Economic feasibility of site-specific optical sensing for managing nitrogen fertilizer for growing wheat

A site-specific nitrogen fertilizer application system that uses optical reflectance measurements of growing wheat plants to estimate N requirements has been developed. The machine enables unique applications of liquid N fertilizer at a grid level of 0.37 m². To achieve widespread adoption, the precision application system must be efficient enough to overcome the cost advantage of pre-plant applications of anhydrous ammonia (NH₃) relative to top-dress applications of either dry or liquid N sources on growing wheat. The objective of this research is to determine if the system is more profitable than conventional methods. Data from on-farm N fertilizer experiments were collected across three years and nine locations in the Southern Plains of the U.S.A. Net returns were calculated for each of eight treatments. The site-specific precision system was competitive economically, but it was not unambiguously superior to the conventional alternatives because it could not overcome the cost advantage of NH₃ pre-plant N sources relative to the cost of applying urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN) during the growing season. The value of the precision system is sensitive to the price of UAN relative to the price of NH₃.

Effects of nitrogen fertilizer rates and ratios of base and topdressing on wheat yield, soil nitrate content and nitrogen balance

Application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer is one of the most important measures that increases grain yield and improves grain quality in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production. Presently, there is a large number of investigations (experiments) in the field on different nitrogen fertilizer application regimes. However, there still exists a serious problem of low nitrogen use efficiency, especially in winter wheat high yield conditions: unsuitable nitrogen fertilizer, which often leads to lower yield and large accumulation of nitrate in the soil, bringing a potential risk to the environment. In order to explore the optimal regime of nitrogen fertilizer application suitable for environment and economy, a field experiment on the different rate and ratio of base and topdressing of nitrogen fertilizer at the different growth periods of winter wheat was conducted. The field experiment was undertaken from the fall of 2003 to the summer of 2004 in the village of Zhongcun in Longkou city, in the Shandong Province of China. The field experiment with three repeats for each treatment was designed in a split-plot. The major plot was applied with urea at a nitrogen fertilizer rate of three levels, namely, 0 kg·hm⁻² (CK), 168 kg·hm⁻² (A), and 240 kg·hm⁻² (B). In the sub-plot, the ratios of base and topdressing nitrogen fertilizer at the different development periods of wheat were 1/2:1/2 (A1 and B1), 1/3:2/3 (A2 and B2) and 0:1 (A3 and B3). Treatment B1 was under a regime used now in the local region. It was found that the amount of N accumulation in plants had no significant difference between treatments applied with nitrogen fertilizer. The grain yield and grain protein content were all elevated remarkably by applying nitrogen fertilizer compared with those of treatment CK. There was no significant difference in the grain yield and grain protein content between A2 and B2 and B3. However, when compared with those of B2 and B3, in A2 there was an increase in nitrogen use efficiency and residual soil NO₃ ⁻-N and N losses were reduced. Under the condition of the same rate of nitrogen fertilizer, increasing topdressing nitrogen rate clearly elevated the grain yield, grain protein content and nitrogen use efficiency. The results indicated that the residual soil NO₃ ⁻-N in A1 and B1 accumulated higher than that of CK in 80–160 cm soil layers at the jointing stage, but that of A2 had no significant difference compared with that of CK in 0–200 cm soil layers. At the maturity stage, more residual soil NO₃ ⁻-N was detected in B2, B3 and A3 than that in CK in 120–180 cm soil layers, which could not be absorbed by the roots of wheat, but led to be eluviated easily. The amount of soil NO₃ ⁻-N accumulation in treatment A2 had no significant difference compared with that of treatment CK in the 100–200 cm soil layer. In conclusion, A2, whose nitrogen fertilizer rate was 168 kg·hm⁻² and the ratio of base and topdressing was 1/3:2/3, had a higher grain yield and grain protein content, and heightened N use efficiency and minimized the risk of NO₃ ⁻-N leaching. This should be one of the most appropriate nitrogen fertilizer application regimes in wheat production in local regions in China. __________ Translated from Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2006, 26(11): 3661–3669 [译自: 生态学报]     

Estimation of economic and environmental potentials of variable rate versus uniform N fertilizer application to spring barley on morainic soils in SE Norway

