Using Soil Water to Control Ammonia Emission from Acid Soils with and Without Chicken Litter Biochar

Although urea use in agriculture is on the increase, increase in pH at soil microsite due to urea hydrolysis which causes ammonia emission can reduce N use efficiency. Among the interventions used to mitigate ammonia loss include urease inhibitors, clinoptilolite zeolite, coated urea, and biochar but with little attention to the use of soil water levels to control ammonia volatilization. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of soil water levels on ammonia volatilization from soils with and without chicken litter biochar. Dry soils with and without chicken litter biochar were subjected to 0%, 25% 50%, 75%, 100%, and 125% soil water. There was no urea hydrolysis in the soil without water. Chicken litter biochar as soil amendment effectively mitigated ammonia loss at 1% to 32% and 80% to 115% field capacity. However, urea used on soil only showed lower ammonia loss at 33% to 79% and 116% to 125% field capacity compared with the soils with chicken litter biochar. At 50% field capacity ammonia loss was high in soils with and without chicken litter biochar. Although chicken litter biochar is reputed for improving soil chemical properties, water levels in this present study affected soil chemical properties differently. Fifty percent field capacity, significantly reduced soil chemical properties. These findings suggest that timely application of urea at the right field capacity can mitigate ammonia emission. Therefore, whether soils are amended with or without chicken litter biochar, urea application should be avoided at 50% field capacity especially in irrigated crops.

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Mitigating Ammonia Volatilization from Waterlogged Acids Soils Using Organic Amendments

Sustainable Agriculture Research ◽

10.5539/sar.v8n3p12 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 12

Author(s):

Maru Ali ◽

Ahmed Osumanu Haruna ◽

Nik Muhamad Abd Majid ◽

Walter Charles Primus ◽

Audrey Asap ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Leucaena Leucocephala ◽

Ammonia Volatilization ◽

Organic Amendments ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Forest Litter ◽

Cow Dung ◽

Ammonia Loss ◽

Chicken Litter ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

N Use

In production agriculture, granular urea is the most used nitrogen fertilizer in crop production. However, increase in soil pH following application of urea causes ammonia volatilization and reduces N use efficiency. To minimize ammonia loss, organic amendments are used, however, type of organic amendment use could affect urea use efficiency. This study was to determine the effects of organic amendments derived from forest litter, Leucaena leucocephala, chicken litter, and cow dung on ammonia volatilization and chemical properties of a waterlogged acid soil. Treatments evaluated were: (i) T1, Soil only, (ii) T2, Existing recommended fertilization, (iii) T3, Biochar-forest litter compost, (iv) T4, Biochar-chicken litter compost, (v) T5, Biochar-cow dung compost, (vi) T6, Biochar-Leucaena compost, and (vii) T7, Biochar-Leucaena - chicken litter compost. Standard procedures were used to quantify ammonia volatilization and soil chemical properties. The findings of this present study also revealed that the total amount of ammonia loss from urea over a period of forty-two days depends on the influence of the organic amendments on urea hydrolysis. Emissions of ammonia from T6 and T7 were significantly higher because, the decomposition of Leucaena leucocephala favours urea hydrolysis compared with those of T3, T4, and T5. Therefore, Leucaena leucocephala composts should be carefully co-applied with urea to minimize ammonia loss if the aim of using this type of amendments is to improve N use efficiency and soil and crop productivity.

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Coapplication of Chicken Litter Biochar and Urea Only to Improve Nutrients Use Efficiency and Yield ofOryza sativaL. Cultivation on a Tropical Acid Soil

The Scientific World JOURNAL ◽

10.1155/2015/943853 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Ali Maru ◽

Osumanu Ahmed Haruna ◽

Walter Charles Primus

Keyword(s):

Acid Soil ◽

Nutrient Use Efficiency ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Acid Soils ◽

