Fate of 15N-Labeled Urea Under a Winter Wheat-Summer Maize Rotation on the North China Plain

doi:10.1016/S1002-0160(07)60007-1

Pedosphere

Volume 17, Issue 1, February 2007, Pages 52-61

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1002-0160(07)60007-1 Get rights and content

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to investigate the fate of ¹⁵N-labeled urea and its residual effect under the winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and summer maize (Zea mays L.) rotation system on the North China Plain. Compared to a conventional application rate of 360 kg N ha⁻¹ (N360), a reduced rate of 120 kg N ha⁻¹ (N120) led to a significant increase (P < 0.05) in wheat yield and no significant differences were found for maize. However, in the 0–100 cm soil profile at harvest, compared with N360, N120 led to significant decreases (P < 0.05) of percent residual N and percent unaccounted-for N, which possibly reflected losses from the managed system. Of the residual fertilizer N in the soil profile 25.6%–44.7% and 20.7%–38.2% for N120 and N360, respectively, were in the organic N pool, whereas 0.3%–3.0% and 11.2%–24.4%, correspondingly, were in the nitrate pool, indicating a higher potential for leaching loss associated with application at the conventional rate. Recovery of residual N in the soil profile by succeeding crops was less than 7.5% of the applied N. For N120, total soil N balance was negative; however, there was still considerable mineral N (NH⁺₄-N and NO⁻₃-N) in the soil profile after harvest. Therefore, N120 could be considered agronomically acceptable in the short run, but for long-term sustainability, the N rate should be recommended based on a soil mineral N test and a plant tissue nitrate test to maintain the soil fertility.