Spring barley was grown for 4 years (2001–2004) in field trials at two sites on morainic soil in central SE Norway, with five N level treatments: 0, 60, 90, 120 and 150 kg N ha^-1. Regression analyses showed that a selection of soil properties could explain 95–98% of the spatial yield variation and 47–90% of the yield responses (averaged over years). A strategy with uniform fertilizer application of 120 kg N ha⁻¹ (U _N120) was compared with two variable-rate (VR) strategies, with a maximum N rate of either 150 kg N ha⁻¹ (VR_N150) or 180 kg N ha⁻¹ (VR_N180). These strategies were tested using either Norwegian prices (low price ratio of N fertilizer to yield value; P_N/P_Y), or Swedish prices (high P_N/P_Y). The VR_N180 strategy had the highest potential yield and net revenue (yield value minus N cost) at both sites and under both price regimes. Using this strategy with Norwegian prices would increase the profit of barley cropping as long as at least 40 and 31% of the estimated potential increase in net revenue was realized, respectively. Using Swedish prices, uniform application appeared to be as good as or even better economically than the VR methods, when correcting for extra costs of VR application. The environmental effect of VR compared with uniform application, expressed as N not accounted for, showed contrasting effects when using Norwegian prices, but was clearly favourable using Swedish prices, with up to 20% reduction in the amount of N not accounted for.     

不同施肥水平对长期麦豆轮作体系土壤氮素及产量的影响

探索施肥对长期轮作下土壤氮素变化及产量的影响,对优化氮素管理具有重要作用。通过优化施肥方案,对关中地区冬小麦-夏大豆长期轮作模式下作物产量及土壤全氮、硝态氮、铵态氮、微生物生物量氮含量动态变化进行定位研究。结果表明：土壤全氮、硝态氮、铵态氮含量秋冬季较高,春夏季较低,微生物生物量氮变化趋势与之相反。土壤中氮素各组分含量均表现为表层土高于下层土,土壤全氮、硝态氮、铵态氮平均含量及铵态氮层化比、土壤硝态氮与铵态氮比值随着化肥施用量的增加而增加,硝态氮层化比随施肥量的增加而减少。与不施肥相比,优化施肥促进微生物生物量氮含量的提升,而常规施肥导致微生物生物量氮含量下降。试验连续运行9 a后,施肥导致土壤pH和水分含量下降,对小麦、大豆产量有显著影响,与不施肥处理相比,小麦、大豆平均增产50.20%、45.29%。麦豆长期轮作种植模式下优化施肥在基本保证作物产量的同时,降低土壤中全氮、硝态氮、铵态氮含量,增加微生物生物量氮含量,减少化肥施用量。     

酸性茶园土壤氨挥发及其影响因素研究

氨挥发是土壤氮素损失的主要途径之一。利用大型水泥槽田间试验,采用通气法研究了不同施氮量和施氮时期对茶园土壤氨挥发的影响,同时测定土壤铵态氮和硝态氮含量,结合气象因子进行偏相关分析,探讨了氨挥发的影响因素。设置CK(未施氮)、N1(减量化施氮、225 kg·hm~(-2))和N2(常规施氮,450 kg·hm~(-2))共3个处理,春季追肥、秋季追肥和冬季基肥比例为3∶3∶4。结果表明:茶园土壤氨挥发损失量为13.01~60.85 kg·hm~(-2),氨挥发损失率为10.63%~12.42%;施氮既是氨挥发峰值出现的主要原因,也能显著增加土壤氨挥发量(P0.05),N_1和N_2处理增幅分别为214.78%和367.72%,其增幅效应在冬季基肥期更显著;不同施氮时期对氨挥发量影响很大,冬季基肥期挥发量约占全年氨挥发损失量的50%,与冬季基肥期间土壤铵态氮浓度高且持续时间较长有关。偏相关分析表明,土壤氨挥发与铵态氮含量、地温和空气相对湿度呈显著或极显著正相关,与土壤水分和气温呈极显著负相关,与土壤硝态氮含量相关性不显著。     

