
2011a). The area of fodder production in Japan was relatively large (759,100ha = 18% of the total crop area by
MAFF 2011a). The other typical crop was fiber crops inChina, which accounted for a much higher proportion of
the cultivated area than in Japan.
Crop N, P and K contents were considerably higher in
China than in Japan or Korea, particularly for paddy rice
(Table 1). As a result, N, P and K outputs in crops werehighest in China, at 48, 74 and 50 times the respective
corresponding Japanese values (Table 1). Outputs of N, P
and K in Korea amounted to 21, 28, and 11%, respectively, of the corresponding Japanese outputs. The low P
and K outputs in Korea were caused by different production structures; Japan has a large area of forage(118,417ha) and fodder fields (these occupied 21% of thecultivated area), and these crops have high N and K concentrations (JLIA, 2010).

3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Crop production and nutrient contents
China had the largest cultivated area because of thecountry’s large size and the need to support a huge
population (Table 1). The area of food and feed crops was
smaller than the total cultivated area in Japan and Korea,
but was 1.7 times the cultivated area in China (Table 1).
This is because many Chinese farmers and some Japanese and Korean farmers cultivate multiple crops per year,
especially in the southern coastal regions (MoA, 2011).
More than half of the cultivated area was occupied by
paddy rice in Korea. The smallest proportion of paddy
fields, amounting to about one-quarter of the cultivatedarea, was in China (Table 1), but paddy rice accounted forthe largest area of any crop in China and Japan (MoA,
2011; MAFF, 2011a).
Although the crop composition differed among thecountries, the cultivated area in China was 27 times thatin Japan and the area of food and feed crops (after accounting for multiple crops per year) was 48 times that inJapan. Korea produced 25% of Japan’s fresh weight ofcrops from 35% of Japan’s farmland area, despite producing 32% less paddy rice than in Japan (Table 1).

3.2 Nutrient budget in human and livestock wastes
Japan had a larger dairy cattle population than Korea
and China (Table 2). Korea had about the same population of beef cattle and swine as Japan, even though thearea cultivated in Korea was only 37% of the corresponding area in Japan. Korea has no area of land used to
grow feed for dairy and beef cattle. This situation would
make recycling of livestock waste in farmland difficult,like the practice of recycling manure in intensive dairy
and beef cattle areas in Japan (Mishima 2001b). China
had 28, 47 and 19 times the numbers of dairy + beef cattle,
swine and poultry, respectively, as Japan, with 27 times
the cultivated area of Japan. There were large differencesin the waste N, P and K production per head of each kindof livestock and in the N, P and K contents and ratios ofthe manure in composted and fresh material (Table 2).
These differences would reflect differences in the nutrient content of the feed, in the composition of the feed,
and in the composting practices in each country. Even in
Japan, the basic units of livestock waste production as
amounts of N, P and K (e.g., Kohyama et al., 2006;

Table 1 Crop production and nutrient content.
Cultivated area

Area (ha)
Japan
Korea
China
4,593,000 1,715,301 121,715,900

Food and feed crops

4,244,000 1,474,654 201,935,300

65,099,023 16,582,442(Paddy rice)

1,625,000

Fiber crops

899

Japan

Production (Mg)
Korea

China

Nutrient content (% Fresh weight)
Japan
Korea
China

Nutrient Production (Mg)
Japan
Korea
China

N: 0.03-5.65 N: 0.03-5.79 N: 0.00-8.96 N: 432,542 N: 92,721 N: 20,923,602
1,766,644,577 P: 0.00-0.92 P: 0.00-0.62 P: 0.00-1.42 P: 48,769 P: 14,097 P: 3,625,053
K: 0.00-0.30 K: 0.00-0.26 K: 0.00-8.18 K: 328,223 K: 39,365 K: 16,588,133

