Short and long-term effects of elevated CO2 on Lolium perenne rhizodeposition and its consequences on soil organic matter turnover and plant N yield

It is still unclear whether elevated CO₂ increases plant root exudation and consequently affects the soil microbial biomass. The effects of elevated CO₂ on the fate of the C and nitrogen (N) contained in old soil organic matter pools is also unclear. In this study the short and long-term effects of elevated CO₂ on C and N pools and fluxes were assessed by growing isolated plants of ryegrass (Lolium perenne) in glasshouses at elevated and ambient atmospheric CO₂ and using soil from the New Zealand FACE site that had >4 years exposure to CO₂ enrichment. Using ¹⁴CO₂ pulse labelling, the effects of elevated CO₂ on C allocation within the plant-soil system were studied. Under elevated CO₂ more root derived C was found in the soil and in the microbial biomass 48 h after labelling. The increased availability of substrate significantly stimulated soil microbial growth and acted as priming effect, enhancing native soil organic matter decomposition regardless of the mineral N supply. Despite indications of faster N cycling in soil under elevated CO₂, N availability to plants stayed unchanged. Soil previously exposed to elevated CO₂ exhibited a higher N cycling rate but again there was no effect on plant N uptake. With respect to the difficulties of extrapolating glasshouse experiment results to the field, we concluded that the accumulation of coarse organic matter observed in the field under elevated CO₂ was probably not created by an imbalance between C and N but was likely to be due to more complex phenomena involving soil mesofauna and/or other nutrients limitations.     

Manipulating the N release from N labelled celery residues by using straw and vinasses

The aim of this laboratory study was to investigate the effect of straw and vinasses on the nitrogen (N) mineralization-immobilization turnover of celery residues during two periods (each simulating a time period from autumn till spring) under laboratory conditions. During the first period (1-198 d), ¹⁵N-labelled celery residues (1.1 g dry matter (DM) kg⁻¹ soil) were incubated together with straw (8.1 g DM kg⁻¹ soil), aiming to immobilize the N released from celery residues, followed by an incorporation of vinasses (1.9 g DM kg⁻¹ soil) after 84 d, with a view to remineralizing the immobilized celery-N. During the second period (198-380 d), the experimental set-up was repeated, except that non-labelled celery residues were used. Total N, mineral N and their ¹⁵N enrichments as well as microbial biomass N were determined at regular time intervals. During both periods, mixing celery residues with straw significantly increased microbial biomass N (90.5 and 40.5 mg N kg⁻¹ extra compared to celery only treatment) and decreased the amount of mineral N (reduction of 56.1 and 45.9 mg N kg⁻¹ soil compared to celery only treatment) and the celery-derived mineral ¹⁵N (0% of mineral celery-derived ¹⁵N in straw treatment compared to 35% of mineral celery-derived ¹⁵N in celery only treatment). After maximum immobilization, a natural remineralization (without addition of vinasses) of 32.2 (at day 198) and 11.1 mg N kg⁻¹ soil (at day 380) occurred in the straw treatment, but the mineral N content remained significantly lower than in the celery only treatment during the complete experiment, and the amount of remineralized celery-¹⁵N was very low (5.4% of celery-derived ¹⁵N after 380 d). Vinasses caused no real priming effect, although it did slightly increase the amount of remineralized celery-¹⁵N (+6.4% of celery-derived ¹⁵N at day 380 compared to the straw treatment), probably due an apparent added N interaction caused by displacement reactions with the soil microbial biomass.     

Evaluating and predicting agricultural management effects under tile drainage using modified APSIM

