EFFECT OF MANURE AND P FERTILIZER ON PROPERTIES OF A BLACK CHERNOZEM IN SOUTHERN SASKATCHEWAN

1986 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 601-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. CAMPBELL ◽  
V. O. BIEDERBECK ◽  
F. SELLES ◽  
M. SCHNITZER ◽  
J. W. B. STEWART

The effects of application of manure and P fertilizer on wheat yields in a fallow-wheat-wheat rotation on a Black Rego Chernozemic clay soil have been studied for 36 yr. The objective of this study was to identify the effects of manure on soil characteristics that could be related to the reported progressive yield increases over time and an apparent improvement in soil tilth. Soil samples were taken in 1982 from the check (no treatment), and from treatments receiving 13.4, 20.2 and 26.9 t ha−1 of manure applied each fallow year, and 112 kg ha−1 of seed-placed 11-48-0 applied to wheat after summerfallow. Soil physical and P-related parameters were determined for depth increments to 30 cm; the total-N and 15N data to 90 cm; other data were for the 0- to 7.5-cm depth. Manure had no effect on bulk density or hydraulic conductivity. However, it increased the total C and humic acid (HA) content of the soil, the percent of soil C as HA-C, the C concentration in humin, and the percent of total soil N as humin-N. Manure significantly increased the percent of HA-N but not humin-N present as amino acid and amino sugar-N, but increased amino acids and the amino sugars in the humin hydrolysate. The net rate of N mineralization and the available forms of inorganic P were all increased significantly by manure. The natural 15N-abundance technique showed that a significant though small proportion of soil N was derived from manure. Manure had no effect on soil microbial biomass C and N, soil respiration, and the quantity of potentially mineralizable N. Applied P had no effect on N-related parameters measured; its effect on available P was not measured. It was concluded that manure increased crop yields by improving the N- and P-supplying power of the soil, and improving the physical environment of the soil through its effects on the humic colloids. Key words: Humic substances, soil P fractions, soil biological properties, natural 15N abundance, net N mineralization

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-190
Author(s):  
Manal Al-Traboulsi ◽  
Brian Wilsey ◽  
Catherine Potvin

Abstract Increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 may change C and N dynamics in pasture ecosystems. The present study was conducted to examine the impact of four years of CO2 enrichment on soil and root composition and soil N transformation in natural pastureland. Plots of open-top growth chambers were continuously injected with ambient CO2 (350 µL L–1) and elevated CO2 (625 µL L–1). Soil cores exposed to ambient and elevated CO2 treatment were incubated and collected each year. Net N-mineralization rates in soil (NH4 +-N plus NO3ˉ–-N), in addition to total C and N content (%) of soil and root tissues were measured. Results revealed that elevated CO2 caused a significant reduction in soil NO3 (P < 0.05), however, no significant CO2 effect was found on total soil C and N content (%). Roots of plants grown under elevated CO2 treatment had higher C/N ratios. Changes in root C/N ratios were driven by changes in root N concentrations as total root N content (%) was significantly reduced by 30% (P < 0.05). Overall, findings suggest that the effects of CO2 enrichment was more noticeable on N content (%) than C content (%) of soil and roots; elevated CO2 significantly affected soil N-mineralization and total N content (%) in roots, however, no substantial change was found in C inputs in CO2-enriched soil.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrick D. Lentz ◽  
Gary A. Lehrsch

The use of solid dairy manure for sugarbeet production is problematic because beet yield and quality are sensitive to deficiencies or excesses in soil N, and soil N availability from manure varies substantially depending on the year of application. Experimental treatments included combinations of two manure rates (0.33 and 0.97 Mg total N ha−1) and three application times, and non-manure treatments (control and urea fertilizer). We measured soil net N mineralization and biomass, N uptake, and yields for sprinkler-irrigated sugarbeet. On average, the 1-year-old, low-rate manure, and 1- and 2-year-old, high-rate manure treatments produced 1.2-fold greater yields, 1.1-fold greater estimated recoverable sugar, and 1.5-fold greater gross margins than that of fertilizer alone. As a group the 1-year-old, low-rate manure, and 2- and 3-year-old, high-rate-manure treatments produced similar cumulative net N mineralization as urea fertilizer; whereas the 1-year-old, high-rate manure treatment provided nearly 1.5-fold more N than either group. With appropriate manure application rates and attention to residual N and timing of sugarbeet planting, growers can best exploit the N mineralized from manure, while simultaneously maximizing sugar yields and profits.