892,074

29,873,400

8,478,000

5,810,817

N: 1.09
195,761,000 P: 0.29
K: 0.23-

5,111,600

11,500-

N: 0.39
6,592,702 P: 0.03
K: 0.23

N:1.04
P:0.15
K:0.15

N: 2.48
P: 0.48
K: 3.09

N: 92,410
P: 24,586
K: 19,499

N: 0.57
P: 0.13
K: 0.10

N: 45
P: 3
K: 26

N: 60,432 N: 4,854,873
P: 8,716 P: 939,653
K: 8,716 K: 6,049,015-

N: 37,578
P: 1,978
K: 6,593

Table 2 Livestock holdings and waste production per head in 2010.
Livestock holding (head)
Japan
Korea
Dairy cattle
Beef cattle
Swine
Poultry
Human *
Sheep and goat

China

1,484,000
429,547
14,201,000
2,892,000
2,921,844
106,264,000
9,768,000
9,880,632
464,600,000
285,536,000 149,199,689 5,352,510,000
667,370,000
280,879,000

Japan
229.0
215.1
24.9
0.8

N
Korea
174.5
78.8
22.4
1.4

Waste production (g head-1 day-1)
P
China Japan Korea China Japan
104.4
39.3
53.9
14.0
81.4
104.4
45.5
22.7
14.0 134.3
33.1
6.5
2.9
12.9
6.7
0.5
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.2
12.0
3.2
15.6
2.8

K
Korea
40.5
125.6
6.9
0.5

China
130.1
130.1
20.3
0.4
3.7
10.0

Manure nutrient content (% Dry weight, *: % Fresh weight)
N
P
K
Japan Korea China* Japan Korea China* Japan Korea China*
2.10 2.06 0.50
0.90 1.22 0.13
1.83 0.45 0.71
2.10 2.06 0.50
0.90 1.22 0.13
1.83 0.45 0.71
2.86 2.68 0.38
1.88 3.05 0.16
1.86 0.77 0.32
2.89 5.10 1.29
2.24 2.11 0.54
2.23 1.45 1.30
N.A
N.A
N.A
0.78
0.15
0.74

86

S. MISHIMA et al.

Ikumo, 2001) and nutrient content in manure differed(MAFF, 1982; Furuya, 2005).
Table 3 summarizes the total livestock waste production and the calculated composted manure N, P and K
amounts for each type of livestock, based on the N:P and
N:K ratios for each country (Furuya, 2005; China
Agricultural Technology Extension Center (CATEC),
1999; Um & Lee, 2001) and the rate of P loss based on anassumed 7% loss rate (Matsumoto et al., 2006). The
largest proportional N and K losses were observed in
Korea, and the smallest were observed in China. The
Japanese proportional losses of N and K were close to
those in Korea. Proportional losses of P did not differ
among the countries because they were based on a single
assumed rate; future research should determine whether
the rate differs among the three countries. Based on theavailable data, we could not include the effects ofco-materials that are added to livestock wastes, such as
wood chips, rice husks, and rice straw, that contain N, P
and especially K (Um & Lee, 2001), during the composting process. Thus, these losses of N, P and K are
likely to be inaccurate. The small losses of N and K in
China, however, suggest that Chinese manure might not
be fully composted. In Korea, composting is done bycomposting companies, so livestock waste is generallycomposted sufficiently to provide a consistent commercial product. In Japan, composting is done both by composting companies and by individual farms, especiallysince 2004, when the Livestock Waste Management Act
came into full force. Under this act, the government intended for livestock farmers to produce mature andhomogeneous manure with a high nutrient content fromlivestock wastes (Yamada et al., 2006). Producing maturecompost is important, because the ammonia content
and/or growth inhibitors such as phenol, lower fatty acid,tannin, etc. in immature compost have been shown potentially to damage to crop roots (Sato, 2006), although the
low K loss in China might mitigate the national K deficiency indicated by Sheldrick et al. (2003). Several trials
Table 3 Livestock waste production andpotential manure production.
Waste
N LossManureWaste
P LossManureWaste
K LossManureJapan
Korea
521,406 265,863
324,833 177,750
196,573 88,113
103,497 58,001
7,245
4,060
96,252 53,941
230,027 129,842
67,672 50,202
162,354 79,639

