Spring maize is one of the most popular crops planted in northeastem China. The cropping systems involving spring maize have been maintaining high production through intensive management practices. However, the high r...Spring maize is one of the most popular crops planted in northeastem China. The cropping systems involving spring maize have been maintaining high production through intensive management practices. However, the high rates of nitrogen (N) fertilizers application could have introduced a great amount of nitrous oxide (N2O) into the atmosphere. It is crucial for sustaining the maize production systems to reduce N2O emissions meanwhile maintaining the optimum yields by adopting alternative farming management practices. The goal of this study was to evaluate effects of alternative fertilization and crop residue management practices on N2O emission as well as crop yield for a typical maize field in northeastern China. Field experiments were conducted during the 2010-2011 maize growing seasons (from early May to late September) in Liaoning Province, northeastern China. N2O fluxes were measured at the field plots with six different treatments including no N fertilizer use (CK), farmers' conventional N fertilizer application rate (FP), reduced N fertilizer rate (OPT), reduced N fertilizer rate combined with crop straw amendment (OPTS), slow-release N fertilizer (CRF), and reduced N fertilizer rate combined with nitrification inhibitor (OPT+DCD). The static chamber method combined with gas chromatography technique was employed to conduct the measurements of N2O fluxes. The field data showed that N2O emissions varied across the treatments. During the maize growing season in 2010, the total N2O emissions under the treatments of CK, FP, OPT, OPTS, and CRF were 0.63, 1.11, 1.03, 1.26, and 0.98 kg N ha-1, respectively. The seasonal cumulative N2O emissions were 0.54, 1.07, 0.96, 1.12, and 0.84 kg N ha1, respectively, under CK, FP, OPT, OPTS, and OPT+DCD in 2011. In comparison with FP, CRF or OPT+DCD reduced the N2O emissions by 12 or 21%, respectively, while the crop yields remained unchanged. The results indicate that the reduction of N-fertilizer application rate in combination with the slow-release fertilizer type or nitrification inhibitor could effectively mitigate N2O emissions from the tested field. The incorporation of crop residue didn't show positive effect on mitigating N2O emissions from the tested cropping system. The field study can provide useful information for the on-going debate on alternative N fertilization strategies and crop straw management in China. However, further studies would be needed to explore the long-term impacts of the alternative management practices on a wide range of environmental services.展开更多
Drinking water-type fluorosis is the most harmful endemic disease in China with the largest number of sufferers. Although the implementation of the policy to alter water sources to lower fluoride level has effectively...Drinking water-type fluorosis is the most harmful endemic disease in China with the largest number of sufferers. Although the implementation of the policy to alter water sources to lower fluoride level has effectively controlled the spread of this kind of endemic disease,its prevalence could not thoroughly be stopped because the high-fluoride environmental background in these endemically diseased areas could still do harm to human health through food chain. Therefore,it is necessary to conduct a more deep-going study on the drinking water-type fluoro-sis. To investigate the effect of high fluorine environmental background on crops and human health in the hot spring-type fluorosis-diseased areas,local water,paddy soil,rice,whole vegetables and soils around their roots were sampled for analysis. The results were compared with those of the control groups in fluorosis-free areas which are similar to the fluorosis-diseased areas both in natural background and in social background. It is indicated that rice and vegetables can accumulate water-soluble fluorine either in soils or in irrigating water,and different crops have different abilities of fixing fluorine. The contents of fluorine in different parts of vegetables in the fluorosis-diseased and fluorosis-free areas were statistically categorized. The results showed that the fluorine contents of roots,tubers,leaves and flowers of vegetables in the fluorosis-diseased areas are 3.56,1.17,3.07 and 3.23 mg/kg,respectively. However,comparisons showed that in the fluorosis-free areas,the fluorine contents are 2.17,0.70,1.91 and 2.52 mg/kg,respectively. Moreover,different parts of a crop also show significantly different fluorine fixation abilities. It is demonstrated that the fluorine contents of the strongly metabolic parts are relatively high. For example,the fluo-rine contents of roots,leaves and flowers of vegetables are much higher than those of stems. The fluorine fixation ability of seeds is very weak. In order to reduce the risk of human body’s exposure to fluoride,the impact of hot spring water on the capability of crops to fix fluorine should be reduced as much as possible. It is of great importance to prevent crops from being irrigated with hot spring water and it is advisable to grow crops with relatively low ca-pabilities to enrich fluorine,such as those with seeds or tubers as the main edible parts in the areas which are se-verely affected by hot spring water.展开更多