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The deep fertilizer application (DF) has been recommended as an effective strategy for promoting crop growth and yield formation. However, the controversial discussion revolves on the challenge of effectively using DF to simultaneously increase crop nitrogen (N) uptake and minimize residual nitrate contents to enhance N utilization efficiency. Based on a precipitation manipulation experiment conducted during 2019–2022 in a semi-humid area, we examined how annual precipitation amount during wheat growing season (125 mm = dry year; 200 mm = normal year; 275 mm = wet year) and the soil water storage before sowing (500 mm, SWSS₅₀₀; 400 mm, SWSS₄₀₀; 300 mm, SWSS₃₀₀) variability affected the N uptake, N utilization efficiency, yield, and residual soil nitrate content in wheat fields treated with N fertilization at different depths (conventional surface fertilization depth of 5 cm: D5; 15 cm: D15; 25 cm: D25; 35 cm: D35). A complementary field experiment was also performed under natural rainfall condition using the ¹⁵N tracer technique to quantify the fate of fertilizer-N and ¹⁵N use efficiency (¹⁵NUE). ¹⁵N analyses showed that DF (D15, D25 and D35) significantly increased ¹⁵NUE by improving wheat ¹⁵N uptake (5.8–15.3%) and reducing potential ¹⁵N loss (9.6–12.3%) compared with D5, but the residual soil ¹⁵N in the 0–1.0 m layer increased (13.2–26.3%) as the fertilization depth increased (p < 0.05). The simulated precipitation experiment showed that compared with D5, DF significantly increased wheat N uptake, N utilization efficiency and yield by 1.4–16.4%, 1.4–14.0% and 3.3–21.5%, respectively, in the dry and normal years. In the wet year, N uptake, N utilization efficiency and yield under D15 increased by 1.9–9.8%, 2.1–11.1% and 2.2–13.4% compared to other fertilization depth treatments (p < 0.05). SWSS₅₀₀ and SWSS₄₀₀ significantly increased the N uptake (9.8–65.0%) and yield (0.6–69.3%) under all fertilization depth treatments irrespective of the annual precipitation amount than SWSS₃₀₀ (p < 0.05). DF increased the residual NO₃^–-N concentration (0–2.0 m soil layer) by 2.2–7.3% compared to D5 across all annual precipitation amounts and SWSS levels, and D35 increased the maximum downward movement of NO₃^–-N to 1.4 m under wet year within SWSS₅₀₀. DF at the depth of 14–20 cm effectively improved wheat N uptake and yield as well as minimizing the residual soil NO₃^–-N content. Applying moderate DF can enhance sustainable wheat production with high efficiency and yields in semi-humid regions.
Controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer application mitigated N losses and modified microbial community while improving wheat yield and N use efficiency
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The extensive application of traditional fertilizer has greatly contributed to wheat yield, accompanied by massive nitrogen (N) loss and environmental pollution. Controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer (CRNF) is expected to improve N use efficiency (NUE) in agricultural systems. Unfortunately, the mechanism by which CRNF reduces N loss and its response to soil microbial communities remains unclear. In this study, common urea, polymer-coated urea (PCU), sulfur-coated urea (SCU) and urea-formaldehyde (UF) were used as materials to analyze the effects of split application of different N sources on wheat yield, NUE, soil N balance, soil bacterial diversity and functional abundance. The results showed that PCU and SCU significantly improved yield relative to urea, with an average increase of 18.20% and 15.73%, respectively. N uptake by wheat in PCU, SCU and UF was increased by 18.76%, 14.26% and 7.75% compared to that in urea, respectively. CRNF increased the mineral N content of the topsoil (0−20 cm) but decreased the mineral content in the deeper soil (40−60 cm). CRNF was observed to significantly decrease cumulative N₂O emissions, as well as apparent N loss compared with urea, which was reduced by 39.45%, 30.74% and 11.68% in PCU, SCU and UF, respectively. In addition, PCU decreased soil bacterial diversity but increased the abundance of microbes involved in N cycle, such as Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota and Bacteroidota, which could regulate soil nitrate concentrations. The results indicated that split application of PCU was conducive to promoting N uptake by wheat, increasing topsoil mineral N content, reducing N leaching into deeper soil and N₂O emissions, thereby alleviating N loss while increasing NUE and wheat yield.
Fate of each period fertilizer N in Mollisols under water and N management: A <sup>15</sup>N tracer study
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For soil-crop systems, it is important to increase the retention of fertilizer N that is not effectively utilized by crops in stable forms in soil and reduce fertilizer N loss from agroecosystems through agricultural practices. However, it remains obscure how the fate of fertilizer N will be affected by water and N management. To further clarify the effects of water and N management on the fate of each period fertilizer N and residual fertilizer N amounts of different derived forms, a field experiment was conducted in Mollisols in Northeast China. This experiment combined a field plot experiment with a flied microplot ¹⁵N isotope experiment, and six treatments were performed: two irrigation management modes (controlled irrigation and flooded irrigation) and three fertilizer-N rates (85, 110 and 135 kg/ha). Additionally, the basal, tillering, and panicle fertilizer N were tracked by ¹⁵N-labeled urea to study the fate of each period fertilizer N. The present study showed that under controlled irrigation (CI), fertilizer-derived N in different forms increased with the increase N rate. Under flooded irrigation (FI), with the increase N rate, the residual organic nitrogen (N_O) first increased and then decreased, and the other forms of fertilizer-derived N increased. In the total residual fertilizer N in soil, residual basal fertilizer N accounted for the highest proportion under the two irrigation modes, residual tillering fertilizer N accounted for the lowest proportion under FI, and panicle fertilizer N accounted for the lowest proportion under CI. N_O accounted for the highest proportion of the residual amount of each period fertilizer N under CI and FI, while NO₃^--N accounted for the lowest proportion under CI, and fixed ammonium accounted for the lowest proportion under FI. Compared with FI, CI increased the total residual fertilizer N amount and promoted the conversion of residual fertilizer N into N_O. The present study suggested that CI, as a water-saving irrigation mode, not only decreased agricultural water consumption but also increased fertilizer N retention in soil and enhanced the conversion of residual fertilizer N into N_O. The establishment of appropriate water and N management has great potential for the regulation of residual fertilizer N in paddy soil.
Optimized fertigation mitigates N<inf>2</inf>O and NO emissions and enhances NH<inf>3</inf> volatilizations in an intensified greenhouse vegetable system
2022, Agricultural Water Management
