Journal of Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers ISSN:1738-3692(Print) 2093-7709(Online) 한국농공학회논문집

The aim of this study is to investigate the chemical properties and heavy metal concentration of soils in conventional and organic paddy. We sampled and analyzed topsoil (0~15 cm) and subsoil (15~30 cm) of conventional and organic paddy fields in Yongin and Anseong, South Korea. The statistical significance between groups was determined by Duncan’s multiple range test and correlation between soil properties was also analyzed. The results show that organic matter (OM) and T-N of conventional paddy soil were higher than those of organic paddy soil. However, higher T-P concentration was observed in organic paddy soil than conventional paddy soil. As, Pb, and Zn concentration in organic paddy soil were statistically lower than those in conventional paddy soil. The couple of water content (WC) & As, OM & T-N, T-P & P₂O₅, T-P & Zn, P₂O₅ & Zn, and Cr & Ni had a good positive correlation but the couple of WC & T-P, WC & Zn, T-P & As, and As & Zn had a strong negative correlation. It can be concluded that organic farming is beneficial to soil environment by reducing the amounts of organic matter, T-N, As, Pb, and Zn concentration in paddy soil when compared to conventional farming.