施氮水平对冬小麦冠层氨挥发的影响

为探索冬小麦全生育期冠层氨挥发规律、主要影响因素及其对麦田氨挥发的贡献率,设置0、90、180 kg N·hm~(-2)三种氮素水平,利用改进型通气式氨气捕获装置,原位分析冬小麦冠层氨挥发速率及其与叶片氮素生理指标的关系。结果表明:麦田氨挥发主要发生在施肥后2~3周,全生育期累积挥发量为3.773~8.704 kg N·hm~(-2),施氮显著提高了麦田氨挥发累积量(P0.05),土壤与冠层氨挥发累积量分别为3.289~7.773 kg N·hm~(-2)和0.750~1.461 kg N·hm~(-2),对麦田氨挥发的贡献率分别为87.2%~89.3%和15.4%~19.9%。不施氮条件下,冠层无氨气吸收;低施氮(90 kg N·hm~(-2))下,冠层氨气吸收主要发生在苗期;高施氮(180 kg N·hm~(-2))下,苗期、返青期和灌浆前期冠层均有氨气吸收发生。冠层氨挥发主要发生在开花期、灌浆末期至枯死期,分别占冠层氨挥发的4.5%~9.3%和79.1%~99.0%;冠层氨挥发速率与叶片氨气补偿点、质外体NH+4浓度显著正相关(P0.05),与谷氨酰胺合成酶(GS)活性、质外体溶液pH相关关系不显著(P0.05)。总之,开花前,不施肥条件下冬小麦冠层向大气中释放氨,施肥后,冠层从大气中吸收氨。冬小麦开花后,不论施肥与否,冠层都向大气层释放氨。     

Site-specific management of limiting nutrients in peanut (Arachis hypogaea) on the Texas High Plains

Nutrient data obtained from soil chemical tests were analyzed in an activity analysis model to identify limiting factors in peanut production on the Texas High Plains. A production function was estimated for the study field, and limiting factors were identified at individual sites where the production function indicated that yield did not respond. The estimated production function also enabled us to conduct a cost-return analysis of variable- and blanket-rate fertilizer applications. The results showed that peanut yields did not respond to most of the nutrients included in the study, which confirmed conclusions from previous studies in the study region. Calcium and nitrogen were the only two limiting factors identified in this study. Significant economic returns could be obtained by site-specific fertilizer application. The average economic return from variable-rate calcium fertilizer application was $27.84 ha⁻¹ and from blanket-rate it was $10.73 ha⁻¹. The return from variable-rate nitrogen fertilizer application was about $20 ha⁻¹ and from a blanket-rate it was about $14 ha⁻¹. There seems to be quite a strong economic incentive to adopt variable-rate application for calcium and nitrogen fertilizer application.

Algorithms for sensor-based redistribution of nitrogen fertilizer in winter wheat

Several methods were developed for the redistribution of nitrogen (N) fertilizer within fields with winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) based on plant and soil sensors, and topographical information. The methods were based on data from nine field experiments in nine different fields for a 3-year period. Each field was divided into 80 or more subplots fertilized with 60, 120, 180 or 240 kg N ha⁻¹. The relationships between plot yield, N application rate, sensor measurements and the interaction between N application and sensor measurements were investigated. Based on the established relations, several sensor-based methods for within-field redistribution of N were developed. It was shown that plant sensors predicted yield at harvest better than soil sensors and topographical indices. The methods based on plant sensors showed that N fertilizer should be moved from areas with low and high sensor measurements to areas with medium values. The theoretical increase in yield and N uptake, and the reduced variation in grain protein content resulting from the application of the above methods were estimated. However, the estimated increases in crop yield, N-uptake and reduced variation in grain protein content were small.     

Developing a new Crop Circle active canopy sensor-based precision nitrogen management strategy for winter wheat in North China Plain

Active canopy sensor (ACS)—based precision nitrogen (N) management (PNM) is a promising strategy to improve crop N use efficiency (NUE). The GreenSeeker (GS) sensor with two fixed bands has been applied to improve winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) N management in North China Plain (NCP). The Crop Circle (CC) ACS-470 active sensor is user configurable with three wavebands. The objective of this study was to develop a CC ACS-470 sensor-based PNM strategy for winter wheat in NCP and compare it with GS sensor-based N management strategy, soil N_min test-based in-season N management strategy and conventional farmer’s practice. Four site-years of field N rate experiments were conducted from 2009 to 2013 to identify optimum CC vegetation indices for estimating early season winter wheat plant N uptake (PNU) and grain yield in Quzhou Experiment Station of China Agricultural University located in Hebei province of NCP. Another nine on-farm experiments were conducted at three different villages in Quzhou County in 2012/2013 to evaluate the performance of the developed N management strategy. The results indicated that the CC ACS-470 sensor could significantly improve estimation of early season PNU (R² = 0.78) and grain yield (R² = 0.62) of winter wheat over GS sensor (R² = 0.60 and 0.33, respectively). All three in-season N management strategies achieved similar grain yield as compared with farmer’s practice. The three PNM strategies all significantly reduced N application rates and increased N partial factor productivity (PFP) by an average of 61–67 %. It is concluded that the CC sensor can improve estimation of early season winter wheat PNU and grain yield as compared to the GS sensor, but the PNM strategies based on these two sensors perform equally well for improving winter wheat NUE in NCP. More studies are needed to further develop and evaluate these active sensor-based PNM strategies under more diverse on-farm conditions.     

