Nitrogen cycling in a semi-arid Mediterranean region: changes in soil N and organic matter under several crop/livestock production systems

1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
PF White ◽  
NK Nersoyan ◽  
S Christiansen

There is a need to quantify the effects on soil N of introducing different legumes into the farming systems of West Asia and North Africa. This paper presents 6 years results from an on-going experiment aimed at examining the productivity of several crop/livestock farming systems in north west Syria. Changes in total soil N and organic matter when either medic pasture (3 stocking rates), vetch, lentil, fallow or watermelon were rotated yearly with wheat were examined. In addition, in the sixth year of the experiment, mineral N levels in the soil and the N content of the wheat and legumes shoots were determined in order to formulate a simple N balance for each rotation. Medic pasture and vetch rotations increased total soil N and the organic matter content of the soil. Lentil had no effect on total soil N or the organic matter content. Total soil N also remained constant in the fallow rotation, but organic matter content of the soil tended to decrease. The changes in soil properties had implications for the long term production from the different rotations, and highlighted the importance of retaining legume residues for maintaining fertility.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vito Abbruzzese

In many farm systems, both inorganic and organic fertilisers, including manure and slurry, are applied to the soil to replenish nutrient offtake in agricultural products and additional nutrient losses to soil as well as surface water and groundwater. With respect to sole reliance on inorganic fertilisers, the use of manure/slurry as a nutrient resource offers important benefits, including the reuse and recycling of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) within farming systems as well as a reduction in the reliance on agricultural production on finite inorganic fertiliser reserves. There is increasing interest in the extent to which additives can enhance the nutrient value of slurry/manure. However, little is known about the impacts of these amended slurries/manures on the quantity and composition of N and P within agricultural and pasture soils. We report data from incubation experiments in which soils received a range of treatments, including the application of livestock slurry that had received a mixture of commercial additives. Our experiments were designed to understand how slurry that has received additives ultimately affects nutrient availability in organic, clay-loam and sandy-loam grassland soils. The addition of the additives to slurry resulted in a slight increase or no difference in total solids, pH, total N, ammonium-N, total P, total potassium, total magnesium and total sodium compared to the untreated counterpart. We considered the effects of our treatments on a range of agronomically important soil parameters, including Olsen-P, mineral-N, available-K, pH and organic matter content. This experiment aimed to understand the extent to which soil fertility could be enhanced through the application of slurries/manures that have received additives. The application of both amended and unamended slurry treatments on soil led to higher values of NH4-N, available-K, available Mg and pH than the addition of inorganic fertiliser. In addition, no substantial differences were observed between the treatment of the three soils with unamended and amended slurry.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 493
Author(s):  
Beatriz Moreno-García ◽  
Mónica Guillén ◽  
Dolores Quílez

The great increase in livestock production in some European areas makes it necessary to recycle organic slurries and manures and to integrate them in crop production. In Northeast Spain, the application of pig slurry (PS) is being extended to alternative crops such as rice due to the great increase in pig production. However, there is a lack of information of the effect of substitution of synthetic fertilizers with pig slurry on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in rice crop, and this information is key for the sustainability of these agricultural systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the substitution of mineral fertilizers by PS on GHG emissions in Mediterranean flooded rice cultivation conditions under optimal nitrogen (N) fertilization. Two field experiments were carried out in two different (contrasting) soil types with different land management. Site 1 had been cultivated for rice in the previous three years with no puddling practices. Site 2 had been cultivated for rice for more than 15 years with puddling tillage practices and had higher organic matter content than site 1. The cumulative nitrous oxide emissions during the crop season were negative at both sites, corroborating that under flooded conditions, methane is the main contributor to global warming potential rather than nitrous oxide. The substitution of mineral fertilizer with PS before seeding at the same N rate did not increase emissions in both sites. However, at site 1 (soil with lower organic matter content), the higher PS rate applied before seeding (170 kg N ha−1) increased methane emissions compared to the treatments with lower PS rate and mineral fertilizer before seeding (120 kg N ha−1) and complemented with topdressing mineral N. Thus, a sustainable strategy for inclusion of PS in rice fertilization is the application of moderate PS rates before seeding (≈120 kg N ha−1) complemented with mineral N topdressing.


