Effect of temperature and precipitation on nitrate leaching from organic cereal cropping systems in Denmark

The effect of variation in seasonal temperature and precipitation on soil water nitrate (NO₃N) concentration and leaching from winter and spring cereals cropping systems was investigated over three consecutive four-year crop rotation cycles from 1997 to 2008 in an organic farming crop rotation experiment in Denmark. Three experimental sites, varying in climate and soil type from coarse sand to sandy loam, were investigated. The experiment included experimental treatments with different rotations, manure rate and cover crop, and soil nitrate concentrations was monitored using suction cups. The effects of climate, soil and management were examined in a linear mixed model, and only parameters with significant effect (P < 0.05) were included in the final model. The model explained 61% and 47% of the variation in the square root transform of flow-weighted annual NO₃N concentration for winter and spring cereals, respectively, and 68% and 77% of the variation in the square root transform of annual NO₃N leaching for winter and spring cereals, respectively. Nitrate concentration and leaching were shown to be site specific and driven by climatic factors and crop management. There were significant effects on annual N concentration and NO₃N leaching of location, rotation, previous crop and crop cover during autumn and winter. The relative effects of temperature and precipitation differed between seasons and cropping systems. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the predicted N concentration and leaching increased with increases in temperature and precipitation.     

Nutrient cycling and soil leaching in eighteen pure and mixed stands of beech (Fagus sylvatica) and spruce (Picea abies)

Studies on the combined effects of beech–spruce mixtures are very rare. Hence, forest nutrition (soil, foliage) and nutrient fluxes via throughfall and soil solution were measured in adjacent stands of pure spruce, mixed spruce–beech and pure beech on three nutrient rich sites (Flysch) and three nutrient poor sites (Molasse) over a 2-year period. At low deposition rates (highest throughfall fluxes: 17 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ and 5 kg S ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) there was hardly any linkage between nutrient inputs and outputs. Element outputs were rather driven by internal N (mineralization, nitrification) and S (net mineralization of organic S compounds, desorption of historically deposited S) sources. Nitrate and sulfate seepage losses of spruce–beech mixtures were higher than expected from the corresponding single-species stands due to an unfavorable combination of spruce-similar soil solution concentrations coupled with beech-similar water fluxes on Flysch, while most processes on Molasse showed linear responses. Our data show that nutrient leaching through the soil is not simply a “wash through” but is mediated by a complex set of reactions within the plant–soil system.     

SIMBA-N: Modeling nitrogen dynamics in banana populations in wet tropical climate. Application to fertilization management in the Caribbean

In banana plantations of the Caribbean, nitrogen (N) fertilization widely exceeds nutrient outputs after harvest. Under wet tropical climate, leaching results in considerable waste of N. Fertilization management aims at maintaining soil mineral N at the optimal level for banana nutrition throughout the year but it does not take into account variations in crop N demand or N supply through mineralization of crop residues. The dynamics of crop N demand and crop residue supply depend on the structure of banana populations, which become asynchronous with time. We designed the SIMBA-N model to simulate N dynamics in successive crop cycles of banana. The model calculates the N balance weekly, including N uptake by banana, N leaching, and N supply by organic matter mineralization. We validated the model using data from a field experiment comparing five levels of fertilization. Results showed SIMBA-N provides reliable indicators to support banana fertilization management taking into account N flows in the soil and change in N demand related to banana population structure.     

Response of the N and P cycles of an old-growth montane forest in Ecuador to experimental low-level N and P amendments

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) depositions are expected to increase in the tropics as a consequence of increasing human activities in the next decades. In the literature, it is frequently assumed that tropical montane forests are N-limited, while tropical lowland forests are P-limited. In a low-level N and P addition experiment, we determined the short-term response of N and P cycles in a north Andean montane forest on Palaeozoic shists and metasandstones at an elevation of 2100 m a.s.l. to increased N and P inputs. We evaluated experimental N, P and N + P additions (50 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ of N, 10 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ of P and 50 kg + 10 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ of N and P, respectively) and an untreated control in a fourfold replicated randomized block design. We collected litter leachate, mineral soil solution (0.15 and 0.30 m depths), throughfall and litterfall before the treatment began (August 2007) until 16 months after the first nutrient application (April 2009). Less than 10 and 1% of the applied N and P, respectively, leached below the organic layer which contained almost all roots and no significant leaching losses of N and P occurred to below 0.15 m mineral soil depth. Deposited N and P from the atmosphere in dry and wet form were retained in the canopy of the control treatment using a canopy budget model. Nitrogen and P retention by the canopy were reduced and N and P fluxes in throughfall and litterfall increased in their respective treatments. The increase in N and P fluxes in throughfall after fertilization was equivalent to 2.5% of the applied N and 2% of the applied P. The fluxes of N and P in litterfall were up to 15% and 3%, respectively, higher in the N and N + P than in the control treatments. We conclude that the expected elevated N and P deposition in the tropics will be retained in the ecosystem, at least in the short term and hence, N and P concentrations in stream water will not increase. Our results suggest that in the studied tropical montane forest ecosystem on Palaeozoic bedrock, N and P are co-limiting the growth of organisms in the canopy and organic layer.     

