Optimized NPK fertilizer recommendations based on topsoil available nutrient criteria for wheat in drylands of China

The optimized management of crop fertilization is very important for improving crop yield and reducing the consumption of chemical fertilizers.Critical nutrient values can be used for evaluating the nutritional status of a crop,and they reflect the nutrient concentrations above which the plant is sufficiently supplied for achieving the maximum potential yield.Based on on-farm surveys of 504 farmers and 60 field experimental sites in the drylands of China,we proposed a recommended fertilization method to determine nitrogen(N),phosphorus(P),and potassium(K)fertilizer input rates for wheat production,and then validated the method by a field experiment at 66 different sites in northern China.The results showed that wheat grain yield varied from 1.1 to 9.2 t ha^(-1),averaging 4.6 t ha^(-1),and it had a quadratic relationship with the topsoil(0-20 cm)nitrate N and soil available P contents at harvest.However,yield was not correlated with the inputs of N,P,and K fertilizers.Based on the relationship(exponential decay model)between 95–105%of the relative yield and topsoil nitrate N,available P,and available K contents at wheat harvest from 60 field experiments,the topsoil critical nutrient values were determined as 34.6,15.6,and 150 mg kg^(-1)for soil nitrate N,available P,and available K,respectively.Then,based on five groups of relative yield(>125%,115–125%,105–115%,95–105%,and<95%)and the model,the five groups of topsoil critical nutrient levels and fertilization coefficients(Fc)were determined.Finally,we proposed a new method for calculating the recommended fertilizer input rate as:Fr=Gy×Nr×Fc,where Fr is the recommended fertilizer(N/P/K)input rate;Gy is the potential grain yield;Nr is the N(N_(rN)),P(N_(rP)),and K(N_(rK))nutrient requirements for wheat to produce 1,000 kg of grain;and Fc is a coefficient for N(N_c)/P(P_c)/K(K_c)fertilizer.A 2-year validated experiment confirmed that the new method reduced N fertilizer input by 17.5%(38.5 kg N ha^(-1))and P fertilizer input by 43.5%(57.5 kg P_(2)O_(5) ha^(-1))in northern China and did not reduce the wheat yield.This outcome can significantly increase the farmers’benefits(by 7.58%,or 139 US$ha^(-1)).Therefore,this new recommended fertilization method can be used as a tool to guide N,P,and K fertilizer application rates for dryland wheat production.

The seismogenic structures and migration characteristics of the 2021 Yangbi M6.4 Earthquake sequence in Yunnan,China

We constructed a more complete earthquake catalog in the 2021 Yangbi M6.4 focal area by re-scanning the continuous waveforms integrated with deep learning and template matching techniques,to explore the seismogenic structures of the Yangbi mainshock and its nucleation process.The new catalog has three times the number of earthquakes than the CENC catalog,and the magnitude completeness has dropped from 1.1 to 0.5.The distribution of earthquakes indicates a broom-shaped structure consisting of several oblique secondary faults and a strike-slip main fault which strikes to 315°with 80°dipping to NE.The earthquakes extend along the fault strike about 27 km in width and 2-13 km at depth and have noticeable variations on seismicity in the mainshock’s north and south.Compared with the north,the south has denser and higher magnitude aftershocks and also has a seismic gap probably weakened by the fluid at the depth range of about 5-6 km.The foreshocks were mainly active in the 8-kilometer-long fault zone south of the mainshock,which show a steady drop in b-values over time and a migration pattern toward the epicenter of two steep jumps,stagnation,and then acceleration which finally triggered the mainshock.While in the north,seldom foreshock occurred,and the aftershocks were delayed triggered 3 hours after the mainshock,and sparsely scattered shallow at depth and small in magnitude.To summarize,the northern part of the Yangbi seismogenic fault is thought to be relatively locked,whereas the southern part has a weakening zone and promotes pre-slip.The nucleation mechanism of the mainshock and its onset at the junction of the locked and pre-slip zones may be a combination of pre-slip and cascade triggering.