1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1793-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J Devito ◽  
Cherie J Westbrook ◽  
Sherry L Schiff

Net mineralization and nitrification in surface forest soils were measured in upland forest stands and valley peatlands using in situ soil incubations at two headwater catchments of Harp Lake, Ontario from July 1995 to October 1996. No difference in either net N mineralization or nitrification was observed between the two adjacent catchments despite differences in catchment N export. Annual rates of net N mineralization in surface 10 cm were higher in forest soils of the deciduous (11.5 ± 3.1 g/m2; mean ± SE) and conifer-mixed (conifer-hardwoods) (13.9 ± 2.3 g/m2) stands than in peatland soils (1.6 ± 0.6 g/m2). Mean annual nitrification rates were higher in deciduous soils (6.6 ± 0.7 g N/m2) than in mixed stands (1.9 ± 0.6 g N/m2) and peatland soils (0.1 ± 0.2 g N/m2). Annual net N mineralization and nitrification were correlated with variations in soil C and N content and moisture associated with different forest stands. Frequent winter incubations indicate that net mineralization and nitrification under snow cover in upland surface soils can contribute as much as 49 and 23% of the annual net production, respectively. The importance of forest vegetation patterns, winter N transformations, and dissolved organic N pools to total N and NO3- cycling and leaching in these catchments is discussed.


1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Paul ◽  
E. G. Beauchamp

A spring application of dairy cattle slurry (300 kg total N ha−1) on high- and low-fertility sites resulted in higher microbial biomass C during the growing season than on a control soil or a soil receiving 100 kg N ha−1 as urea. Microbial biomass C was also significantly higher on the high-fertility site and was reflected in greater N mineralization and N uptake by corn. There was no greater net N mineralization in the manured soil than in the control or fertilized soil as would be expected as a result of higher microbial biomass C and significant organic N contribution from the manure. Key words: Animal manure, nitrogen mineralization, corn, grain yields, soil fertility


2001 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. SCHROTH ◽  
E. SALAZAR ◽  
J. P. DA SILVA

Under rainforest vegetation, the central Amazonian Ferralsols are characterized by relatively high availability of N in relation to other nutrients. After forest clearing, several tree crops also have not shown yield responses to N fertilizer. To elucidate the mechanisms of this apparent N sufficiency, the mineralization of soil N was measured under three tree crops and a leguminous cover crop (Pueraria phaseoloides) in a multi-strata agroforestry system at two fertilizer input levels on a Xanthic Ferralsol in central Amazonia. In situ incubations of topsoil (0–10 cm) were carried out using the buried-bag method on five occasions over ten months. The highest mineralization rates were found under the cover crop, intermediate rates under rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) where the soil was also covered by the cover crop, and lowest rates under peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) and cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum) with no cover crop. The increased N mineralization under the cover crop was due to more total N in the soil, higher soil moisture and, presumably, a larger pool of readily mineralizable soil N compared with the soil under the tree crops. Other fertility parameters also differed significantly between sampling positions within the plots, but this had no major influence on net N mineralization. Also, the input of NPK fertilizer and dolomite had no significant influence on N mineralization, indicating that N mineralization was not nutrient-limited. High total N mineralization rates in the soil (approximately 350 kg ha−1 a−1 at 0–10 cm depth) explained earlier observations of nitrate leaching into the subsoil under multi-strata agroforestry at this site. Considering the spatial patterns of N mineralization with maximum values under the cover crop, the exploration of the soil volume by crop roots should be maximized to increase the uptake of mineralized soil N by the crops and reduce nitrate leaching. Appropriate measures are narrow tree spacing, use of annual and semi-perennial intercrops and encouragement of the lateral root development of the trees. In addition, the mineralization of soil N close to the tree crops can be influenced through the management of the cover crop. In view of the high total N mineralization rates in the system and unclear yield responses of tree crops to N fertilizer, the application of N fertilizer to tree crops with well-developed root systems and a well-managed cover crop may often be unnecessary on this soil type. This may facilitate the further development of tree crop agriculture in the region.