China
15,595,604
3,533,718
12,061,887
4,270,029
298,9023,971,127
11,824,034
1,549,720
10,274,314
Unit: Mg

using mature compost with high and balanced nutrient
contents by blending have been conducted in Japan (e.g.,
Matsumori et al., 2005). In one example, the N, P and K
content in cattle waste compost blended with rape seed
residue was found to be 3.5%, 3.2% and 3.1%, respectively, the dry matter of which had an N: P: K ratio of
2.5: 1: 1.8. In cattle and poultry waste manure, the figures
were 3.4%, 2.8%, 3.2% (= 2 :1 :1.6; Matsumori et al.,2005). The N: P: K ratio in livestock manure is usually
1.2–1.7: 1: 0.9–1.5 (from Table 2), therefore, blended
compost has more N and K than usual manure. The use ofsuch technology would be helpful in improving the use of
livestock wastes in these three countries.
3.3 Inorganic fertilizer use
Table 4 summarizes the use of inorganic fertilizers incrop production. From these values, we calculated the
N:P and N:K ratios. Compared with Korea and China,
Japan had a low N:P ratio. This resulted from high P
inputs rather than from low N inputs, because the acidic
soils and large proportion of andosols in cultivated fields
have led farmers to assume low P availability and theneed for supplemental P fertilization (Yoshiike, 1983).
The N:P ratios were similar in Korea and China. The K:P
ratio, however, was highest in Korea and lowest in China.
Low K input might be caused by high prices and low
affordability of inorganic K fertilizers for Chinese farmers (MoA, 2011), because China does not produce
K-containing ore and must import this resource.
3.4 Nutrient surplus or deficiency and nutrient use
efficiencies
All the results were divided by the respective cultivated areas to facilitate comparisons among the three
countries (Table 5). China had the highest potential
manure budget, inorganic fertilizer use, and crop yield(output) of N, P and K. The balance between the potential
N, P and K inputs in manure plus inorganic fertilizers andthe crop yield (output) revealed a large surplus, even of K,
in China.
China had the largest nitrogen surplus, with a value
7.5 times that of Japan and 2.7 times that of Korea. Japan
had the smallest N surplus, which resulted both from thehigh N loss during composting and the low input of
inorganic fertilizer in Japan and Korea. In China, theaverage N input to paddy rice was 113 kg N ha–1 (Jin,2012), versus 59.5 kg N ha–1 in Japan (Norin Tokei
Kyokai, 2012), although we do not have data for Korea.
A large proportion of the N applied in China (34%, Jin,
2012; 23% Zhu & Zhang, 2010) is thought to be lost after
application as ammonia or denitrification in alkali soils(Xu, 2006) and due to microbial activity. If we subtract

Table 4 Mineral fertilizer use.

N
P
K

Japan
Amount(Mg)
Ratio *
574,177 2.337093
245,6801463,078 1.884885

Korea
China
Amount(Mg)
Ratio* Amount(Mg)
Ratio *
211,217 6.827202 34,838,304 6.691574
30,9381
5,206,294
1
69,301 2.240022
7,233,002 1.38928*:

