Effects of long-term fertilization on soil gross N transformation rates and their implications

Application of fertilizer has been found to significantly affect soil N cycling. However, a comprehensive understanding of the effects of long-term fertilization on soil gross N transformation rates is still lacking. We compiled data of observations from 10 long-term fertilization experiments and conducted a meta-analysis of the effects of long-term fertilization on soil gross N transformation rates. The results showed that if chemical fertilizers of N, P and K were applied in balance, soil p H decreased very slightly. There was a significantly positive effect of long-term fertilization, either chemical or organic fertilizers or their combinations, on gross N mineralization rate compared to the control treatment（the mean effect size ranged from 1.21 to 1.25 at 95% confidence intervals（CI） with a mean of 1.23）, mainly due to the increasing soil total N content. The long-term application of organic fertilizer alone and combining organic and chemical fertilizer could increase the mineralization-immobilization turnover, thus enhance available N for plant while reduce N losses potential compared to the control treatment. However, long-term chemical fertilizer application did not significantly affect the gross NH4＋ immobilization rate, but accelerated gross nitrification rate（1.19; 95% CI： 1.08 to 1.31）. Thus, long-term chemical fertilizer alone would probably induce higher N losses potential through NO3– leaching and runoff than organic fertilizer application compared to the control treatment. Therefore, in the view of the effects of long-term fertilization on gross N transformation rates, it also supports that organic fertilizer alone or combination of organic and chemical fertilizer could not only improve crop yield, but also increase soil fertility and reduce the N losses potential.

Gross nitrogen transformations and N2O emission sources in sandy loam and silt loam soils

The soil type is a key factor influencing N(nitrogen)cycling in soil;however,gross N transformations and N_(2)O emission sources are still poorly understood.In this study,a laboratory 15N tracing experiment was carried out at 60%WHC(water holding capacity)and 25℃to evaluate the gross N transformation rates and N_(2)O emission pathways in sandy loam and silt loam soils in a semi-arid region of Heilongjiang Province,China.The results showed that the gross rates of N mineralization,immobilization,and nitrification were 3.60,1.90,and 5.63 mg N/(kg·d)in silt loam soil,respectively,which were 3.62,4.26,and 3.13 times those in sandy loam soil,respectively.The ratios of the gross nitrification rate to the ammonium immobilization rate(n/ia)in sandy loam soil and silt loam soil were all higher than 1.00,whereas the n/ia in sandy loam soil(4.36)was significantly higher than that in silt loam soil(3.08).This result indicated that the ability of sandy loam soil to release and conserve the available N was relatively poor in comparison with silt loam soil,and the relatively strong nitrification rate compared to the immobilization rate may lead to N loss through NO_(3)–leaching.Under aerobic conditions,both nitrification and denitrification made contributions to N_(2)O emissions.Nitrification was the dominant pathway leading to N_(2)O production in soils and was responsible for 82.0%of the total emitted N_(2)O in sandy loam soil,which was significantly higher than that in silt loam soil(71.7%).However,the average contribution of denitrification to total N_(2)O production in sandy loam soil was 17.9%,which was significantly lower than that in silt loam soil(28.3%).These results are valuable for developing reasonable fertilization management and proposing effective greenhouse gas mitigation strategies in different soil types in semiarid regions.

Effect of orchard age on soil nitrogen transformation in subtropical China and implications

A better understanding of nitrogen transformation in soils could reveal the capacity for biological inorganic N supply and improve the efficiency of N fertilizers. In this study, a15 N tracing study was carried out to investigate the effects of converting woodland to orchard, and orchard age on the gross rates of N transformation occurring simultaneously in subtropical soils in Eastern China. The results showed that inorganic N supply rate was remained constant with soil organic C and N contents increased after converting woodland into citrus orchard and with increasing orchard age. This phenomenon was most probably due to the increase in the turnover time of recalcitrant organic-N, which increased with decreasing soil p H along with increasing orchard age significantly. The amo A gene copy numbers of both archaeal and bacterial were stimulated by orchard planting and increased with increasing orchard age. The nitrification capacity（defined as the ratio of gross rate of nitrification to total gross rate of mineralization） increased following the Michaelis–Menten equation, sharply in the first 10 years after woodland conversion to orchard, and increased continuously but much more slowly till 30 years. Due to the increase in nitrification capacity and unchanged NO3-consumption, the dominance of ammonium in inorganic N in woodland soil was shifted to nitrate dominance in orchard soils. These results indicated that the risk of NO3-loss was expected to increase and the amount of N needed from fertilizers for fruit growth did not change although soil organic N accumulated with orchard age.