Available water and fertilizer have been the main limiting factors for yields of spring wheat, which occupies a large area of the black soil zone in northeast China; thus, the need to set up appropriate models for sce...Available water and fertilizer have been the main limiting factors for yields of spring wheat, which occupies a large area of the black soil zone in northeast China; thus, the need to set up appropriate models for scenario analysis of cropping system models has been increasing. The capability of CropSyst, a cropping system simulation model, to simulate spring wheat growth of a widely grown spring cultivar, 'Longmai 19', in the black soil zone in northeast China under different water and nitrogen regimes was evaluated. Field data collected from a rotation experiment of three growing seasons (1992-1994) were used to calibrate and validate the model. The model was run for 3 years by providing initial conditions at the beginning of the rotation without reinitializing the model in later years in the rotation sequence. Crop input parameters were set based on measured data or taken from CropSyst manual. A few cultivar-specific parameters were adjusted within a reasonable range of fluctuation. The results demonstrated the robustness of CropSyst for simulating evapotranspiration, aboveground biomass, and grain yield of 'Longmai 19' spring wheat with the root mean square errors being 7%, 13% and 13% of the observed means for evapotranspiration (ET), grain yield and aboveground biomass, respectively. Although CropSyst was able to simulate spring production reasonably well, further evaluation and improvement of the model with a more detailed field database was desirable for agricultural systems in northeast China.展开更多
Assessing the impacts of climate variability on agricultural productivity at regional, national or global scale is essential for defining adaptation and mitigation strategies. We explore in this study the potential ch...Assessing the impacts of climate variability on agricultural productivity at regional, national or global scale is essential for defining adaptation and mitigation strategies. We explore in this study the potential changes in spring wheat yields at Swift Current and Melfort, Canada, for different sowing windows under projected climate scenarios (i.e., the representative concentration pathways, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). First, the APSIM model was calibrated and evaluated at the study sites using data from long term experimental field plots. Then, the impacts of change in sowing dates on final yield were assessed over the 2030-2099 period with a 1990-2009 baseline period of observed yield data, assuming that other crop management practices remained unchanged. Results showed that the performance of APSIM was quite satisfactory with an index of agreement of 0.80, R2 of 0.54, and mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) of 529 kg/ha and 1023 kg/ha, respectively (MAE = 476 kg/ha and RMSE = 684 kg/ha in calibration phase). Under the projected climate conditions, a general trend in yield loss was observed regardless of the sowing window, with a range from ?-24% to -94% depending on the site and the RCP, and noticeable losses during the 2060s and beyond (increasing CO2 effects being excluded). Smallest yield losses obtained through earlier possible sowing date (i.e., mid-April) under the projected future climate suggested that this option might be explored for mitigating possible adverse impacts of climate variability. Our findings could therefore serve as a basis for using APSIM as a decision support tool for adaptation/mitigation options under potential climate variability within Western Canada.展开更多
Biosolids were applied with urea to produce a granulated organo-mineral fertiliser (OMF) for application by farm fertiliser equipment to a range of agricultural crops. The recommended rates of nitrogen, phosphate and ...Biosolids were applied with urea to produce a granulated organo-mineral fertiliser (OMF) for application by farm fertiliser equipment to a range of agricultural crops. The recommended rates of nitrogen, phosphate and potash were calculated for the test crops using “The Fertiliser Manual”, which assesses the nutrient requirement based on previous cropping, rainfall and soil index. The OMF produced similar crop yields compared to ammonium nitrate fertiliser when applied as a top-dressing to winter wheat, forage maize and grass cut for silage in the cropping years 2010 to 2014. In 2012 the grain yield of spring barley top-dressed with OMF was significantly lower than the conventional fertiliser treatment, due to dry conditions following application. For this reason it is recommended that OMF is incorporated into the seedbed for spring sown crops and The Safe Sludge Matrix guidelines followed. The experimental work presented shows that OMF can be used in sustainable crop production systems as a source of nitrogen and phosphorus for a range of agricultural crops.展开更多
Agricultural production is highly dependent on the climatic variability of the specific regions. Differential climatic and soil conditions bring about changes in yield, quality of crops thus affecting the economy. Thi...Agricultural production is highly dependent on the climatic variability of the specific regions. Differential climatic and soil conditions bring about changes in yield, quality of crops thus affecting the economy. This study evaluated the impact of variability in different climatic factors keeping the other factors constant on spring wheat production in North Dakota from 2007 to 2011. The spring wheat yield mainly depends on the climatic changes during growing periods April to September. Average maximum air temperature was significantly different from April to September except June from 2007 to 2011. High average minimum and maximum air temperatures during planting time increase yield and planting area for 2010. In 2011, low mean soil temperature, excess rainfall in April caused low yield of spring wheat. The unmitigated climate variability will result in declines in yields. So, adoption of sustainable agriculture practices helps the farmers to develop the different practices for their farms.展开更多