Gaseous reactive nitrogen (GNr) losses (N₂O, NO emissions and NH₃ volatilization, etc.) in greenhouse vegetable fields (GVF) have received considerable critical attention. Much uncertainty still exists about GNr losses reduction under increasing vegetables demand and environmental policies in China. An experiment spanning four greenhouse vegetable growing seasons (cucumber and tomato) was conducted in North China Plain (NCP). It included four treatments, i.e., flood irrigation with no urea-N application (FU0), flood irrigation with conventional urea-N application (FUN), drip fertigation with conventional urea-N application (DUN), and drip fertigation with 50% reduction of urea-N application (DRUN). Obvious emission peaks of N₂O, NO and NH₃ flux were captured in the GVF after each fertilization and irrigation event. For FUN treatment, the mean annual area-scaled emissions of N₂O, NO, and NH₃ were 11.48, 1.66, and 44.90 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively; and the mean annual yield-scaled emissions of N₂O, NO, and NH₃ were 181.86, 23.04, and 800.07 g N t⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively. On the mean annual area-scaled and yield-scaled, the N₂O emissions were significantly (P < 0.05) lower by 40.1 % and 32.3 %, and the NO emissions were lower by 23.5 % and 28.5 %, but the NH₃ volatilization were significantly (P < 0.05) higher by 31.7 % and 49.0 %, respectively, for the DUN treatment than FUN. Also compared with FUN, in DRUN treatment, the mean annual area-scaled N₂O emissions, NO emissions and NH₃ volatilization were significantly reduced by 46.7 %, 52.4 % and 22.0 %, respectively; and the mean annual yield-scaled N₂O emissions, NO emissions and NH₃ volatilization were significantly reduced by 40.7 %, 57.1 % and 24.5 %, respectively. Moreover, compared with FUN treatment, DUN and DRUN treatment both alleviated the global temperature potential (GTP) at 20- and 100-year timescales. Overall, compared with conventional water and fertilizer regimes, only changing irrigation mode reduced N₂O and NO emissions but increased NH₃ volatilization losses in greenhouse cucumber-tomato cultivation system; reducing N application while changing irrigation methods had significant emission reduction effects on N₂O, NO and NH₃ at both the area-scaled and yield-scaled, and which is an effective water and fertilizer managements for greenhouse cucumber-tomato cultivation system.
Effects of water-nitrogen interactions on the fate of nitrogen fertilizer in a wheat-soil system
2022, European Journal of Agronomy
In recent decades, continuous increase of N fertilizer inputs made significant contributions to the wheat production increase in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, the largest wheat producing region of China. However, gradually the use efficiency of N fertilizer decreased, and the increasing N rate led to a series of environment problems. A better quantitative understanding of the fates of basal N and topdressing N under water-nitrogen interactions in a wheat-soil system is essential to increase yield and reduce environmental impacts. We conducted two-year wheat experiments combining field plots and micro-plots with the ^l5N-labeled method under two irrigation regimens (rainfall, irrigation in jointing and anthesis) and three N rates (0, 180, and 270 kg ha⁻¹). The results showed that 54.9%− 70.4% of total wheat N accumulation was from soil native N, while 29.6%− 45.1% was from fertilizer N. Irrigation at joint and anthesis has increased wheat N accumulation more from fertilizer N than from soil native N. Compared with rainfed condition, irrigation significantly increased plant NNI at booting and anthesis. The contribution of pre-anthesis N translocation to grain N was 80.6%− 86.0%, and increased with increasing total N rate, but decreased with irrigation. The fertilizer N recovery rate increased as N rate and irrigation increased, and more N recovery occurred during jointing to anthesis period (13.1%−31.3%) than anthesis to maturity period (5.7%−10.8%) and sowing to jointing period (8.4%−8.9%). Residual fertilizer N in soil accounted for 24.5%− 38.6% and decreased with increasing total N rate and irrigation. 23.6%− 32.7% of fertilizer N was lost into the environment, and it decreased with increasing irrigation, but wasn’t affected by total N rate. The recovery and residual for topdressing N were higher than those for basal N, whereas loss was lower. Moreover, the loss of basal N mainly occurred before jointing, and the loss of topdressing N mainly occurred from jointing to anthesis and contributed more to total N loss. These results indicated that the current wheat-soil system in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain has substantial potential to coordinate the synchronization of N demand and N supply, and finally reduce N loss. Also, this would provide critical insights to construct general crop N management models for precise N management.
Nitrogen fertilizer management for mitigating ammonia emission and increasing nitrogen use efficiencies by <sup>15</sup>N stable isotopes in winter wheat
2021, Science of the Total Environment
Citation Excerpt :
Wu et al. (2019) also suggested that an N application rate of 100 kg N ha−1 in combination with split-N method fully expressed the yield potential of spring wheat, and further increasing N rate did not contribute towards yield gain and thus reduced the crop profitability. According to some surveys, the local producers usually apply more than 300 kg N ha−1 (Ju et al., 2007; Li et al., 2020b; Xiong et al., 2020). Thus, reducing the current N fertilizer rate to match the N demand of wheat plants in farmlands is the key for improving grain yield and controlling environmental pollution.
Chemical nitrogen (N) fertilizer is essential for achieving high yield in winter wheat. However, the over-use of N fertilizer not only significantly reduces N use efficiencies (NUEs) but also leads to serious environmental concerns. An efficient N fertilizer management is thus urgently required for mitigating NH₃ volatilization and increasing grain yield and NUEs of wheat. A 3-year field study using ¹⁵N stable isotopes was conducted to evaluate the fate of ¹⁵N-labelled fertilizer and to investigate the NH₃ flux, grain yield, yield-scaled NH₃ emissions and NUEs of various N application rates under two different application techniques comprising split-N method (basal N plus top-dressed N application) and pre-plant-only (without top-dressed N). Daily NH₃ fluxes peaked within one week after basal N fertilizer application. Total NH₃ volatilization, NH₃ emission factor (EF) and yield-scaled NH₃ emission were enhanced significantly with an increase in N application rates. Pre-plant-only N method greatly increased total NH₃ volatilization, NH₃ EF and yield-scaled NH₃ emission by 43%, 58% and 63%, respectively, compared with split-N method when averaged across N application rates and years. The residual ¹⁵N in soil and the unaccounted ¹⁵N losses were greater under pre-plant-only N method and under high N application rate compared with split-N method and under low N application rate, respectively. Higher values of unaccounted ¹⁵N loss (nearly 50% of the total N applied) and residual ¹⁵N (27% of the total N applied) were the major contributors to lower NUEs, that could be predominantly attributed to the higher NH₃ emission under elevated N application rate and pre-plant-only N method. Considering the overall environmental impact and yield performance, 120 kg N ha⁻¹ in combination with split-N method could be recommended for improving the overall economic return and mitigating environmental pollution to ensure cleaner production of winter wheat.