Application of the CSM-CERES-Rice model for evaluation of plant density and nitrogen management of fine transplanted rice for an irrigated semiarid environment

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the performance of the cropping system model (CSM)-CERES-Rice to simulate growth and development of an aromatic rice variety under irrigated conditions in a semiarid environment of Pakistan and to determine the impact of various plant densities and nitrogen (N) application rates on grain yield and economic return. The crop simulation model was evaluated with experimental data collected in experiments that were conducted in 2000 and 2001 in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three replications and included three plant densities (one seedling hill⁻¹, PD₁; two seedlings hill⁻¹, PD₂; and three seedlings hill⁻¹, PD₃) and five N fertilizer regimes (control, N₀; 50 kg ha⁻¹, N₅₀; 100 kg ha⁻¹, N₁₀₀; 150 kg ha⁻¹, N₁₅₀; and 200 kg ha⁻¹, N₂₀₀). To determine the most appropriate combination of plant density and N levels, four plant densities from one seedling hill⁻¹ to four seedlings hill⁻¹ and 13 N levels ranging from 0 to 300 kg N ha⁻¹ (52 scenarios) were simulated for 35 years of historical daily weather data under irrigated conditions. The evaluation of CSM-CERES-Rice showed that the model was able to simulate growth and yield of irrigated rice in the semiarid conditions, with an average error of 11% between simulated and observed grain yield. The results of the stimulation analysis result showed that two seedlings hill⁻¹ along with 200 kg N ha⁻¹ (PD₂N₂₀₀) produced the highest yield as compared to all other scenarios. Furthermore, the economic analysis through the mean gini dominance also showed the dominance of this treatment (PD₂N₂₀₀) compared to the other treatment combinations. Thus, the management scenario that consisted of two seedlings hill⁻¹ and 200 kg N ha⁻¹ was the best for high yield and monitory return of irrigated rice in the semiarid environment. The mean monetary returns ranged from 291 US $ ha⁻¹ to 1 460 US $ ha⁻¹ to 1 460 US  ha⁻¹ among the 52 production options that were simulated. This approaching was demonstrated as effective way to optimize the density and N management for high yield and monetary return. It will help the rice production.     

不同施肥处理下小麦季潮土氨挥发损失及其影响因素研究

氨挥发是肥料氮素损失的重要途径之一,由于土壤类型、气候条件、肥料种类、用量和施用时间等因素不同而存在很大差异。试验采用间歇式密闭室通气法,对华北平原不同施肥处理(新鲜牛粪与尿素配施、堆腐牛粪与尿素配施和NPK单施)下,冬小麦生长季粘质潮土氨挥发及其影响因素进行了研究。结果表明:冬小麦季土壤氨挥发总量占肥料氮用量的1.23%~1.97%,主要来源于追肥,占整个小麦生长季氨挥发总量的80%左右。不同施肥处理强烈影响氨挥发强度,新鲜牛粪与尿素配施处理氨挥发损失量最高,氮素损失率为1.97%,显著高于堆腐牛粪与尿素配施和NPK单施。基肥期氨挥发速率与气温密切相关,追肥期土壤含水量和NH~+_4-N浓度是影响氨挥发的主控因子。     