Against amount of P

Agricultural nutrient use in East Asia

this 34% or 23% of total N input budget (=170 or 115 kg
N ha–1), the N surplus is smaller, but the value (158 or
213 kg N ha–1) is still higher than the corresponding
values in Japan and Korea.
The inorganic fertilizer use efficiency in Japan was
about twice the levels in Korea and China, which had
similar efficiencies. About 50% of the N in crops in Japanis believed to come from inorganic fertilizer and the rest
from manure and soil organic matter (Matsumoto& Kurihara, 1994). Therefore, the high inorganic
fertilizer application rates in Korea and China might beneeded to sustain high crop production. The highefficiency of inorganic fertilizer use in Japan is supportedby the high N concentration (0.46% in fresh weight) andhigh productivity (36,332 kg fresh weight ha–1) of fodder
crops (MAFF, 2011a; JLIA, 2010). Mishima et al.,(2013) have suggested a small N surplus in fodder fields
as well as in paddy rice, but a deficiency if the manure
input is excluded (Table 5).
Manure N efficiency was more than 100% in all three
countries. The highest Japanese manure N efficiency
resulted from a large N loss during composting (Table 5).
Korean and Chinese manure N efficiencies were around100%, namely, the manure N budget was as large as thecrop N yield (Table 5). Manure N is expected to be soilorganic N in the end. We should focus on the trend of soil
N quantity and available N in the soil. Nutrient use efficiency in total was lower in Korea and China than inJapan. Although their inorganic fertilizer application may
be reasonable, the higher potential manure N supply
decreased the efficiency compared with Japan (Table 5).
Sheldrick et al. (2002) stated that the N use efficiency in
Korea and China was ca. 50%, which is close to the values found by the present study. If half of the N in the cropcomes from inorganic fertilizer and the other half comefrom soil or manure N, each efficiency would be 100%.
With this in mind, China and Korea should reduce mineral N fertilizer. To achieve sustainable crop production it
will be necessary to find a better balance between the useof N from inorganic fertilizer and that from manure.
The P surplus was largest in China and lowest in
Korea (Table 5). China had the largest P output in crop
yield, at 2.7 times that of Japan and 3.8 times that of
Korea. China, however, had the largest P content in inorganic fertilizer and manure, which gave China the largest
P surplus. Traditionally, Korean soil fertility management

87

has been based on the available soil P. Therefore, P is
expected to be well managed, and soil P fertility is expected to be affected less by fertilizer inputs in Korea(Kim et al., 2011) than in Japan (Mishima et al., 2013).
Inorganic fertilizer efficiency for P is highest in China, at
twice the value in Japan (Table 5). Japanese P input
through inorganic fertilizer is too high compared with theyield (output) in crops, particularly compared with thebalances in Korea and China (Table 5). This likely resultsfrom the unique soil types in Japan, especially theprevalence of andosols, which lead to higher P requirements. However, the P availability in soils increased fromthe late 1970s to the early 2000s in Japan (Obara & Nakai,2004) and on this basis, Japanese P fertilization strategies
should be revised to base P inputs on the actual soil P
availability. In other words, Japan should reduce P inputs
in fertilizer where the soil P availability permits such a
reduction. Although their estimation was done for 2000,
Mishima et al. (2013) stated that Japan could decrease its
P fertilization to less than half the conventional rate (from61.6 to 25.8 kg P ha–1).
Nutrient use efficiency for P was highest in China, at
31%; this was nearly double the levels in Japan and
Korea. Sheldrick et al. (2002) reported a P use efficiencyof 40% taking into account both inorganic fertilizer andmanure. The inorganic fertilizer efficiency was higher
than this level in Korea and China, but not in Japan. The
additional P input in manure, however, decreased the P
use efficiency below 40%, especially in Korea, where themanure P input was larger than the inorganic fertilizer P
input (Table 5). Kusaba et al., (2009) stated that manure P
can be considered equivalent to inorganic P fertilizer infarmland soils that have been fertilized sufficiently thenmatured. Therefore, Korea might be able to replace someinorganic fertilizer with manure. The high crop P yield(output) in China has resulted in relatively high nutrient
use efficiency. China should also be able to reduce its
inorganic fertilizer inputs. For more sustainable crop
production, China, Korea and especially Japan should
investigate the soil P fertility in their own farmland
through soil testing and manage it rationally for sustainable crop production and P resource governance.
The K surplus was largest in Korea and smallest inJapan (Table 5). Korea’s large K surplus was caused by
the low crop K yield, and the small K surplus in Japanwas caused by having the smallest amount of manure K

Table 5 Nutrient balances in East Asian countries.