An accurate and management sensitive simulation model for tile-drained Midwestern soils is needed to optimize the use of agricultural management practices (e.g., winter cover crops) to reduce nitrate leaching without adversely affecting corn yield. Our objectives were to enhance the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) for tile drainage, test the modified model for several management scenarios, and then predict nitrate leaching with and without winter wheat cover crop. Twelve years of data (1990-2001) from northeast Iowa were used for model testing. Management scenarios included continuous corn and corn-soybean rotations with single or split N applications. For 38 of 44 observations, yearly drain flow was simulated within 50 mm of observed for low drainage (< 100 mm) or within 30% of observed for high drain flow. Corn yield was simulated within 1500 kg/ha for 12 of 24 observations. For 30 of 45 observations yearly nitrate-N loss in tile drains was simulated within 10 kg N/ha for low nitrate-N loss (< 20 kg N/ha) or within 30% of observed for high nitrate-N loss. Several of the poor yield and nitrate-N loss predictions appear related to poor N-uptake simulations. The model accurately predicted greater corn yield under split application (140-190 kg N/ha) compared to single 110 kg N/ha application and higher drainage and nitrate-N loss under continuous corn compared to corn/soybean rotations. A winter wheat cover crop was predicted to reduce nitrate-N loss 38% (341 vs. 537 kg N/ha with and without cover) under 41-years of corn-soybean rotations and 150 kg N/ha applied to corn. These results suggest that the modified APSIM model is a promising tool to help estimate the relative effect of alternative management practices under fluctuating high water tables.     

Assessment of soil organic matter mineralization under various management practices

ABSTRACT

Mineralization is the main organic matter conversion process, which leads not only to preservation of organic matter in the soil but also to its sequestration. Soil organic matter has equal value as mineral part if we want to improve soil quality or increase the yield. Because of intensive farming, irresponsible use of mineral fertilizers and natural factors, soil organic matter is decreasing. To counteract this process, different soil-friendly management practices and techniques, such as shallow tillage, no-tillage or direct drilling and application of additional organic matter are used. The objective of the present study was to assess the changes in the intensity of soil organic matter mineralization as influenced by primary soil tillage of different intensity in combination with organic matter incorporation. Long-term studies showed that land management practices differentiated the soil into two layers: upper (0–10?cm) layer containing more moisture and nutrients and lower (10–20?cm) layer comprising less moisture and nutrients. The conditions of aeration in the arable soil layer did not change under the effect of ploughing. In this soil, the rate of mineralization was lower than that in the ploughless tillage treatment. The most active mineralization of soil organic matter in the ploughless tillage treatment occurred in the autumn period, when high level of rainfall promoted the loss of nutrients from the topsoil layer.     

控制淋洗条件下土壤-花椰菜体系无机氮动态及平衡

在北京郊区中壤质潮土上设置田间试验。结果表明:花椰菜获最大产量的氮供应量为300kghm-2。生育期花椰菜主要吸收表层(0～30cm)土壤中的无机氮,对下层(30～60cm)土壤无机氮(Nmin)的利用随氮供应量的增加而减少。不同生育期0～60cm土层中无机氮(Nmin)含量均随氮供应量增加而增加,但施肥后土壤中最高无机氮(Nmin)含量出现的时间随氮供应量增加而延迟。花椰菜生育期土壤有机氮矿化速率随生长期延长而增加,平均达N1.3kghm-2d-1,相当于各处理总吸氮量的47.5%～89.2%。试验后0～30cm及30～60cm土层无机氮(Nmin)含量随氮供应量增加而明显增加,但60～90cm土层无机氮(Nmin)受氮供应的影响不明显。花椰菜当季氮肥利用率及氮素利用率随施氮量增加而降低,最佳产量时的氮肥利用率及氮素利用率分别为36.5%和50.8%。土壤-花椰菜体系氮素表观损失量随氮施用水平的增加而明显增加,但其占总氮供应(肥料氮+播前土壤氮)的比例受氮供应的影响不明显,大致为20%。     

Litter decomposition and faunal activity in Mediterranean forest soils: effects of N content and the moss layer