The potential of dried, low-hatch, decapsulated Artemia cysts for feeding prawn post-larvae

Low-hatch, decapsulated Artemia cysts were assessed as feed for Penaeus indicus post-larvae (PL) 1–15 days old and the problems resulting from the incorporation of decapsulated cysts into compounded feeds were evaluated. Growth and survival of PL fed on decapsulated cysts (AC) were comparable with Artemia nauplii fed PL (control) and significantly (p < 0.05) higher than observed amongst PL fed on two granulated commercial diets (G150 and G300) or a commercial flake feed (AC-F) incorporating decapsulated cysts (80%). PL fed on artificial diets showed poor growth and delay in metamorphosis. However, survival of PL fed on AC-F was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that observed amongst granulated feeds. Decapsulated cysts processed into a granulated feed (AC-G) or dried at 90°C (AC-90) also resulted in slow growth and survival when fed to PL. Overall, artificial feeds showed poor water stability and significantly higher leaching of soluble protein and carbohydrates than decapsulated cysts. AC-90 cysts also showed a high level of bursting and leaching of material. This indicates that low-hatch Artemia cysts retain a living membrane after commercial decapsulation and drying prevents loss of highly digestible nutrients, which allows PL growth equal to that on PL fed live Artemia nauplii. Survival of PL was negatively correlated with leaching of soluble protein (p < 0.05), but no correlation was observed for leaching of carbohydrates or between growth and loss of both soluble nutrients. Hence, availability of digestible protein is critical and may influence survival of early stages of post-larval development. Water stability of artificial feeds is an essential factor in promoting efficient nutrition of PL, but other aspects related to heating during processing of feeds also appear to have a deleterious effect on nutritional quality of compounded feeds. Commercially dried, encapsulated Artemia cysts from low-hatch strains remain alive and are highly nutritious for feeding early stages of post-larval prawn but even after death may support acceptable survival when incorporated into a flake diet. © Rapid Science Ltd. 1998     

减氮配施脲酶/硝化抑制剂对冬瓜品质、产量和土壤氮磷淋失的影响

采用田间小区试验,研究了在氮肥减施基础上配施脲酶/硝化抑制剂对我国南方热带地区露地冬瓜产量、品质,以及土壤氮磷养分淋溶的影响.结果表明,与正常施肥处理相比,氮肥减施30％会导致冬瓜单果质量降低,减产约8.30％,而配施脲酶/硝化抑制剂后冬瓜增产17.03％,并且维持较低的亚硝酸盐含量和较高的品质;氮肥减施能够有效降低土...     

北京地区潮土表层中NO3--N的转化积累及其淋洗损失

本试验利用渗滤池设施，采用化学分析和同位素技术相结合的方法研究了北京地区潮土表层中施用氮肥后ＮＯ３＾－－Ｎ转化积累及其１３０ｃｍ土体的淋洗状况。常规分析结果表明，在春小麦和夏玉米的生育前期可以观察到氮素明显地向ＮＯ３＾－－Ｎ的转化积累，其强度随尿素施用量的增加而明显增加，而尿素、硝铵、硫铵等不同氮肥品种处理之间有差异但大多不显著。同时夏玉米期间转化积累作用比春小麦期间强烈。＾１５Ｎ标记试验结果表明     

水肥状况对土壤剖面中锰的移动和水稻吸锰的影响

水旱轮作条件下水麦缺锰是四川冲积性水稻土上主要的养分胁迫问题,为了深入探讨这一问题,作者利用模拟土柱试验研究了不同水肥状况对四川两种典型冲积土中锰的迁移,转化及其对水稻吸锰的影响。     

Effects of EC-based irrigation scheduling and CO2 enrichment on water use efficiency of a greenhouse cucumber crop

An EC-based irrigation strategy was tested in two greenhouse soilless cucumber crops grown under the autumn-winter conditions of the Mediterranean area. One of the crops was subjected to CO₂ enrichment using a dynamic control strategy, while the other one was not enriched. Fresh yield of the CO₂-enriched crop was 19% higher than of the non-enriched one, while crop water uptake was not significantly different between the two treatments, implying that the corresponding increase in water use efficiency, calculated on the basis of crop water uptake, was through increased growth and yield, not through reduction in water uptake and transpiration. The overall water use efficiency, based on the amount of applied water, was found to be about 40% higher in the CO₂-enriched greenhouse due to the combined effect of (i) the greater biomass production for the same amount of transpired water and (ii) the lower leaching fraction in the enriched crop compared with the reference one. The latter effect could be ascribed to the higher mineral acquisition of the enriched crop. It is concluded that CO₂ enrichment combined to an EC-based irrigation scheduling lead to synergistic beneficial effects on the overall water use efficiency of soilless greenhouse cropping systems and to a drastic reduction of the leaching fraction.     

改良剂-植物协同治理原地浸矿污染土壤的研究(英文)

改良剂与植物协同作用治理污染土壤,结果表明:植物种类对土壤中硝态氮浓度的变化影响非常显著,种植小麦的土壤中硝态氮浓度均从692.19 mg/kg降至100 mg/kg以下;当沸石粒径1~2 mm,改良剂与土壤比例为3:50时,种植小麦的土壤中硝态氮浓度降至43 mg/kg。改良剂种类对土壤中铵态氮浓度的变化影响非常显著,当沸石粒径2~3mm,改良剂与土壤比例为10:50,改良第15天铵态氮浓度由23 593.75 mg/kg降至3 300mg/kg。改良剂、植物对土壤中硫酸根主要表现为解吸作用,改良剂种类对土壤中硫酸根浓度的变化影响非常显著,用石灰石改良剂改良土壤第7天,土壤中的铵态氮浓度由370 mg/kg至900 mg/kg。