Livestock ｗaste (1)(Loss) (2)Manure (3=1-2)
Mineral fertilizer (4)Nutrient bugdet (5=3+4)
Crop yielding (6)Balance (7=5-6)
Mineral fertilizer efficiency (8=6/4)
Manure efficiency (9=6/3)
Nutirent use efficiency (10=6/5)

N
P
Japan Korea China Japan Korea China
185
155
166
25
34
44
(144) (104)
(32)
(2)
(2)
(3)
41
51
133
24
31
41
97
123
367
40
18
55
138
175
501
63
49
96
94
54
172
11
8
30
44
120
328
53
41
66
98%
44%
47%
27%
46%
54%
228% 105% 129%
45%
26%
72%
68%
31%
34%
17%
17%
31%

K
Japan Korea China
50
76
132
(12)
(29)
(20)
38
46
112
61
40
76
99
87
188
71
23
136
27
64
52
118%
57% 179%188%
49% 122%
72%
26%
72%
kg ha-1

88

S. MISHIMA et al.

and an intermediate crop K yield (Table 5). Although K
deficiency was thought to be a limiting factor for Chinese
agriculture (Sheldrick et al., 2003), our estimates suggest
a large K surplus in China (Table 5). The inorganic fertilizer efficiency in China and Japan were both more than
100%, which suggests that the K yield in crops was larger
than the input of inorganic K fertilizer (Table 5). In Japanand China, manure K efficiency is also more than 100%
(Table 5), therefore, application of manure K as well as
inorganic K fertilizer would be required to maintain soil
K fertility. The reasons for this might include perceptions
that the soil already has enough K availability (e.g.,
Obara & Nakai, 2004), K is sufficiently supplied frommanure (Mishima et al. 2013), the price of mineral K
fertilizer has risen recently (Norin Tokei Kyokai, 2012),
the effect of K fertilizer application is sometimes unclear,etc. The higher crop K yield than the inorganic fertilizer
input in Japan resulted from high K concentrations andhigh K yields in Japanese fodder crops, and in China, itcame from the high K concentrations in Chinese crops(Table 1). Sheldrick et al. (2002) suggested a K use efficiency of 75%. The nutrient use efficiency in Japan and
China was near this level, although this efficiency was
only achieved after accounting for the manure K budget.
In Korea, the K use efficiency was much lower, so it
might be appropriate to use less inorganic K fertilizer(Table 5), although it will be necessary to consider the
manure K budget carefully in the context of national K
use for crop production. Kusaba et al. (2009) also statedthat manure K can be used at levels similar to those of
inorganic K fertilizer. Replacement of some of the inorganic K fertilizer with manure K would be possible, promoting a native and important K resource in Korea.
3.5 Required governance of resources in East Asia
Firstly, we calculated nutrient budgets and crop
nutrient yields, referencing national statistics (e.g., crop
yields, livestock holdings, mineral fertilizer use) published in each country and the country’s native conversion factors (basic unit of waste production, manure
nutrient content, food nutrient content, and so on) where
possible, because conversion factors differ considerably
between countries. If we were unable to obtain sufficient
statistical data about the country in question, we referredto the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which
has national statistical data. We had no ideas for otherdata sources for conversion factors, such as crop nutrient
concentrations, especially in developing countries. The
FAO publishes food nutrition tables and this information
might be helpful in the case of developing countries.
Livestock waste manure represents an important partof a country’s native nutrient resource pool, and its
effective use as a fertilizer source in combination withinorganic fertilizer could decrease the negative environmental impacts of agriculture and increase the sustainability of crop production. The first step toward achieving these goals would be a better understanding of thenutrient flows and contents, which can be used to develop
sustainable fertilizer resource management regimes.