Field Trials ◽

Soil Chemical Properties ◽

Nutrient Use ◽

Chicken Litter ◽

Rice Yields ◽

Use Efficiency

The excessive use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers in sustaining high rice yields due to N dynamics in tropical acid soils not only is economically unsustainable but also causes environmental pollution. The objective of this study was to coapply biochar and urea to improve soil chemical properties and productivity of rice. Biochar (5 t ha−1) and different rates of urea (100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, and 0% of recommended N application) were evaluated in both pot and field trials. Selected soil chemical properties, rice plants growth variables, nutrient use efficiency, and yield were determined using standard procedures. Coapplication of biochar with 100% and 75% urea recommendation rates significantly increased nutrients availability (especially P and K) and their use efficiency in both pot and field trials. These treatments also significantly increased rice growth variables and grain yield. Coapplication of biochar and urea application at 75% of the recommended rate can be used to improve soil chemical properties and productivity and reduce urea use by 25%.

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Soil catena along gypseous woodland in the middle Ebro Basin: soil properties and micromorphology relationships .

Spanish Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.3232/sjss.2013.v3.n1.02 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Author(s):

Javier M Aznar ◽

David Badía Villas ◽

Rosa M Poch

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Water Retention ◽

Pore Space ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Field Capacity ◽

Low Fertility ◽

Soil Profiles ◽

Soil Water Retention ◽

Ebro Basin ◽

Available Water

Gypsisols, mainly distributed in arid lands, support a key economic activity and have attracted a lot of scientific interest due to their particular physical and chemical properties. For example, Gypsisols show a high erodibility, low fertility and a variable water holding capacity that can be attributed to different gypsum particle sizes. This study aims to describe some representative Gypsisols from the middle Ebro Basin. Five representative soil profiles (mainly Gypsisols by WRB) were selected and sampled at different positions along a hillside where soils where developed on gyprock. Furthemore, it links micromorphological properties with soil water retention. Soils have a dominant loamy texture, more rarely stoney. Gypsum is abundant in all soil profiles, ranging from 6 to 84% with minimum values in Ah horizons and maximum in By and Cy. The soils have a low level of salinity and a very low cation exchange capacity (CEC). The soil organic matter (SOM) is medium or abundant in the Ah horizons, otherwise it is low. Soil aggregate stability (SAS) is related significantly and positively with SOM and porosity, which is also positively related with moisture retention at field capacity and saturation humidity. However, there is no significant correlation between porosity and permanent wilting point (PWP). Soil water retention is dependant on the gypsum percentage and textural class. Low levels of gypsum have no influence on water retention, but high gypsum levels (> 60%) enhance the field capacity (FC) and decrease PWP, especially when the gypsum is microcrystalline. Gypsum levels between 40 and 60% also increase available water contents (AWC) due to a decrease in PWP. There is a positive and significant correlation between PWP and FC in Gypsisols, except for those which are loamy and have gypsum values over 40%. The higher available water capacity (AWC) than expected is related to microcrystalline gypsum, predominant in the studied soils. These high AWC values are counteracted by an increasingly irregular pore space not suitable for root growth. All these cited characteristics result in a low fertility, influenced by the weather and the human impact, which deforested the highest part of these mountains in the Middle Ages.

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Decreasing Defoliation Frequency Enhances Bromus valdivianus Phil. Growth under Low Soil Water Levels and Interspecific Competition

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11071333 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1333

Author(s):

Javier García-Favre ◽

Yongmei Zhang ◽

Ignacio F. López ◽

Daniel J. Donaghy ◽

Lydia M. Cranston ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Block Design ◽

Field Capacity ◽

Water Levels ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Soluble Carbohydrate ◽

