Development of an algorithm for relating pasture nitrogen status to yield response curves

Determination of optimum nitrogen (N) fertilization rates which maximize pasture growth is challenging due to variability in plant requirements and likely near‐future supply of N by the soil. Remote sensing can be used for mapping N nutrition status of plants and to rapidly assess the spatial variability within a field. An algorithm is, however, lacking which relates the N status of the plants to the expected yield response to additions of N. An algorithm was developed based on a simulation study carried out using the APSIM model. Simulations were performed for an irrigated ryegrass pasture in Canterbury, New Zealand. Nitrogen fertilizer was applied monthly at different rates, ranging from 0 to 150 kg N/ha. To obtain a range of different pasture N contents, a total of 1456 different fertilization rules were set up and evaluated over 20 different years of weather giving 29,120 combinations of pasture herbage N contents and growth responses for each month. The analysis focused on November (spring), a month with generally vigorous growth. A three‐dimensional surface response function, based on the Mitscherlich yield response function, was developed. This function was used to determine required N fertilization rates, which achieve 90% of the maximum yield, based on the antecedent pasture N content. At low pasture herbage N contents (25 g/kg), the required fertilization rate was estimated as 130 kg N/ha, whereas at N contents of 40 g/kg, only 60 kg N/ha was required to obtain the same yield, reflecting the much higher supply of N by the soil.     

Conversion from tussock grassland to pine forest: effect on soil phytoliths and phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC)

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Photolith morphotypes differ between plant species which can be utilized to reconstruct past vegetation. More recently, the role of phytoliths in soil carbon (C)...     

Tillage effects on soil strength and solute transport

To study the effect of different soil tillage practices and the consequences of soil deformation on the functioning of the pore system, we performed unsaturated leaching experiments (by applying a suction of −10 kPa) on undisturbed soil columns from the Ap-horizon of a luvisol derived from glacial till (agricultural site at Hohenschulen, North Germany). We compared two different tillage practices (conventionally tilled to 30 cm depth, and conservational chiselled to a depth of 8 cm-Horsch system) with respect to soil strength, pore connectivity and their effect on the fate of surface-applied fertilisers. The soil strength was measured by determining the precompression stress value (PCV). The conventionally tilled topsoil had a PCV of 21 kPa at a pore water potential of −6 kPa, while the conservation treatment resulted in a slightly higher PCV of 28 kPa, suggesting a slowly increasing soil strength induced by the formation of aggregates under reduced tillage practice.

The leaching experiments were modelled using the convection dispersion equation (CDE) and a modified version of the mobile–immobile approach (MIM), which included three water fractions: mobile, immobile and totally immobile water. From the CDE mobile water fractions (θ_m) ranging from 47 to 67% were found, and θ_m was slightly higher in the ploughed seedbed compared to the conservation-tilled one. This could be due to higher aggregation in the latter one. Dispersivities were relatively large, ranging from 44 to 360 mm, but no difference was found for the treatments. The MIM could simulate the drop in concentration when leaching was interrupted, but overall did not improve the simulation, despite the larger number of fitting parameters.

Compacting the soil with loads of 70 kPa prior to the leaching experiment did not affect solute transport in the conservational tilled soil. In the conventional-tilled soil, however, the dispersivity decreased and the mobile water content increased compared to the non-compacted soil, suggesting that the former one is less prone to deformation by mechanical loads.     

Modelling nitrate and bromide leaching from sewage sludge

A deterministic model for assessing the risk of groundwater contamination by nitrate from land-based sludge disposal was evaluated. A controlled large-lysimeter experiment was set up to monitor movement of nitrate through soil. Four large lysimeters of 900 mm length were packed with Manawatu fine sandy loam (a Dystric Fluventric Eutrochrept), on top of which 200 mm of municipal sewage sludge was applied. One of the lysimeters was planted with pasture (Lolium perenne and Festuca arundacea), one with a willow tree (Salix sp. ‘Tongoio’), another with a poplar tree (Populus sp. ‘Kawa’), and one was left bare. Bromide was used as a conservative tracer. Movement of bromide and nitrate was analysed in the effluent from the base of the lysimeters.The processes of water and nutrient transport were modelled using a mechanistic scheme based on Richards’ equation for water transport and the convection–dispersion equation (CDE) for nutrient transport. These equations were both linked to a sink term for plant uptake. The model simulated well the transport of water and movement of bromide in the four different lysimeters. The agreement between measured and simulated nitrate leaching was also reasonable considering the simplified model. Uptake of nitrogen by trees reduced the quantity of nitrogen available for leaching. The model could aid development of sustainable management of land-based sewage sludge disposal in terms of nitrate leaching. The next step will be to further develop the model for heavy metal movement, as heavy metals are common co-contaminants of sewage sludge.     

Comparative fate in soil of the enantiomers of triadimenol when applied individually to barley seed

The systemic fungicide triadimenol is a mixture of four enantiomers which have different biological activities. Dissipation and metabolism of the individual enantiomers in soil were investigated after seed treatment. Forty-nine days after 1R2S and 1S2S treatments, more of the radioactivity (87% for both) had dissipated from the seeds into the 0–10 cm soil layer than after the 1S2R (76%) and 1R2R (73%) treatments. After 1R2S treatment 56% of the radioactivity extracted from soil was accounted for as the parent isomer and 44% as its 1R2R epimer. After 1S2R treatment 76% of the radioactivity was in the parent form and 24% was converted to the 1S2S (17%) and 1R2R (7%) isomers.     

Deriving seasonally optimal nitrogen fertilization rates for a ryegrass pasture based on agricultural production systems simulator modelling with a refined AgPasture model

Productive pasture systems require a regular supply of mineral nitrogen (N) to replace the N removed through the export of animal products and other loss pathways such as leaching and emissions. High spatial and temporal variability of both N supply by the soil and demand by the plant means that synchronizing these is challenging, and early indicators are lacking. Optimum fertilization rates for an irrigated ryegrass pasture in Canterbury, New Zealand, were determined in a simulation study with twenty fertilization rates using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator with a refined version of APSIM's pasture module (AgPasture). Improvements in AgPasture included ideal N concentrations for tissues of different ages (growing, mature, senescent and dead) and allowing N remobilization to occur from all tissue stages. The critical N concentration curve (the minimum N concentration required to achieve maximum aerial biomass) was tested as an early indicator for guiding N fertilization, which maximizes plant growth while avoiding unnecessary environmental impacts. Highest pasture yields were achieved with application rates of 20, 30, 140 and 160 kg N ha^?1 for winter, autumn, summer and spring. These rates also minimized simulated N losses. Pasture N contents corresponding to the standing dry matter of the pastures were similar to the critical N curve in summer and spring, but lower critical N concentrations were obtained for autumn and winter. Before the critical N reference curve can be used to guide fertilization for pastures, further experimental studies, model testing and parameterization are required. It is also possible that season‐specific critical N curves need to be established for pastures.