农业生态环境-有机碳与农业废弃物还田合辑Agro-ecosystem & Environment—SOC
Denitrification-induced nitrogen (N) losses from croplands may be greatly increased by intensive fertilization. However, the accurate quantification of these losses is still challenging due to insufficient available in situ measurements of soil dinitrogen (N2) emissions. We carried out two one-week experiments in a maize–wheat cropping system with calcareous soil using the 15N gas-flux (15NGF) method to measure in situ N2 fluxes following urea application. Applications of 15N-labeled urea (99 atom%, 130–150 kg N ha−1) were followed by irrigation on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th days after fertilization (DAF 1, 3, and 5, respectively). The detection limits of the soil N2 fluxes were 163–1 565, 81–485, and 54–281 μg N m−2 h−1 for the two-, four-, and six-hour static chamber enclosures, respectively. The N2 fluxes measured in 120 cases varied between 159 and 2 943 (811 on average) μg N m−2 h−1, which were higher than the detection limits, with the exception of only two cases. The N2 fluxes at DAF 3 were significantly higher (by nearly 80% (P<0.01)) than those at DAF 1 and 5 in the maize experiment, while there were no significant differences among the irrigation times in the wheat experiment. The N2 fluxes and the ratios of nitrous oxide (N2O) to the N2O plus N2 fluxes following urea application to maize were approximately 65% and 11 times larger, respectively (P<0.01), than those following urea application to wheat. Such differences could be mainly attributed to the higher soil water contents, temperatures, and availability of soil N substrates in the maize experiment than in the wheat experiment. This study suggests that the 15NGF method is sensitive enough to measure in situ N2 fluxes from intensively fertilized croplands with calcareous soils.
Straw incorporation is a widespread practice to promote agricultural sustainability. However, the potential effects of straw incorporation with the prolonged time on nitrogen (N) runoff loss from paddy fields are not well studied. The current study addresses the knowledge gap by assessing the effects of straw incorporation on the processes influencing N runoff patterns and its impacts on crop yield, N uptake, total N (TN), and soil organic matter (SOM). We conducted field experiments with rice (Oryza sativa L.)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotation, rice–tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) rotation, and double-rice cropping in subtropical China from 2008 to 2012. Each rotation had three N treatments: zero N fertilization (CK), chemical N fertilization (CF), and chemical N fertilization combined with straw incorporation (CFS). The treatment effects were assessed on TN runoff loss, crop yield, N uptake, soil TN stock, and SOM. Results showed that TN runoff was reduced by substituting part of the chemical N fertilizer with straw N in the double rice rotation, while crop N uptake was significantly (P<0.05) decreased due to the lower bioavailability of straw N. In contrast, in both rice–wheat and rice–tobacco rotations, TN runoff in CFS was increased by 0.9–20.2% in the short term when straw N was applied in addition to chemical N, compared to CF. However, TN runoff was reduced by 2.3–19.3% after three years of straw incorporation, suggesting the long-term benefits of straw incorporation on TN loss reduction. Meanwhile, crop N uptake was increased by 0.8–37.3% in the CFS of both rotations. This study demonstrates the challenges in reducing N runoff loss while improving soil fertility by straw incorporation over the short term but highlights the potential of long-term straw incorporation to reduce N loss and improve soil productivity.
Crop straw return after harvest is considered an important way to achieve both agronomic and environmental benefits. However, the appropriate amount of straw to substitute for fertilizer remains unclear. A field experiment was performed from 2016 to 2018 to explore the effect of different amounts of straw to substitute for fertilizer on soil properties, soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, grain yield, yield components, nitrogen (N) use efficiency, phosphorus (P) use efficiency, N surplus, and P surplus after rice harvesting. Relative to mineral fertilization alone, straw substitution at 5 t ha–1 improved the number of spikelets per panicle, effective panicle, seed setting rate, 1 000-grain weight, and grain yield, and also increased the aboveground N and P uptake in rice. Straw substitution exceeding 2.5 t ha–1 increased the soil available N, P, and K concentrations as compared with mineral fertilization, and different amounts of straw substitution improved SOC storage compared with mineral fertilization. Furthermore, straw substitution at 5 t ha–1 decreased the N surplus and P surplus by up to 68.3 and 28.9%, respectively, compared to mineral fertilization. Rice aboveground N and P uptake and soil properties together contributed 19.3% to the variation in rice grain yield and yield components. Straw substitution at 5 t ha–1, an optimal fertilization regime, improved soil properties, SOC storage, grain yield, yield components, N use efficiency (NUE), and P use efficiency (PUE) while simultaneously decreasing the risk of environmental contamination.
No tillage (NT) and straw return (S) collectively affect soil organic carbon (SOC). However, changes in the organic carbon pool have been under-investigated. Here, we assessed the quantity and quality of SOC after 11 years of tillage and straw return on the North China Plain. Concentrations of SOC and its labile fractions (particulate organic carbon (POC), potassium permanganate-oxidizable organic carbon (POXC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC)), components of DOC by fluorescence spectroscopy combined with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and the chemical composition of SOC by 13C NMR spectroscopy were explored. Treatments comprised conventional tillage (CT) and NT under no straw return (S0), return of wheat straw only (S1) or return of both wheat straw and maize residue (S2). Straw return significantly increased the concentrations and stocks of SOC at 0-20 cm depth but no tillage stratified them with enrichment at 0-10 cm and a decrease at 10-20 cm in comparison to CT, especially under S2. Labile C fractions showed similar patterns of variation to that of SOC, with POC and POXC more sensitive to straw return and the former more sensitive to tillage. Six fluorescence components of DOC were identified comprising mostly humic-like substances with smaller amounts of fulvic acid-like substances and tryptophan. Straw return significantly decreased the fluorescence index (FI) and autochthonous index (BIX) and increased the humification index (HIX). No tillage generally increased HIX in topsoil but decreased it and increased the FI and BIX below the topsoil. The chemical composition of SOC was: O-alkyl C>alkyl-C>aromatic-C>carbonyl-C. Overall, NT under S2 effectively increased SOC and its labile C forms and DOC humification in topsoil and microbially-derived DOC below the topsoil. Return of both wheat and maize straw was a particularly strong factor for promoting soil organic carbon in the plough layer, and the stratification of SOC under no tillage may confer long-term influence on carbon sequestration.
The responses of cbbL-carrying bacteria to different levels of soil carbon saturation deficits (SCSD) under tillage managements are largely unknown. We assessed the influence of SCSD on the abundance and diversity of cbbL-carrying bacteria under long-term no-tillage with residue retention (NT) and conventional tillage without residue retention (CT) cultivation systems in maize. We found SCSD was smaller under NT than under CT in the 0–15 cm soil layer. The abundance and the Shannon diversity of cbbL-carrying bacteria in the NT treatment were lower than in the CT treatment. Soil carbon saturation and cbbL gene abundance showed a significant positive correlation, but there was no correlation between soil carbon saturation and cbbL gene diversity. However, the long-term NT practice decreased cbbL-carrying bacteria diversity and altered the community structure of the cbbL-carrying bacteria. Our results indicated that low SCSD limited the abundance of cbbL-carrying bacteria, but there was no relationship between low SCSD and diversity of cbbL-carrying bacteria. We suggest that further studies of cbbL-carrying bacteria carbon sequestration rates and capacity should be based on the effect of management practices on cbbL-carrying bacteria abundance and diversity. Our study has important implications for the relationship between the biological and physicochemical mechanisms in CO2 fixation.