Accumulation of soil carbon is mainly controlled by the balance between litter production and litter decomposition. Usually In Mediterranean forests there are contrasting conditions in the distribution of faunal activity and the moss layer that may have different effects on litter decomposition. Decomposition and faunal activity were studied by exposing litter of contrasting quality (Pinus halepensis Mill. and Quercus ilex L.) for 3.5 yr in three Mediterranean pine forests of the eastern Iberian Peninsula. The effects of mosses on decomposition and on faunal activity were studied by exposing P. halepensis litter either on moss patches or directly on the forest floor. Faecal pellet production was used as an indication of faunal activity. Water availability or soil characteristics seem to limit faunal activities in the drier sites. Faecal pellets were not found during the first stages of decomposition and in all sites they appeared when about a 30% of the initial litter had decomposed. Under wet conditions faecal pellet production was very high and a mass balance suggested that soil faunal activity may result in a net flow of organic matter from the lower organic horizons to the surface Oi horizon. Mosses slightly increased mass loss of pine litter probably as a consequence of high potentially mineralizable nitrogen in the Oa horizon of moss patches and also, perhaps, as a consequence of the higher moisture content measured in the Oi horizon needles sampled among the mosses. In contrast, moss patches reduced faunal activity. The effect of litter quality on mass loss was not always significant, suggesting an interaction between litter quality and site conditions. During the first stages of decomposition there was N immobilisation in P. halepensis litter (poorer in N) and N release from Q. ilex litter (richer in N). In conclusion, in these forests soil microclimate and/or N availability appear to be more important controlling litter decomposition than the distribution of faunal activity.     

Phosphorus requirements and nitrogen accumulation by N2-fixing and non-N2-fixing leguminous trees growing in low P soils

The variation in P uptake and use efficiency and N accumulation by Gliricidia sepium (N₂-fixing tree), Senna siamea and S. spectabilis (leguminous non-N₂-fixing trees) were examined in the field at Fashola (savanna zone), southwestern Nigeria, using four P rates, 0, 20, 40 and 80 kg P ha^-1. Growth of G. sepium and S. spectabilis responded to P application at 24 weeks after planting (WAP) and average yield increases of 58% and 145% were observed by the application of 40 kg P ha^-1 for the two species, respectively. Such a P response was not found in S. siamea at 24 WAP and for any of the species at 48 WAP. G. sepium accumulated more P (on average 162%) than S. siamea and S. spectabilis at 24 WAP and had greater root length and a higher percentage of mycorrhizal infection. However, at 48 WAP S. siamea had 2.5 times more P than G. sepium. Differences in the physiological P use efficiency (PPUE) between G. sepium and the non-N₂-fixing trees were significant at the 0 P level, being higher for S. siamea (average, 0.61 g shoot mg^-1 P) than for G. sepium (0.27 g shoot mg^-1 P). G. sepium had a consistently lower atom % ¹⁵N than S. spectabilis, while that of S. siamea for most of the time did not differ from that of G. sepium. The reference plant affected N₂ fixation extimates, with negative values and a higher variability (CV 60%) associated with S. siamea than with S. spectabilis (CV<20%). Consequently, S. spectabilis was selected as a better reference plant for measuring N₂ fixation in G. sepium. G. sepium fixed on average 35% and 54% of its N at 24 and 48 WAP, respectively. Except at the lowest P rate, percentage and amount of N fixed were not generally enhanced by P application.     

Structural studies on soil nitrogen by Curie-point pyrolysis — gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with nitrogen-selective detection

Curie-point pyrolysis-gas chromatography mass spectrometry with N-selective detection was used to characterize the structure of organic N compounds in four mineral soils. The technique was found suitable for the fast, sensitive, and highly specific identification of N-containing pyrolysis products from whole soils with total N contents between 0.08 and 0.46%. In order to optimize the methodology, one agricultural soil was pyrolyzed at final temperatures of 573, 773, and 973 K. Almost no chemical alterations to identifiable pyrolysis products were observed when the final pyrolysis temperature was increased from 573 to 973 K. More than 50 N-containing pyrolysis products were identified, and were divided into compound classes chracterized by specific molecular-chemical structures. These included pyrroles, imidazoles, pyrazoles, pyridines, pyrimidines, pyrazines, indoles, quinolines, N derivatives of benzene, alkyl nitriles, and aliphatic amines. Three additional soil samples different in origin and N content were analyzed at 773 K and each showed a specific thermosensitive N-selective chromatogram. Many N-containing pyrolysis products were identified in all samples, which indicated general qualitative regularities in the thermal release of N-containing pyrolysis products from the four soils. In the pyrolyzates of the investigated soils a number of compounds were identified, which is usually not detectable in pyrolysis-gas chromatography spectrometry analyses with N-selective detection of plants and microorganisms. Among these were N derivatives of benzene and long-chain alkyl nitriles, which appear to be soil-specific and suggest significant transformations of organic N in soils. Thus, our results contribute to a better understanding of the molecular-chemical structure of unknown N.     