Defoliation Frequency ◽

Four Blocks ◽

Water Soluble Carbohydrate ◽

Reduced Water

Bromus valdivianus Phil. (Bv) is a water stress-tolerant species, but its competitiveness in a diverse pasture may depend on defoliation management and soil moisture levels. This glasshouse study examined the effect of three defoliation frequencies, based on accumulated growing degree days (AGDD) (250, 500, and 1000 AGDD), and two soil water levels (80–85% of field capacity (FC) and 20–25% FC) on Bv growth as monoculture and as a mixture with Lolium perenne L. (Lp). The treatments were applied in a completely randomised block design with four blocks. The above-ground biomass of Bv was lower in the mixture than in the monoculture (p ≤ 0.001). The Bv plants in the mixture defoliated more infrequently (1000 AGDD) showed an increase in root biomass under 20–25% FC compared to 80–85% FC, with no differences measured between soil water levels in the monoculture. Total root length was highest in the mixture with the combination of infrequent defoliation and 20–25% FC. Conversely, frequent defoliation treatments resulted in reduced water-soluble carbohydrate reserves in the tiller bases of plants (p ≤ 0.001), as they allocated assimilates mainly to foliage growth. These results provide evidence that B. valdivianus can increase its competitiveness relative to Lp through the enhancement of the root growth and the energy reserve in the tiller base under drought conditions and infrequent defoliation in a mixture.

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SIFAT KIMIA TANAH DAN PRODUKTIVITAS KELAPA SAWIT (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) PADA TINGGI MUKA AIR TANAH YANG BERBEDA DI LAHAN GAMBUT

JURNAL AGROTEKNOLOGI ◽

10.24014/ja.v9i2.5823 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 27

Author(s):

Wawan Wawan ◽

Erlida Ariani ◽

Heru Rahmatsyah Lubis

Keyword(s):

Water Level ◽

Oil Palm ◽

Elaeis Guineensis ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Water Levels ◽

Soil Chemical Properties ◽

Organic N ◽

Survey Method ◽

Elaeis Guineensis Jacq ◽

Total P

The aims of this study to be determine the soil chemical properties and productivity of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) at different water levels on peatlands. The research was carried out in PT. Tabung Haji Indo Plantation (PT. THIP) Indragiri Hilir and the analys of soil chemical properties were conducted at the Laboratory of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Riau, Tampan District, Pekanbaru. This research was held started July to October 2017. This research conducted used survey method. The sampling location in this research are divided into 3 strata in 3 difference blocks and 3 samples that had been determined are named: TMA1 = 20- 40 cm, TMA2 = 41-60 cm and TMA3 => 60 cm carried out experimental used completely randomized design (CRD). There are three times repeatation treatments and 27 samples units in total. The observation data that obtained are analyzed statistically using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of variance analysis were continued by Duncan's multiple range test at the 5% level. The parameters of observation carried out include soil chemical properties: pH, C-organic, N-total, P-total, K-total, cation exchange capacity (CEC), saturation of bases (KB) and productivity of oil palm. The results showed that peatland with a water level of > 60 cm had soil pH, organic C, N-total, P-total, K-total, and CEC was higher than the water level of 20-40 cm and 41-60 cm, while KB at a depth of 20-40 cm had a higher KB value than the water level of 41-60 cm and > 60 cm.

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Improving Lowland Rice (O. sativaL. cv. MR219) Plant Growth Variables, Nutrients Uptake, and Nutrients Recovery Using Crude Humic Substances

The Scientific World JOURNAL ◽

10.1155/2015/906094 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Perumal Palanivell ◽

Osumanu Haruna Ahmed ◽

Nik Muhamad Ab Majid ◽

Mohamadu Boyie Jalloh ◽

Kasim Susilawati

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Humic Substances ◽

Rice Plant ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Ammonia Volatilization ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Lowland Rice ◽

Soil Chemical Properties ◽

Nutrients Uptake ◽

Nutrients Recovery

High cation exchange capacity and organic matter content of crude humic substances from compost could be exploited to reduce ammonia loss from urea and to as well improve rice growth and soil chemical properties for efficient nutrients utilization in lowland rice cultivation. Close-dynamic air flow system was used to determine the effects of crude humic substances on ammonia volatilization. A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of crude humic substances on rice plant growth, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil chemical properties using an acid soil mixed with three rates of crude humic substances (20, 40, and 60 g pot−1). Standard procedures were used to evaluate rice plant dry matter production, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil chemical properties. Application of crude humic substances increased ammonia volatilization. However, the lowest rate of crude humic substances (20 g pot−1) significantly improved total dry matter, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil nutrients availability compared with crude humic substances (40 and 60 g pot−1) and the normal fertilization. Apart from improving growth of rice plants, crude humic substances can be used to ameliorate acid soils in rice cultivation. The findings of this study are being validated in our ongoing field trials.

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