Comparison of Active Nitrogen Loss in Four Pathways on a Sloped Peanut Field with Red Soil in China under Conventional Fertilization Conditions

Active nitrogen loss mainly includes ammonia (NH3) volatilization, nitrous oxide (N2O) emission, NO3−-N and NH4+-N deep leakage (N leaching), and NO3−-N and NH4+-N surface runoff (N runoff), resulting in serious environmental problems. To analyze the characteristics of active nitrogen loss in the four pathways on sloped farmland under conventional fertilization, six lysimeters with a slope of 8° were used. Losses due to NH3 volatilization, N2O emission, N leaching, and N runoff were investigated after urea application on a peanut field with red soil in China during the growing season from 2017–2018. Results reveal that at conventional nitrogen levels of 150 and 172 kg hm−2, the total active nitrogen loss caused by fertilization accounting for the total nitrogen applied was 5.57% and 14.21%, respectively, with the N2O emission coefficients of 0.18% and 0.10%, respectively; the NH3 volatilization coefficients of 2.24% and 0.31%, respectively; the N leakage loss rates of 3.07% and 10.50%, respectively; and the N runoff loss rates of 0.08% and 3.30%, respectively. The dry year was dominated by leaching and NH3 volatilization, while the wet year was dominated by leaching and runoff; the base fertilizer period was dominated by leakage, while the topdressing period was dominated by leakage and runoff, which suggests that the loss of active nitrogen in the soil-peanut system on a sloped red soil was mainly affected by rainfall and fertilization methods. Taken together, reasonable fertilization management and soil and water conservation measures appear to be effective in minimizing the loss of active nitrogen from nitrogen fertilizer.