Guidelines that consider effective use of organic andinorganic fertilizers would be based on nutrient efficiencies of N, P and K of 60%, 40% and 75%, respectively,
according to Scheldrick (2002); livestock manure P and
K effectiveness of 100% and 100%, respectively, of
inorganic fertilizers, according to Kusaba et al. (2009);
application of inorganic N fertilizer at around half of N in
the crop output (Matsuzaka & Kurihara, 1994); and an Nbalance of less than 100 kg N ha-1 surplus, according to
the OECD (2008).
Inorganic fertilizer use in Korea is around twice the N,
P and K output in crops (Table 5). This may represent a
reasonable and sustainable approach to crop production,
but there is room for improvement in the use of manure N,
P and K. To improve the sustainability of Korean crop
production, agricultural managers should incorporate theproduction of forage crops such as dent-corn, sorghum
and green rye, which have a higher feed yield per unit
area than fodder yield (e.g., MAFF, 2011a), and should
develop and enhance nutrient recycling pathways.
Although there are regional problems in Japan (Mishima,
2001b), namely, Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures
have no way to make complete use of livestock manure
nor any method or technology to mitigate high N surpluses, the Japanese approach to animal husbandry,
namely local land use for dairy and beef cattle, would be
helpful in Korea.
In Japan, much more attention must be paid to P
management based on the actual soil P availability offarmland, leading to the application of more appropriate
amounts of P. The traditional Korean approach based on
soil P availability would provide helpful guidance formanaging soil P availability in Japan. N and K management might be appropriate in Japan, as the average N(60%) and K (75%) efficiencies followed those proposedby Sheldrick et al. (2002). Management of the available
K budget of soil in Japan is not a priority, however, so K
levels and the available P budget fluctuate widely(Mishima et al., 2013). High N and K contents in fodder
in comparison with the values in the 1979 Feed Composition Table (MAFF, 1980) suggest a possible risk ofmethemoglobinemia or grass tetany in cattle. Japan must
therefore improve its monitoring of fodder crop quality.
Substitution of inorganic N, P and K fertilizer withmanure N, P and K would improve sustainability of cropand livestock production in Japan.
China had a K surplus. Although the use of inorganic
K fertilizer was insufficient, the potential manure K
budget, which includes human feces from rural populations, appears able to compensate for any lack of K frominorganic fertilizer. Suitable distribution of livestock
manure would increase the sustainability of Chinese crop
production. Soil N and P availability in China has beenstable or has sometimes increased, whereas soil K availability has been stable or decreased (Xu, 2006). Suchdecreases in K availability might be mitigated by increased use of livestock wastes or manure. Chinese
manure, however, would be too immature under the current compost production system, because of the highAgricultural nutrient use in East Asia

concentration of N and K against P, and this might cause
other soil-related problems (e.g., too strongly reduced
conditions in paddy rice fields) thus, more advanced
composting technologies might be required.

4. Conclusions
Although P use efficiency was low in Japan and
Korea, management of N and K appears to be acceptableand efficient in Japan. Inorganic N, P and K fertilizer
management in Korea was reasonable compared with its
management in Japan and China, although accounting for
manure N, P and K reduces the nutrient use efficiency.
This conclusion, however, depends on the assumption of
a 7% P loss rate in livestock wastes and manure for all
countries. Because composting technology is immature
in China, this assumption should be tested in future research. Japanese P management is less rigorous than in
Korea and China, though this results to some extent fromthe unique characteristics (low P availability) of Japanesesoils; nonetheless, P management in Japan should be
revised to better account for actual soil P availability.
Achieving reasonable N and K surpluses and use efficiencies will depend strongly on fodder production in
Japan. Chinese N, P and K resource budgets and outputs
in crop production appear reasonable, but the high N
surplus should be decreased through more efficient use of
inorganic N fertilizers. The present results suggest that
increasing soil availability and improving the use of
livestock manure will be the key to sustainability in all
three countries.

