Ammonia Volatilization from Soils Fertilized with Different Nitrogen Type and Application Method in Germination and Early Seedling Stages from the Radish Field

Ammonia volatilization(AV) from basal fertilizer with different nitrogen(N) types and application methods was investigated by the ventilation method in germination and early seedling stages during radish growth seasons in 2014. Four N fertilizer types, urea(U), ammonium bicarbonate(AB), ammonia sulfate(AS), and controlled urea formaldehyde(CUF) were applied through 5 cm depth placement(I) and 10 cm depth placement(II). The results showed that the N fertilizer type was the main factor that caused AV loss in germination and early seedling stages from the radish field. The highest and the lowest cumulative AV losses in germination and early seedling stages from the radish fields were 33.23 and 11.21 N kg/hm^2 for the treatments of AB+I and CUF+II, respectively, accounting for 60.40 and 26.40% of the N application for each treatment. The 10 cm deep placement of N reduced AV rates and lagged the AV process, and CUF significantly reduced ammonia volatilization. The data showed that the suitable N fertilizer type and application method for basal fertilizer were CUF and deep placement, respectively.Therefore, fertilizing with proper N fertilizer types and methods should be the efficient measures to mitigate AV losses from the radish field and will alleviate environment problems.

Inhibition mechanisms of ammonia and sulfate in high-solids anaerobic digesters for food waste treatment: Microbial community and element distributions responses

The horizontal flow anaerobic digester indicated that high ammonia (2923 mg/L) and SO42-(3653 mg/L)would influence the performance of methane production with food waste as substrates.Therefore,bottle anaerobic digestion reactors were carried out to investigate the effect of ammonia/sulfate concentrations on the methane production.Experimental results manifested that the anaerobic digesters with an ammonia concentration of 3500 mg/L or sulfate of 1600 mg/L showed the best performance of methane production,with an average methane yield of 0.32 and 0.33 L (g VS)^(-1)d^(-1),respectively.Specifically,a higher ammonia (6500 mg/L) or sulfate (1600-3500 mg/L) level hindered the bioconversion of C from liquid to gas phase (2.68%or 1.73%CH_(4)-Gas,respectively),while insignificantly for the hydrolyzation of C and N from solid to liquid phase.Similar to sulfate,high ammonia nitrogen seriously inhibited the methanation process,leading to a significant carbon accumulation in the anaerobic reactor,especially for propionic acid.The predominant archaea Methanosarcina at genus level indicated that aceticlastic methanogenesis was the major methanogenic pathway.Meanwhile,high ammonia level suppressed the activity of Methanosarcina,while modest sulfate improved H_(2)-consuming methanogens activity.A large fraction of unclassified bacteria within the Firmicutes (43.78%-63.17%) and Bacteroidetes (24.20%-33.30%) phylum played an important role in substrates hydrolysis.