1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 1261-1265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen C Hart ◽  
Phil Sollins

We measured surface soil (0-15cm) C and N pools and processes inside and outside an area that had been trenched 13 years earlier in an old-growth conifer forest (>450 years) to assess the long-term impacts of reduced root inputs on C and N turnover. Trenching, combined with frequent clipping of understory plants, was originally conducted to prevent nutrient uptake by plants, as part of a study of the role of vegetation in ecosystem retention of N. Thirteen years following trenching, the median values of bulk density, pH, total C and N concentrations, annual rates of in situ net N mineralization and nitrification, microbial biomass C and N, microbial respiration, and anaerobically mineralizable N in the trenched plot were all within the 25-75% interquartile range of values found in the replicated, untrenched plots. The trenched plot had higher rates of net N mineralization (41% higher in October, 484% higher in June) and net nitrification (25% higher in October, and lower net NO3- immobilization in June) during laboratory incubation and a 22% higher water content in October. In June, soil water content in the trenched plot was about 8% lower than in the untrenched plots. Our results suggest that soil C and N dynamics in these old-growth forests are relatively resistant to perturbations resulting from major reductions in root input to the soil.


1984 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. O. BIEDERBECK ◽  
C. A. CAMPBELL ◽  
R. P. ZENTNER

Effects of rotation length, fallow-substitute crops, and N and P fertilizer on some physical and biological properties of a Brown Chernozemic loam in southwestern Saskatchewan were determined over a period of 16 yr. After 12 yr, the erodible fraction in the top 15 cm of soil (i.e., < 0.84 mm) was inversely related to trash conserved and thus rotation length. Soil organic N (in the top 15 cm) increased from 0.18 to 0.20% in continuous-type rotations receiving an average 32 kg N∙ha−1∙yr−1 and adequate P, but it did not increase in continuous wheat receiving P only, nor in fallow rotations, except the one that included fall rye (Secale cereale L.). This N increase was credited partly to fertilizer and partly to more efficient use and cycling of subsoil NO3-N via plant roots and crop residues. After 10 yr, well-fertilized continuous-type rotations had a 13% greater C content than fallow rotations and continuous wheat receiving only P. In the top 7.5 cm of soil under the four rotations examined in detail, bacterial numbers were lowest in fallow-wheat, intermediate in fallow-wheat-wheat, higher in continuous wheat receiving N and P, and highest in continuous wheat receiving only P. Similarly, microbial biomass C in these four rotations was 180, 226, 217 and 357 kg∙ha−1; biomass N was 52, 65, 54 and 72 kg∙ha−1; and biomass C/N ratios were 3.4, 3.5, 4.1 and 5.1, respectively. Differences in biomass C/N, respiration rates and numbers of bacteria, actinomycetes and yeasts indicated both quantitative and qualitative microbial changes and reflected increasing rotation length and differences in fertility. Potentially mineralizable N (No) was 192 kg∙ha−1 for adequately fertilized continuous wheat, and exceeded No in fallow-wheat by 45%, in fallow-wheat-wheat by 17% and in continuous wheat receiving only P by 25%. The latter rotation contained a large but fairly inactive microbial population. We concluded that land degradation caused by frequent summerfallowing can be arrested and the decline in amount and quality of organic matter reversed by use of available agronomic technology. Key words: Microbial biomass, microbial activity, potentially mineralizable N, respiration, soil erodibility


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 3051-3074 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Abbasi ◽  
M. M. Tahir ◽  
N. Sabir ◽  
M. Khurshid

Abstract. Application of plant residues as soil amendment may represent a valuable recycling strategy that affects on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling, soil properties improvement and plant growth promotion. The amount and rate of nutrient release from plant residues depend on their quality characteristics and biochemical composition. A laboratory incubation experiment was conducted for 120 days under controlled conditions (25 °C and 58% water filled pore space (WFPS)) to quantify initial biochemical composition and N mineralization of leguminous and non-leguminous plant residues i.e. the roots, shoots and leaves of Glycine max, Trifolium repens, Zea mays, Poplus euramericana, Rubinia pseudoacacia and Elagnus umbellate incorporated into the soil at the rate of 200 mg residue N kg−1 soil. The diverse plant residues showed wide variation in total N, carbon, lignin, polyphenols and C/N ratio with higher polyphenol content in the leaves and higher lignin content in the roots. The shoot of G. max and the shoot and root of T. repens displayed continuous mineralization by releasing a maximum of 109.8, 74.8 and 72.5 mg N kg−1 and representing a 55, 37 and 36% of added N being released from these resources. The roots of G. max and Z. mays and the shoot of Z. mays showed continuous negative values throughout the incubation showing net immobilization. After an initial immobilization, leaves of P. euramericana, R. pseudoacacia and E. umbellate exhibited net mineralization by releasing a maximum of 31.8, 63.1 and 65.1 mg N kg−1, respectively and representing a 16, 32 and 33% of added N being released. Nitrogen mineralization from all the treatments was positively correlated with the initial residue N contents (r = 0.89; p ≤ 0.01), and negatively correlated with lignin content (r = −0.84; p ≤ 0.01), C/N ratio (r = −0.69; p ≤ 0.05), lignin/N ratio (r = −0.68; p ≤ 0.05), polyphenol/N ratio (r = −0.73; p ≤ 0.05) and ligin + polyphenol/N ratio (r = −0.70; p ≤ 0.05) indicating a significant role of residue chemical composition and quality in regulating N transformations and cycling in soil. The present study indicates that incorporation of plant residues strongly modify the mineralization-immobilization turnover (MIT) of soil that can be taken into account to develop synchronization between net N mineralization and crop demand in order to maximize N delivery and minimize N losses.