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31270486)the Special Fund for Agriculture Scientific Non-Profit Research of China(201103039)+1 种基金the National Basic Research Program of China(2012CB417104)the National Nonprofit Institute Research Grant of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences(IARRP-2014-402-15)
文摘Spring maize is one of the most popular crops planted in northeastem China. The cropping systems involving spring maize have been maintaining high production through intensive management practices. However, the high rates of nitrogen (N) fertilizers application could have introduced a great amount of nitrous oxide (N2O) into the atmosphere. It is crucial for sustaining the maize production systems to reduce N2O emissions meanwhile maintaining the optimum yields by adopting alternative farming management practices. The goal of this study was to evaluate effects of alternative fertilization and crop residue management practices on N2O emission as well as crop yield for a typical maize field in northeastern China. Field experiments were conducted during the 2010-2011 maize growing seasons (from early May to late September) in Liaoning Province, northeastern China. N2O fluxes were measured at the field plots with six different treatments including no N fertilizer use (CK), farmers' conventional N fertilizer application rate (FP), reduced N fertilizer rate (OPT), reduced N fertilizer rate combined with crop straw amendment (OPTS), slow-release N fertilizer (CRF), and reduced N fertilizer rate combined with nitrification inhibitor (OPT+DCD). The static chamber method combined with gas chromatography technique was employed to conduct the measurements of N2O fluxes. The field data showed that N2O emissions varied across the treatments. During the maize growing season in 2010, the total N2O emissions under the treatments of CK, FP, OPT, OPTS, and CRF were 0.63, 1.11, 1.03, 1.26, and 0.98 kg N ha-1, respectively. The seasonal cumulative N2O emissions were 0.54, 1.07, 0.96, 1.12, and 0.84 kg N ha1, respectively, under CK, FP, OPT, OPTS, and OPT+DCD in 2011. In comparison with FP, CRF or OPT+DCD reduced the N2O emissions by 12 or 21%, respectively, while the crop yields remained unchanged. The results indicate that the reduction of N-fertilizer application rate in combination with the slow-release fertilizer type or nitrification inhibitor could effectively mitigate N2O emissions from the tested field. The incorporation of crop residue didn't show positive effect on mitigating N2O emissions from the tested cropping system. The field study can provide useful information for the on-going debate on alternative N fertilization strategies and crop straw management in China. However, further studies would be needed to explore the long-term impacts of the alternative management practices on a wide range of environmental services.
基金financially supported jointly by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.40601004)the Scientific and Technological Project of the Educa-tion Department of Jiangxi Province (No. GJJ08032)+1 种基金the K.C. Wong Education FoundationHong Kong and China’s Post-doctoral Science Funds
文摘Drinking water-type fluorosis is the most harmful endemic disease in China with the largest number of sufferers. Although the implementation of the policy to alter water sources to lower fluoride level has effectively controlled the spread of this kind of endemic disease,its prevalence could not thoroughly be stopped because the high-fluoride environmental background in these endemically diseased areas could still do harm to human health through food chain. Therefore,it is necessary to conduct a more deep-going study on the drinking water-type fluoro-sis. To investigate the effect of high fluorine environmental background on crops and human health in the hot spring-type fluorosis-diseased areas,local water,paddy soil,rice,whole vegetables and soils around their roots were sampled for analysis. The results were compared with those of the control groups in fluorosis-free areas which are similar to the fluorosis-diseased areas both in natural background and in social background. It is indicated that rice and vegetables can accumulate water-soluble fluorine either in soils or in irrigating water,and different crops have different abilities of fixing fluorine. The contents of fluorine in different parts of vegetables in the fluorosis-diseased and fluorosis-free areas were statistically categorized. The results showed that the fluorine contents of roots,tubers,leaves and flowers of vegetables in the fluorosis-diseased areas are 3.56,1.17,3.07 and 3.23 mg/kg,respectively. However,comparisons showed that in the fluorosis-free areas,the fluorine contents are 2.17,0.70,1.91 and 2.52 mg/kg,respectively. Moreover,different parts of a crop also show significantly different fluorine fixation abilities. It is demonstrated that the fluorine contents of the strongly metabolic parts are relatively high. For example,the fluo-rine contents of roots,leaves and flowers of vegetables are much higher than those of stems. The fluorine fixation ability of seeds is very weak. In order to reduce the risk of human body’s exposure to fluoride,the impact of hot spring water on the capability of crops to fix fluorine should be reduced as much as possible. It is of great importance to prevent crops from being irrigated with hot spring water and it is advisable to grow crops with relatively low ca-pabilities to enrich fluorine,such as those with seeds or tubers as the main edible parts in the areas which are se-verely affected by hot spring water.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40401003)the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX3-SW-356)the Key Laboratory of Ecological Restoration and Ecosystem Management of Jilin Province (No. DS2004-03)