苏南麦田基施包膜尿素的农学和环境效应评价

为验证包膜尿素一次性基施、速效矿质氮肥分次施用在南方冬小麦系统中的可替代性,在江苏江宁麦田建立田间试验,通过连续3 a的3个作物季观测,比较了0、160 kg N·hm~(-2)(低量)和240 kg N·hm~(-2)(习惯用量)施氮量下树脂包膜尿素一次基施(PU)和非包膜尿素分次施用(U)对小麦产量、氮肥利用率及NH_3挥发与N_2O排放的影响,并从经济效益和气态活性氮减排两方面评估了包膜尿素施用的农学和环境效应。结果表明:U和PU处理小麦产量均随施氮量增加而提高,但PU下增产更显著。习惯施氮量下,PU比U平均增加小麦产量16.6%,提高氮肥偏生产力和农学利用效率16.7%和26.6%。等氮量下PU虽不能提高氮肥生理效率,但却显著提高氮肥利用率35.7%～65.2%。同时,PU较U处理能有效削减NH_3和N_2O排放峰,习惯施氮量下可降低NH_3和N_2O季节累积排放量43.3%和37.6%。综合分析产量、肥料和其他管理成本的产投收益结果表明,施用160 kg N·hm~(-2)PU即可近似达到U习惯施氮量下小麦产量水平和净收益;且当PU施氮量增至240 kg N·hm~(-2)时,可在不显著增加NH_3和N_2O排放情况下,显著增加小麦产量,近而大幅提高农户净收益41.8%。研究表明,与农户习惯施氮相比,供试聚氨酯包膜尿素一次基施不仅能够获得高产,而且也有利于农户增收和环境保护。     

陇东旱塬地区冬小麦水肥效应耦合模拟研究

采用无底铁框作微区,选择冬小麦生育期降水量(P)和施氦量(N)进行水肥效应模拟研究,得出冬小麦产量(Y)与降水量和施氮量的关系为Y=2505.6713+5.3422N-0.0251N²+24.3482P-0.0325P²+0.0074NP.水肥耦合方程为N_c=73.4805+0.2325P.当降水量由160mm增至400mm时,最高产量由5993.93kg/hm²提高到7710.39kg/hm²,最高产量施氮量Nmax由126.51kg/hm²增至165.48kg/hm²,经济施氮量N_opt由78.60kg/hm²增至107.12kg/hm²,N_c值则由110.55kg/hm²增至166.50kg/hm².在降水量小于400mm时有N_opt < N_c < N_max成立,且N_opt与N_c差值较大,说明旱塬地区单以经济施氮量为施肥标准不能充分发挥降水的增产潜力.提出了以上壤水肥宏观调控的原则,编制出陇东旱塬地区冬小麦合理施肥的方案.     

Quantifying spatial variability of indigenous nitrogen supply for precision nitrogen management in small scale farming

Understanding spatial variability of indigenous nitrogen (N) supply (INS) is important to the implementation of precision N management (PNM) strategies in small scale agricultural fields of the North China Plain (NCP). This study was conducted to determine: (1) field-to-field and within-field variability in INS; (2) the potential savings in N fertilizers using PNM technologies; and (3) winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) N status variability at the Feekes 6 stage and the potential of using a chlorophyll meter (CM) and a GreenSeeker active crop canopy sensor for estimating in-season N requirements. Seven farmer’s fields in Quzhou County of Hebei Province were selected for this study, but no fertilizers were applied to these fields. The results indicated that INS varied significantly both within individual fields and across different fields, ranging from 33.4 to 268.4 kg ha⁻¹, with an average of 142.6 kg ha⁻¹ and a CV of 34%. The spatial dependence of INS, however, was not strong. Site-specific optimum N rates varied from 0 to 355 kg ha⁻¹ across the seven fields, with an average of 173 kg ha⁻¹ and a CV of 46%. Field-specific N management could save an average of 128 kg N ha⁻¹ compared to typical farmer practices. Both CM and GreenSeeker sensor readings were significantly related to crop N status and demand across different farmer’s fields, showing a good potential for in-season site-specific N management in small scale farming systems. More studies are needed to further evaluate these sensing technology-based PNM strategies in additional farmer fields in the NCP.     