1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 707-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiwei Yin

Published data were analyzed to examine whether nitrogen (N) availability varies along macroclimatic gradients in North America. Extractable N produced during 8-week aerobic laboratory incubation was used as an index of potential net N mineralization. Mean extractable N during the growing season in the forest floor plus top mineral soil was used as an index of the available N pool. Using multiple regression, potential net N mineralization was shown to increase with available N and with litter-fall N (R2 = 0.722). Available N increased with increasing total soil N and with decreasing mean January and July air temperatures (R2 = 0.770). These relationships appeared to hold also for deciduous and coniferous forests separately across regions. Results suggest that net N mineralization output under uniform temperature and moisture conditions can be generally expressed by variations of N input (litter fall) and the available soil N pool, and that the available soil N pool is predictable along a temperature gradient at a regional scale.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Luo ◽  
Lukas Beule ◽  
Guodong Shao ◽  
Edzo Veldkamp ◽  
Marife D. Corre

&lt;p&gt;Monoculture croplands are considered as major sources of the greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O). The conversion of monoculture croplands to agroforestry systems, e.g., integrating trees within croplands, is an essential climate-smart management system through extra C sequestration and can potentially mitigate N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions. So far, no study has systematically compared gross rates of N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emission and uptake between cropland agroforestry and monoculture. In this study, we used an in-situ &lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O pool dilution technique to simultaneously measure gross N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emission and uptake over two consecutive growing seasons (2018 - 2019) at three sites in Germany: two sites were on Phaeozem and Cambisol soils with each site having a pair of cropland agroforestry and monoculture systems, and an additional site with only monoculture on an Arenosol soil prone to high nitrate leaching. Our results showed that cropland agroforestry had lower gross N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions and higher gross N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O uptake than in monoculture at the site with Phaeozem soil (P &amp;#8804; 0.018 &amp;#8211; 0.025) and did not differ in gross N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions and uptake with cropland monoculture at the site with Cambisol soil (P &amp;#8805; 0.36). Gross N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions were positively correlated with soil mineral N and heterotrophic respiration which, in turn, were correlated with soil temperature, and with water-filled pore space (WFPS) (r = 0.24 &amp;#8210; 0.54, P &lt; 0.01). Gross N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions were also negatively correlated with nosZ clade I gene abundance (involved in N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O-to-N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; reduction, r = -0.20, P &lt; 0.05). These findings showed that across sites and management systems changes in gross N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions were driven by changes in substrate availability and aeration condition (i.e., soil mineral N, C availability, and WFPS), which also influenced denitrification gene abundance. The strong regression values between gross N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions and net N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions (R&lt;sup&gt;2 &lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8805; 0.96, P &lt; 0.001) indicated that gross N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions largely drove net soil N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions. Across sites and management systems, annual soil gross N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions and uptake were controlled by clay contents which, in turn, correlated with indices of soil fertility (i.e., effective cation exchange capacity, total N, and C/N ratio) (Spearman rank&amp;#8217;s rho = -0.76 &amp;#8211; 0.86, P &amp;#8804; 0.05). The lower gross N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions from the agroforestry tree rows at two sites indicated the potential of agroforestry in reducing soil N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions, supporting the need for temperate cropland agroforestry to be considered in greenhouse gas mitigation policies.&lt;/p&gt;


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document