Acknowledgments
We acknowledge help from members of the National
Academy of Agricultural Science in Korea and membersof the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, especially the graduate and under-graduate students, whoprovided us advice and discussed Korean and Chinese
Agriculture with us. Our work has been supported by the
Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society,Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST-RISTEX) asa research program on Science, Technology and Innovation Policy.
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Shin-ichiro MISHIMA
Shin-ichiro MISHIMA is an agroecologist. He
graduated from the Hiroshima University
Graduate School of Arts and Science. He worked
at the National Institute of AgroEnvironmental
Sciences under the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries until 2000. Upon reorganization of that ministry, he moved to anagency under the National Institute for Agricultural Sciences from 2001
until present. He received his Ph.D. in 2004 for his work in agricultural
nitrogen use in Japan and mitigation of N surplus and received an
Encouragement Award from the Japanese Society of Soil Science andPlant nutrition and an Agricultural Science Progress Award from theFoundation of Agricultural Science Japan in 2007. He has published morethan 29 peer reviewed papers and contributed to 44 others. He is trying toestablish low-environmental-impact agriculture by optimizing fertilizer
use for food and feed crops based on regional and national fertilizer
resource budgets and by managing farmland soil fertility.

Te-Kung OH
Te-Kung OH male, a soil scientist, a post doctoral fellow under Dong-Bae
LEE. Got a doctor degree of soil science in Japan.

Yung-Ha DUAN
Yung-Ha DUAN female, a soil scientist, a post doctoral fellow under
Minggang XU.

Yilai LOU
Yilai LOU is a soil scientist. He received his Ph. D.
from the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese
Academy of Sciences in 2010. He worked at theInstitute of Agricultural Resources and Regional
Planning, Chinese Academy of Sciences from2010 to 2013. After that he worked at the Instituteof Environment and Sustainable Development inAgriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has published more than
40 peer reviewed papers.

Hong-Be YUN
Hong-Be YUN, male, a specialist of soil information system. He belongs to
the National Academy of Agricultural Science in Korea.

Dong-Bae LEE
Dong-Bae LEE is a soil scientist. He graduated in1983 from the College of Agriculture, Chonbuk
National University, ROK. He studied synthesisof artificial zeolite using coal fly ash and received
his doctorate in 1999 from Ehime University,
Japan. He moved to the National Academy ofAgricultural Science and carried out research on
evaluation of agricultural multifunctionalty as a team chief and on climatechange and ecology as a division director. He currently works in soil andfertilizers as a division director under Rural Development, ROK. He has
published influential academic papers and received one best Academic
Paper Award from the Korean Society of Soil Science & Fertilizer in 2006
and another best Academic Paper Award from the Korean Society of
Climate Change Research in 2014. He published a book in 2012, on 25
solutions given by 25 experts to confront climate change, which wasselected as an outstanding book by the Ministry of Environment, ROK. He
has attended UNFCCC and GRA conferences several times as a Koreandelegate. He has served as vice president of the Korean Society of Soil
Science & Fertilizer since 2013. He aims to exchange opinions with the
public through his newspaper column on environmental conservation andclimate-smart agriculture.

Minggang XU
Minggang XU is a professor of soil science. He
earned his Ph.D. in agricultural sciences with amajor in soil chemistry and plant nutrition sciencein 1994 at the Northwestern Agricultural University of China. Since then, he has been working
in the field of soil fertility. He has demonstrated
his academic and leadership ability with successful research grants, publications and professional management, receiving
eight awards from the Chinese government. He has edited five books andpublished more than 80 research papers in peer-reviewed journals. He iscurrently the deputy president of the Soil Science Society of China anddeputy director general of the Institute of Agricultural Resources andRegional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Youn LEE
Youn LEE has a Ph.D. in plant physiology from
Texas A&M University. He worked at the
National Academy of Agricultural Science of
Korea until 2012. Now he is working at the
Korean Federation of Sustainable Agriculture
Organizations (www.kfsao.org) as a principal
research fellow. He is also involved in the KOICA(Korea International Cooperation Agency, www.koica.go.kr) program as
an agricultural expert. He is trying to develop sustainable farming systems
for small farms in sub-Saharan countries of Africa. His main interests
include nutrient budgets, resource recycling, green manures, agro-forestry
and organic farming.

(Received 31 August 2014, Accepted 10 February 2015)