Long-term manure amendment enhances N2O emissions from acidic soil by alleviating acidification and increasing nitrogen mineralization

doi:10.1016/j.jia.2025.04.022

Journal of Integrative Agriculture

2026, Vol. 25

Issue (1): 262-272 DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2025.04.022

Agro-ecosystem & Environment

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Long-term manure amendment enhances N₂O emissions from acidic soil by alleviating acidification and increasing nitrogen mineralization

Lei Wu¹, Jing Hu^2#, Muhammad Shaaban³, Jun Wang¹, Kailou Liu⁴, Minggang Xu¹, Wenju Zhang^1#

¹Key Laboratory of Arable Land Quality Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

²Sanya Institute of China Agricultural University, Sanya 572025, China

³College of Agriculture, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, China

⁴Jiangxi Institute of Red Soil and Germplasm Resources, Nanchang 331717, China

Highlights
● Manure amendment, especially combined with inorganic fertilizer, increased soil N₂O emissions.
● Increased N₂O emissions resulted from alleviated acidification and enhanced gross N mineralization.
● Manure amendment favored N₂O-producing over N2O-consuming denitrifiers.
● Higher soil aggregate stability closely correlated with increased N₂O emissions.

Abstract
References

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摘要

长期施用有机肥能有效缓解土壤酸化，增加固碳潜力和养分有效性，提高农田土壤肥力水平。然而，有机肥长期施用对酸性土壤N₂O排放的影响机制尚不清楚。基于此，本研究依托连续36年施肥处理（包含不施肥, CK; 常规施化肥, F; 2倍常规化肥用量, 2F; 单施有机肥, M; 化肥配施有机肥, FM）的酸性旱地红壤定位试验，研究不同施肥处理的土壤N₂O排放特征及其与初级氮素矿化速率、初级硝化速率、硝化和反硝化功能微生物的关联性。与CK处理相比(1.34 μg N kg^–1 d^–1)，施肥处理N₂O排放平均增加了34倍，其中有机肥配施处理N₂O排放(10.6–169 μg N kg^–1 d^–1)显著高于单施化肥处理(3.26–5.51 μg N kg^–1 d^–1)。有机肥施用引起的N₂O排放增加强度与增加的土壤酸碱度、团聚体稳定性、底物有效性、氮素矿化速率和反硝化功能基因比值(nirK+nirS)/nosZ密切相关。这些研究结果表明有机肥施用通过缓解土壤酸化、增加底物有效性、改善土壤结构等方式，增强氮素矿化和反硝化介导的N₂O产生过程，促进N₂O排放。进一步研究发现，氨氧化细菌而非氨氧化古菌与土壤硝态氮含量和N₂O排放显著正相关。这表明硝化过程通过为反硝化供应硝态氮，间接促进N₂O产生和排放。总体而言，有机肥施用通过缓解土壤酸化、增加底物有效性等，增强氮素矿化和反硝化介导的N₂O产生过程，提高N₂O排放潜力。这些研究结果表明当我们通过施用有机肥等方式缓解土壤酸化和提升肥力水平时，应综合考虑有机肥施用引起的温室气体排放，实现农业绿色可持续生产。

Abstract

Long-term manure application has the potential to alleviate soil acidification, and increase carbon sequestration and nutrient availability, thus improving cropland fertility. However, the mechanisms behind greenhouse gas N₂O emissions from acidic soil mediated by long-term manure application remain poorly understood. Herein, we investigated N₂O emission and its linkage with gross N mineralization and nitrification rates, as well as nitrifying and denitrifying microbes in an acidic upland soil subjected to 36-year fertilization treatments, including an unfertilized control (CK), inorganic fertilizer (F), 2× rate of inorganic fertilizer (2F), manure (M), and the combination of inorganic fertilizer and manure (FM) treatments. Compared to the CK treatment (1.34 μg N kg^–1 d^–1), fertilization strongly increased N₂O emissions by 34-fold on average, with more pronounced increases in the manure-amendment (10.6–169 μg N kg^–1 d^–1) than those in the inorganic fertilizer treatments (3.26–5.51 μg N kg^–1 d^–1). The manure amendment-stimulated N₂O emissions were highly associated with increased soil pH, mean weight diameter of soil aggregates, substrate availability (e.g., particulate organic carbon, NO₃⁻ and available phosphorus), gross N mineralization rates, denitrifier abundances and the (nirK+nirS)/nosZ ratio. These findings suggest that the increased N₂O emissions primarily resulted from alleviated acidification, increased substrate availability and improved soil structure, thus enhancing microbial N mineralization and favoring N₂O-producing denitrifiers over N₂O consumers. Moreover, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) rather than ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) positively correlated with soil NO₃⁻ concentration and N₂O emissions, indicating that nitrification indirectly contributed to N₂O production by supplying NO₃⁻ for denitrification. Collectively, manure amendment potentially stimulates N₂O emissions, primarily resulting from alleviated soil acidification and increased substrate availability, thus enhancing N mineralization and denitrifier-mediated N₂O production. Our findings suggest that consideration should be given to the greenhouse gas budgets of agricultural ecosystems when applying manure for managing the pH and fertility of acidic soils.

Keywords: long-term manure amendment N₂O emission nitrogen mineralization denitrification (nirK+nirS)/nosZ

Received: 20 December 2024 Accepted: 13 March 2025 Online: 18 April 2025

Fund:

This research was financially supported by the National Science & Technology Fundamental Resources Investigation Project of China (2021FY100501), and the Youth Innovation of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Y2023QC16).

About author: Lei Wu, Tel: +86-10-82108635, E-mail: wulei01@caas.cn; #Correspondence Wenju Zhang, E-mail: zhangwenju01@caas.cn; Jing Hu, E-mail: hj18810756607@163.com

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