1981 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. McM. Adams ◽  
R. J. Laughlin

SummarySoils of various agronomic histories were fumigated with chloroform, and the resultant increased production of CO2 and mineral-N measured and expressed as biomass C and the flush of mineral-N production (FN), respectively. Biomass C and FN contents of grassland soils were greater than those of arable soils, and significant correlations with macro organic-matter content were found. Biomass C contents varied from 7 to mg C/100 g soil in arable soil and from 31 to 222 mg C/100 g soil in grassland or woodland. The proportion of soil organic C that was contained within the biomass ranged from 0·3 to 4·0%, whilst FN comprised from 1·0 to 11·7% of total soil N. FNcontents ranged from 1·1 to 13·2mg N/1OOg soil for arable soils, and from 2·5 to 31·7 mg N/100 g soil for grassland and woodland. Application of organic manures increased biomass C and FN contents in grassland soil.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Deni Prasetiyo ◽  
Djoko Purnomo ◽  
Supriyadi Supriyadi

<p><em>Soybean is one of the most important food commodities in Indonesia and also it has high value. The needs continue to increase each year, but not offset by increased production become an issue that must be addressed. One attempt to increase soybean production is through the cultivation in agroforestry systems through improving the quality of soil fertility. This research aims to study the effect of various doses of </em><em>litter teak</em><em> and NPK fertilizer on chemical soil fertility and the potential of soybeans yield in agroforestry systems based teak crops. Experiments using a Randomized Complete Block Design </em><em>(RCBD) </em><em>with two factors, namely litter</em><em> teak</em><em> doses (0 ton ha<sup>-1</sup>, 2.500 ton ha<sup>-1</sup>, 5.000 ton ha<sup>-1</sup>, 7.500 ton ha<sup>-1</sup>) and dose</em><em>s</em><em> of NPK fertilizer (60-60-60 and 60-120-60) on Grobogan soybean varieties. The variables measured were pH, organic matter content, N-total soil, cation exchange capacity (CEC), plant tissue of N, P-total soil, and component production. Data analysis using analysis of variance F-test based on the level of 5% and significantly different variables followed by </em><em>Tukey’s method </em><em>level of 5%</em><em>. The results showed that combination treatment with various doses of teak litter NPK fertilizers can increase total nitrogen content of the soil with the highest yield of 1.69% on S1D2 treatment, but to organic matter, CEC, pH, and total soil P not significant effect. Component of soybean varieties of the highest Grobogan of 0.83 tons ha-1 in the treatment S1D1. The result was still below the average of the national soybean production.</em></p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 04021
Author(s):  
Alberto Vercesi ◽  
Matteo Gatti ◽  
Claudia Meisina ◽  
Massimiliano Bordoni ◽  
Michael Maerker ◽  
...  

In the most ancient wine area of the Controlled Denomination of Origin (DOC) “Oltrepò Pavese” in North-West Italy, foothills of the Apennine mountains, the soils of 14 representative vineyards managed for about 10 years with tillage (T) or natural grass-cover (G) or the alternation of the two methods between the rows (GT), were compared for their contents of organic matter, main soil parameters and extent of root development, in the first meter of depth. The soils are fine textured, sometimes calcareous, with low levels of organic matter. G and GT soil treatments showed higher organic matter content (on average 1.4%) than T (0.88%). Better root development (number and area) was observed in G and GT, in comparison with T; the number and size of roots showed a positive correlation with the soil organic matter.


1999 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 535-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mamo ◽  
J. A. E. Molina ◽  
C. J. Rosen ◽  
T. R. Halbach

Municipal solid waste (MSW) compost contains large amounts of organic matter that can be beneficial to soil. The objectives of this study were to measure N mineralization and acid hydrolyzable N in soil amended with MSW compost and correlate corn (Zea mays L.) grain yield with acid hydrolyzable N. The soil, an Orthic Black Chernozem (Entic Hapludoll) cropped to corn, was amended with composts at either 90 dry Mg ha−1 yr−1 from 1993 to 1995, or at 270 dry Mg ha−1 in one application in 1993. Soil samples were collected in the fall of 1994 and 1995 to measure C and N mineralization and acid hydrolyzable N. Potentially mineralizable N was estimated with the NCSOIL model after using C and N mineralization observed in the laboratory to calibrate the model. Net N immobilization occurred in compost-amended soils collected in 1994 with less than 0.2% of the total soil N mineralized in the compost treatments. In 1995, there was net mineralization in compost treatments but less than 5% of total soil N mineralized in 120 d. The addition of compost increased the acid hydrolyzable N of soil with 43–63% of the total soil N being acid hydrolyzable. Acid hydrolyzable soil N did not correlate to No but weakly correlated with corn grain yield. The MSW compost source was more important than the timing of application in inducing differences in soil biochemical properties. Keys words: Municipal solid waste compost, organic matter, potentially mineralizable nitrogen, acid hydrolysis


1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Wani ◽  
W. B. McGill ◽  
K. L. Haugen-Kozyra ◽  
N. G. Juma

