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- Title
Effects of enhanced efficiency nitrogen fertilizers on NH3 losses in a calcareous fluvo-aquic soil: a laboratory study.
- Authors
Zhang, Chong; Xu, Ronghua; Su, Fang; Roelcke, Marco; Ju, Xiaotang
- Abstract
Purpose: Excessive ammonia (NH3) emission to the atmosphere can cause a series of environmental problems and further cost to human health. Enhanced efficiency nitrogen (N) fertilizers (EENFs) were designed to reduce N losses to the environment and thus to improve fertilizer N use efficiency. The aim of the present study was to test the effectiveness of EENFs on NH3 emissions from surface-broadcast urea (dominant N application method for the studied region) in a fluvo-aquic soil under laboratory conditions. Materials and methods: The study consisted of five treatments: (1) UREA: common urea; (2) UREA + NP: urea with incorporated nitrification inhibitor nitrapyrin; (3) UREA + DCD: urea with incorporated nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide; (4) UREA + NBPT: urea with incorporated urease inhibitor NBPT [N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide]; (5) PCU, a polymer-coated urea. Urea with or without NP, DCD, and NBPT was dissolved in deionized water and was then carefully broadcast to the soil surface. The polymer-coated urea was surface-broadcast uniformly, and thereafter, deionized water was carefully dripped onto the soil surface. A forced-draft system with a volatilization chamber was employed to measure the NH3 flux. After the main experiment, the upper and lower soil layer was separately homogenized for analysis of soil ammonium N (NH4+-N) and nitrate N (NO3−-N) contents. Results and discussion: The NH3 flux peak for UREA + NP, UREA + DCD, and UREA + NBPT treatment occurred on 5–8 days after fertilizer application, which were 1.04, 1.16, and 0.36 μg N cm−2 h−1, respectively, while NH3 flux for PCU treatment was very low (0.02–0.19 μg N cm−2 h−1) and no obvious NH3 flux peak emerged during the whole experiment. Urea with incorporated NP and DCD increased cumulative NH3 losses by 59% and 202% compared to urea only, respectively, while urea incorporated with NBPT and PCU reduced cumulative NH3 losses by 59% and 82% compared to urea only, respectively, Conclusions: Our results suggested that NH3 losses were greatly increased by applying the nitrification inhibitors nitrapyrin and dicyandiamide to urea, and nitrification inhibitors need to be carefully used in the fluvo-aquic soil. As surface-broadcast urea is nowadays still the dominant N application method in the NCP, surface application of NBPT-amended urea or PCU would be good options to reduce NH3 losses without having to change farmers' fertilizer application method.
- Subjects
CHINA; NITROGEN fertilizers; CALCAREOUS soils; UREA as fertilizer; NITRIFICATION inhibitors; FERTILIZER application; DEIONIZATION of water; SOIL testing
- Publication
Journal of Soils & Sediments: Protection, Risk Assessment, & Remediation, 2020, Vol 20, Issue 4, p1887
- ISSN
1439-0108
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11368-020-02580-9