Evolution of dinitrogen and nitrous oxide from the soil to the atmosphere through rice plants

Summary It is commonly assumed that a large fraction of fertilizer N applied to a rice (Oryza sativa L.) field is lost from the soil-water-plant system as a result of denitrification. Direct evidence to support this view, however, is limited. The few direct field, denitrification gas measurements that have been made indicate less N loss than that determined by ¹⁵N balance after the growing season. One explanation for this discrepancy is that the N₂ produced during denitrification in a flooded soil remains trapped in the soil system and does not evolve to the atmosphere until the soil dries or is otherwise disturbed. It seems likely, however, that N₂ produced in the soil uses the rice plants as a conduit to the atmosphere, as does methane. Methane evolution from a rice field has been demonstrated to occur almost exclusively through the rice plants themselves. A field study in Cuttack, India, and a greenhouse study in Fort Collins, Colorado, were conducted to determine the influence of rice plants on the transport of N₂ and N₂O from the soil to the atmosphere. In these studies, plots were fertilized with 75 or 99 atom % ¹⁵N-urea and ¹⁵N techniques were used to monitor the daily evolution of N₂ and N₂O. At weekly intervals the amount of N₂+N₂O trapped in the flooded soil and the total-N and fertilized-N content of the soil and plants were measured in the greenhouse plots. Direct measurement of N₂+N₂O emission from field and greenhouse plots indicated that the young rice plant facilitates the efflux of N₂ and N₂O from the soil to the atmosphere. Little N gas was trapped in the rice-planted soils while large quantities were trapped in the unplanted soils. N losses due to denitrification accounted for only up to 10% of the loss of added N in planted soils in the field or greenhouse. The major losses of fertilizer N from both the field and greenhouse soils appear to have been the result of NH₃ volatilization.     

Immediate and adaptational temperature effects on nitric oxide production and nitrous oxide release from nitrification and denitrification in two soils

 Nitrification and denitrification are, like all biological processes, influenced by temperature. We investigated temperature effects on N trace gas turnover by nitrification and denitrification in two soils under two experimental conditions. In the first approach ("temperature shift experiment") soil samples were preincubated at 25  °C and then exposed to gradually increasing temperatures (starting at 4  °C and finishing at 40–45  °C). Under these conditions the immediate effect of temperature change was assessed. In the second approach ("discrete temperature experiment") the soil samples were preincubated at different temperatures (4–35  °C) for 5 days and then tested at the same temperatures. The different experimental conditions affected the results of the study. In the temperature shift experiment the NO release increased steadily with increasing temperature in both soils. In the discrete temperature experiment, however, the production rates of NO and N₂O showed a minimum at intermediate temperatures (13–25  °C). In one of the soils (soil B9), the percent contribution of nitrification to NO production in the discrete temperature experiment reached a maximum (>95% contribution) at 25  °C. In the temperature shift experiment nitrification was always the dominant process for NO release and showed no systematic temperature dependency. In the second soil (soil B14), the percent contribution of nitrification to NO release decreased from 50 to 10% as the temperature was increased from 4  °C to 45  °C, but no differences were evident in the discrete temperature experiment. The N₂O production rates were measured in the discrete temperature experiment only. The contribution of nitrification to N₂O production in soil B9 was considerably higher at 25–35  °C (60–80% contribution) than at 4–13  °C (15–20% contribution). In soil B14 the contribution of nitrification to N₂O production was lowest at 4  °C. The effects of temperature on N trace gas turnover differed between the two soils and incubation conditions. The experimental set-up allowed us to distinguish between immediate effects of short-term changes in temperature on the process rates, and longer-term effects by which preincubation at a particular temperature presumably resulted in the adaptation of the soil microorganisms to this temperature. Both types of effects were important in regulating the release of NO and N₂O from soil. Received: 20 October 1998