Comparison of Soil Chemistry and Environmental Characteristics of Organic Paddy and Conventional Paddy Before Basal Fertilizer Application

Organic farming system has been considered environmental friendly and sustainable agricultural practice. However, the influence of organic farming on soil quality and environment is not well informed and controversial. We sampled and analyzed 0~15 cm and 15~30 cm depth soils of organic and conventional paddy fields in Yongin and Anseong. The electric conductivity and organic matter content of organic paddy soil were significantly less (p = 0.0097, 0.0067, respectively) than those of conventional paddy soil. Available phosphate and total phosphorus in 0~15 cm depth of organic paddy soil were $211.1{\pm}135.3$ , $872.4{\pm}286.3mg/kg$ , respectively, less than those of conventional paddy soil. Available phosphate amount in conventional paddy was $358.8{\pm}246.7mg/kg$ , which is higher than 300 mg/kg that can cause secondary environmental contamination by runoff. The amount of total nitrogen in organic paddy soil was less than that in conventional paddy while their difference was not significant. The concentration of the heavy metals in organic paddy soil was also lower than that in conventional paddy soil but their difference was not statistically significant. Our findings demonstrate that electric conductivity, organic matter, nutrients, and heavy metals in organic paddy soil were less than those in conventional paddy soil. However, additional monitoring of soil properties for longer period is necessary to certify such a conclusion.