Total soil N and N mineralization rate partially characterize the influence of various cropping systems on the growth of sequent crops in a rotation. The objectives of this study were to (1) quantify the relationship among cropping system, total N and mineralizable N; and (2) compare amount of N mineralized under controlled laboratory conditions with plant N uptake under greenhouse conditions. Three cropping systems that have been in operation between 9 and 60 yr on a Gray Luvisol (Breton loam) were selected. They included: (1) an agro-ecological (AER) 8-yr rotation involving fababeans as green manure (AER1 sampled after the first fababean crop and AER2 sampled after 3 yr of continuous forage); (2) continuous grain system (CG), with fertilizer N at 90 kg ha−1 yr−1; initiated in 1980 and considered established in 1981; (3) a classicial Breton rotation (CBR) involving a long-term (ca. 1930) 5-yr rotation with forages and cereals and no return of crop residues (CBR1 fertilized with P-K-S and CBR2 unfertilized). We caution that not all phases of each rotation were sampled; our conclusions pertain to N-mineralization potential in soil samples immediately preceding barley as sequent crop in each rotation. The rate of N mineralization declined with time, but it remained greater than zero after 20 wk of incubation in all soils. Mineral-N accumulation at 20 wk followed the order AER1 > AER2 > > CBR1 > CBR2 = CG. Mineralizable soil N, following one cycle of the AER rotation, was almost double that following 60 yr of the CBR rotation. Data for mineral-N accumulation under laboratory conditions were described best by a single-component exponential model. Legume-based rotations were associated with increased total soil N and a greater proportional increase in active N than in total soil N. Active N was least in soil under the CG system. The incubation-extraction procedure resulted in higher estimates of mineralizable N than did the plant-uptake method; however, the ranking of N-supplying power of soils was the same. Key words: Cropping systems, Gray Luvisol, N mineralization, soil quality, Typic Cryoboralf


HortScience ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan R. Davenport ◽  
Carolyn DeMoranville

Native nitrogen is released when soils are mineralized. The amount of N released by this process depends on the amount of organic matter present and soil temperature. Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) grows in acidic soils with a wide range in organic matter content. To evaluate release of cranberry soil N at varied soil temperatures, intact soils were collected from sites that had received no fertilizer. Soils were cored and placed in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) columns 20 cm deep × 5 cm in diameter. Four different soil types, representing the array of conditions in cranberry soil (mineral, sanded organic, organic peat, and muck) were used. Additional columns of sand soil (pH 4.5) that had been pH adjusted to high (6.5) and low (3.0) were also prepared. Each column was incubated sequentially at six different temperatures from 10 to 24 °C (2.8 °C temperature intervals) for 3 weeks at each temperature, with the soils leached twice weekly to determine the amount of N release. The total amount of N in leachate was highest in the organic soils, intermediate in the sanded organic, and lowest in the sands. At the lowest temperature (10 °C), higher amounts of N were released in sanded organic and sand than in organic soils. This was attributed to a flush of mineralization with change in the aerobic status and initial soil warming. The degree of decomposition in the organic soils was important in determining which form of N predominated in the leachate. In the more highly decomposed soil (muck), most of the N was converted to nitrate. In the pH adjusted sand, high soil pH (6.5) resulted in an increase in nitrate in the leachate but no change in ammonium when compared to non-adjusted (pH 4.5) and acidified (pH 3.0) treatments. This study suggests that for cranberry soils with organic matter content of at least 1.5% little to no soil-applied fertilizer N is needed early in the season, until soil temperatures reach 13 °C. This temperature is consistent with the beginning of active nutrient uptake by roots. Soil N release from native organic matter was fairly consistent until soil temperatures exceeded 21 °C, indicating that when temperatures exceed 21 °C, planned fertilizer applications should be reduced, particularly in highly organic soils.


Author(s):  
O. A. Lipatnikova

The study of heavy metal speciation in bottom sediments of the Vyshnevolotsky water reservoir is presented in this paper. Sequential selective procedure was used to determine the heavy metal speciation in bottom sediments and thermodynamic calculation — to determine ones in interstitial water. It has been shown that Mn are mainly presented in exchangeable and carbonate forms; for Fe, Zn, Pb и Co the forms are related to iron and manganese hydroxides is played an important role; and Cu and Ni are mainly associated with organic matter. In interstitial waters the main forms of heavy metal speciation are free ions for Zn, Ni, Co and Cd, carbonate complexes for Pb, fulvate complexes for Cu. Effects of particle size and organic matter content in sediments on distribution of mobile and potentially mobile forms of toxic elements have been revealed.


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