Impact of Residual Soil Nitrate on In-Season Nitrogen Applications to Irrigated Corn Based on Remotely Sensed Assessments of Crop Nitrogen Status

Spatial and temporal variability of soil nitrogen (N) supply together with temporal variability of plant N demand make conventional N management difficult. This study was conducted to determine the impact of residual soil nitrate-N (NO₃-N) on ground-based remote sensing management of in-season N fertilizer applications for commercial center-pivot irrigated corn (Zea mays L.) in northeast Colorado. Wedge-shaped areas were established to facilitate fertigation with the center pivot in two areas of the field that had significantly different amounts of residual soil NO₃-N in the soil profile. One in-season fertigation (48 kg N ha⁻¹) was required in the Bijou loamy sand soil with high residual NO₃-N versus three in-season fertigations totaling 102 kg N ha⁻¹ in the Valentine fine sand soil with low residual NO₃-N. The farmer applied five fertigations to the field between the wedges for a total in-season N application of 214 kg N ha⁻¹. Nitrogen input was reduced by 78% and 52%, respectively, in these two areas compared to the farmer’s traditional practice without any reductions in corn yield. The ground-based remote sensing management of in-season applied N increased N use efficiency and significantly reduced residual soil NO₃-N (0–1.5 m depth) in the loamy sand soil area. Applying fertilizer N as needed by the crop and where needed in a field may reduce N inputs compared to traditional farmer accepted practices and improve in-season N management.     

Development and validation of fuzzy logic inference to determine optimum rates of N for corn on the basis of field and crop features

A fuzzy inference system (FIS) was developed to generate recommendations for spatially variable applications of N fertilizer. Key soil and plant properties were identified based on experiments with rates ranging from 0 to 250 kg N ha⁻¹ conducted over three seasons (2005, 2006 and 2007) on fields with contrasting apparent soil electrical conductivity (EC_a), elevation (ELE) and slope (SLP) features. Mid-season growth was assessed from remotely sensed imagery at 1-m² resolution. Optimization of N rate by the FIS was defined against maximum corn growth in the weeks following in-season N application. The best mid-season growth was in areas of low EC_a, high ELE and low SLP. Under favourable soil conditions, maximum mid-season growth was obtained with low in-season N. Responses to N fertilizer application were better where soil conditions were naturally unfavourable to growth. The N sufficiency index (NSI) was used to judge plant N status just prior to in-season N application. Expert knowledge was formalized as a set of rules involving EC_a, ELE, SLP and NSI levels to deliver economically optimal N rates (EONRs). The resulting FIS was tested on an independent set of data (2008). A simulation revealed that using the FIS would have led to an average N saving of 41 kg N ha⁻¹ compared to the recommended uniform rate of 170 kg N ha⁻¹, without a loss of yield. The FIS therefore appears to be useful for incorporating expert knowledge into spatially variable N recommendations.     

Within-field nitrogen response in corn related to aerial photograph color

Precise management of nitrogen (N) using canopy color in aerial imagery of corn (Zea mays L.) has been proposed as a strategy on which to base the rate of N fertilizer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between canopy color and yield response to N at the field scale. Six N response trials were conducted in 2000 and 2001 in fields with alluvial, claypan and deep loess soil types. Aerial images were taken with a 35-mm slide film from ≥1100 m at the mid- and late-vegetative corn growth stages and processed to extract green and red digital values. Color values of the control N (0 kg N ha⁻¹) and sufficient N (280 kg N ha⁻¹ applied at planting) treatments were used to calculate the relative ratio of unfertilized to fertilized and relative difference color values. Other N fertilizer treatments included side-dressed applications in increments of 56 kg N ha⁻¹. The economic optimal N rate was weakly related (R ² ≤ 0.34) or not related to the color indices at both growth stages. For many sites, delta yield (the increase in yield between control N and sufficient N treatments) was related to the color indices (R ² ≤ 0.67) at the late vegetative growth stage; the best relationship was with green relative difference. The results indicate the potential for color indices from aerial photographs to be used for predicting delta yield from which a site-specific N rate could be determined.     