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¹: Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40571071, 30390080 and 30370287) and the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT0511).

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Fate of 15N-Labeled Urea Under a Winter Wheat-Summer Maize Rotation on the North China Plain1

Abstract

Field Crops Research

Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment

Acta Pedologica Sinica

Agriculture, Ecosystem and Environment

Nitrogen-total

Gaseous loss of nitrogen from fertilizers applied to wheat on a calcareous soil in North China Plain

Pedosphere

Optimized nitrogen fertilization of irrigated winter wheat by soil Nmin test in Northern China Plain

World Reference Base for Soil Resources. World Soil Reports. Series 84 and 85

Availability of the residual nitrogen from a single application of 15N-labelled fertilizer to subsequent crops in a long-term continuous barley experiment

Plant and Soil

Practical considerations in the use of nitrogen tracers in agricultural and environmental research

Turnover of residual 15N-labelled fertilizer N in soil following harvest of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.)

Plant and Soil

Accumulation and movement of NO−3-N in soil profile in winter wheat-summer maize rotation system

Acta Pedologica Sinica

Nitrogen fertilization, soil nitrate accumulation, and policy recommendations in several agricultural regions of China

Ambio.

Fate of ¹⁵N-Labeled Urea Under a Winter Wheat-Summer Maize Rotation on the North China Plain¹

Optimized nitrogen fertilization of irrigated winter wheat by soil N_min test in Northern China Plain

Availability of the residual nitrogen from a single application of ¹⁵N-labelled fertilizer to subsequent crops in a long-term continuous barley experiment

Turnover of residual ¹⁵N-labelled fertilizer N in soil following harvest of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.)

Accumulation and movement of NO⁻₃-N in soil profile in winter wheat-summer maize rotation system