文摘Available water and fertilizer have been the main limiting factors for yields of spring wheat, which occupies a large area of the black soil zone in northeast China; thus, the need to set up appropriate models for scenario analysis of cropping system models has been increasing. The capability of CropSyst, a cropping system simulation model, to simulate spring wheat growth of a widely grown spring cultivar, 'Longmai 19', in the black soil zone in northeast China under different water and nitrogen regimes was evaluated. Field data collected from a rotation experiment of three growing seasons (1992-1994) were used to calibrate and validate the model. The model was run for 3 years by providing initial conditions at the beginning of the rotation without reinitializing the model in later years in the rotation sequence. Crop input parameters were set based on measured data or taken from CropSyst manual. A few cultivar-specific parameters were adjusted within a reasonable range of fluctuation. The results demonstrated the robustness of CropSyst for simulating evapotranspiration, aboveground biomass, and grain yield of 'Longmai 19' spring wheat with the root mean square errors being 7%, 13% and 13% of the observed means for evapotranspiration (ET), grain yield and aboveground biomass, respectively. Although CropSyst was able to simulate spring production reasonably well, further evaluation and improvement of the model with a more detailed field database was desirable for agricultural systems in northeast China.
文摘Assessing the impacts of climate variability on agricultural productivity at regional, national or global scale is essential for defining adaptation and mitigation strategies. We explore in this study the potential changes in spring wheat yields at Swift Current and Melfort, Canada, for different sowing windows under projected climate scenarios (i.e., the representative concentration pathways, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). First, the APSIM model was calibrated and evaluated at the study sites using data from long term experimental field plots. Then, the impacts of change in sowing dates on final yield were assessed over the 2030-2099 period with a 1990-2009 baseline period of observed yield data, assuming that other crop management practices remained unchanged. Results showed that the performance of APSIM was quite satisfactory with an index of agreement of 0.80, R2 of 0.54, and mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) of 529 kg/ha and 1023 kg/ha, respectively (MAE = 476 kg/ha and RMSE = 684 kg/ha in calibration phase). Under the projected climate conditions, a general trend in yield loss was observed regardless of the sowing window, with a range from ?-24% to -94% depending on the site and the RCP, and noticeable losses during the 2060s and beyond (increasing CO2 effects being excluded). Smallest yield losses obtained through earlier possible sowing date (i.e., mid-April) under the projected future climate suggested that this option might be explored for mitigating possible adverse impacts of climate variability. Our findings could therefore serve as a basis for using APSIM as a decision support tool for adaptation/mitigation options under potential climate variability within Western Canada.
文摘Biosolids were applied with urea to produce a granulated organo-mineral fertiliser (OMF) for application by farm fertiliser equipment to a range of agricultural crops. The recommended rates of nitrogen, phosphate and potash were calculated for the test crops using “The Fertiliser Manual”, which assesses the nutrient requirement based on previous cropping, rainfall and soil index. The OMF produced similar crop yields compared to ammonium nitrate fertiliser when applied as a top-dressing to winter wheat, forage maize and grass cut for silage in the cropping years 2010 to 2014. In 2012 the grain yield of spring barley top-dressed with OMF was significantly lower than the conventional fertiliser treatment, due to dry conditions following application. For this reason it is recommended that OMF is incorporated into the seedbed for spring sown crops and The Safe Sludge Matrix guidelines followed. The experimental work presented shows that OMF can be used in sustainable crop production systems as a source of nitrogen and phosphorus for a range of agricultural crops.
文摘Agricultural production is highly dependent on the climatic variability of the specific regions. Differential climatic and soil conditions bring about changes in yield, quality of crops thus affecting the economy. This study evaluated the impact of variability in different climatic factors keeping the other factors constant on spring wheat production in North Dakota from 2007 to 2011. The spring wheat yield mainly depends on the climatic changes during growing periods April to September. Average maximum air temperature was significantly different from April to September except June from 2007 to 2011. High average minimum and maximum air temperatures during planting time increase yield and planting area for 2010. In 2011, low mean soil temperature, excess rainfall in April caused low yield of spring wheat. The unmitigated climate variability will result in declines in yields. So, adoption of sustainable agriculture practices helps the farmers to develop the different practices for their farms.