氮、磷添加对不同种植密度樟树幼苗碳储量及其分配的影响

【目的】对氮(N)、磷(P)添加条件下4种种植密度的樟树Cinnamomum camphora幼苗各器官碳(C)含量、储量和分配比例进行研究,以期为氮沉降和磷添加背景下森林碳储量分配格局的变化提供参考。【方法】以1年生樟树幼苗为试验材料,选择氯化铵(NH4Cl)作为氮肥模拟氮沉降,以二水合磷酸二氢钠(NaH_2PO_4·2H_2O)作为磷添加,设置4个水平:不加N和P(对照,CK),加N,加P,加N和P(N+P)。N、P及N+P每年的添加量分别为NH4Cl40 g·m-2、NaH_2PO_4·2H2O 20 g·m~(-2)和NH4Cl 40 g·m~(-2)+NaH_2PO_4·2H_2O 20 g·m~(-2);种植密度设置4个水平,即10、20、40和80株·m-2。【结果】各氮、磷添加和密度处理下幼苗的根、茎和枝的C含量基本上差异不显著,而添加N和N+P能够促使樟树幼苗叶的C含量上升。随着种植密度的增大,樟树幼苗叶片C含量表现出下降的趋势;N、P添加处理基本上能够促进幼苗单株C储量和单位面积C储量的增加;随着种植密度的增大,单株幼苗C储量呈现下降的趋势。【结论】樟树幼苗叶的单株C储量和单位面积C储量分配比例随着种植密度的增大逐渐减小。高密度种植有利于茎的分配比例增加。N+P添加处理对幼苗C储量的促进效果大于单一N或P添加处理。     

Effect of interactions between carbon dioxide enrichment and NH 4 + /NO 3 − ratio on pH of culturing nutrient solution, growth and vigor of tomato root system

A growth chamber experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of NH₄⁺/NO₃⁻ ratio and elevated CO₂ concentration on the pH in nutrient solution, growth and root vigor system of tomato seedling roots, which attempts to understand whether the elevated CO₂ concentration can alleviate the harmful effects of higher NH₄⁺-N concentration in nutrient solutions on the tomato root system. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. Hezuo 906) was grown in pots with nutrient solutions varying in NH₄⁺/NO₃⁻ ratio (0:1, 1:3, 1:1, 3:1 and 1:0) and the growth chambers were supplied with ambient (360 μL·L⁻¹) or elevated CO₂ concentration (720 μL·L⁻¹). The results showed that the pH changed with the growth process and CO₂ concentration increased. At both CO₂ levels, pH increased when 100% NO₃⁻-N was supplied and decreased in other treatments. The pH decrease in the nutrient solution was directly correlated to the NH₄⁺-N proportion. The pH value was more reduced in 100% NH₄⁺-N nutrient solution than increased in the 100% NO₃⁻-N nutrient solution. CO₂ enrichment increased the dry weight of shoots and roots, root vigor system, total absorbing area and active absorbing area of tomato seedlings. All the measurement indexes above were increased in the elevated CO₂ concentration treatment with the NO₃⁻ proportion increase in the nutrient solutions. Thus, under the elevated CO₂ concentration, the dry weights of shoots and roots, root vigor system, total root absorbing area and active absorbing area were found to be inversely correlated to NH₄⁺/NO₃⁻ ratio, leading to about 65.8%, 78.0%, 18.9%, 12.9% and 18.9% increase, respectively, compared with that under the ambient CO₂ concentration. Our results indicated that tomato seedling roots may benefit mostly from CO₂ enrichment when 100% NO₃⁻-N nutrient solutions was supplied, but the CO₂ concentration elevation did not alleviate the harmful effects when 100% NH₄⁺-N was supplied. __________ Translated from Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Science, 2007, 13(5): 865–870 [译自: 植物营养与肥料学报]     

Profitability of variable rate nitrogen application in wheat production

Using plant sensing to determine the amount of nitrogen (N) to apply has the potential to increase profits in wheat (Triticum aestivum) production by reducing N cost or by increasing grain yield. The objective of this paper was to determine if yields and profits from experimental trials that used a precision N applicator to apply N were significantly different from trials that applied pre-determined amounts of N. Across Oklahoma, USA, experiments were designed to test 10 N treatments that included two variable rate treatments (VRT), two uniform rate treatments (URT) where the level of N applied was based on optical reflectance measurements (ORM), and six conventional treatments (i.e., pre-determined uniform rates of N). Data included treatments during 2005–2009 from eight different locations. Results indicated no statistical difference in yields between the conventional treatments that apply 90 kg ha⁻¹ of N and the VRT and URT treatments. On average, the conventional treatment that applied 90 kg ha⁻¹ of top-dress N produced the largest yield, with a VRT treatment producing the third largest yield. Profits were calculated for each treatment using a partial budget. On average, the treatment that received 90 kg ha⁻¹ of top-dress N was the most profitable even though the pre-plant N (anhydrous ammonia) had a cost advantage relative to top-dress N (urea and ammonium nitrate).