The Changing Characteristics of Profile Distribution of Organic Nitrogen Components in Apple-pear Orchard Soil

In order to evaluate the effects of soil depth on the contents of soil organic nitrogen,organic nitrogen forms in apple-pear orchard soil profile were quantified using the method proposed by Bremner in 1965.The results indicated that in addition to the amino sugar-N,all the soil organic N components within the same soil layer in wasteland were more than those in apple-pear orchard soil;with the layer depth increasing,the contents of different organic nitrogen forms in apple-pear orchard soil and wasteland were decreased;and the proportion of each organic N component within total hydrolysable N was different,and the percentages of ammonia N and amino acid-N components within total hydrolysable N were higher,especially the percentage of ammonia N components within total hydrolysable N was the highest.

Effects of Nitrogen Fertilizer on Seed Yields and Yield Components of Zoysia japonica Established by Seeding and Transplant

The study was conducted to determine the optimum fertilizer-N application rate formaximum seed yields of Zoysiagrass stands from seeding and transplant respectively, atJiaozhou, Shandong Province, China from 2001 to 2003. In the third year after establishment,seed yields and yield components for both stands showed a similar response to fertilizer-N. Maximum fertile tiller numbers (3342 heads m-2 and 2941 heads m-2 from stands seeded inrows and transplanted, respectively) and the highest seed yields (844.50kgha-1 and 874.65kg ha-1 from stands seeded in rows and transplanted, respectively) were obtained at a Nfertilizer rate of 20kgha-1 in autumn and 10kgha-1 in spring (30kgha-1 N in total). Thefertile tillers and seed yields decreased with further increasing of N fertilizer rate.Fertilizer-N application could increase the length of spike, spikelets per fertiletiller, seed number per spike, setting percentage and thousand seed weight. The 1000-seed weight and the length of spike from transplant plots were higher than that fromseeding plots. The optimal harvest time of zoysiagrass at Jiaozhou was on the 36th dayafter peak anthesis, near June 15th, when the seed moisture content was 26-28%.

Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Stoichiometry in Cascade Ponds in an Agricultural Small Watershed and Their Influencing Factors

Ecological stoichiometry of nitrogen and phosphorus is an important indicator to characterize the nitrogen and phosphorus trophic status in aquatic ecosystems. The study of the spatio-temporal patterns of nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry is beneficial to the nitrogen and phosphorus pollution management in pond ecosystems. In this study, 18 groups (36 in total) of typical cascade ponds were selected as long-term observations to investigate the spatial distribution patterns of nitrogen and phosphorus component ratios (ratio of total nitrogen to phosphorus: TN:TP, ratio of dissolved nitrogen to phosphorus: TDN:TDP, ratio of particulate nitrogen to phosphorus: PN:PP) in water bodies in the tropical agricultural watershed of Jinjing. The results showed that the average values of TN:TP and TDN:TDP in the upstream ponds were 26.4 and 53.4, respectively, and were more than those in the downstream (22.95 and 48.1, respectively). In contrast, the PN:PP (13.78) in the upstream was significantly lower than that of the downstream (30.39). Furthermore, the factors of rainfall, agricultural land use and fish farming influenced the spatio-temporal variability of the N:P ratios. The ratios of TN:TP and TDN:TDP were higher in the wet season and lower in the dry season. Agricultural land use and fish farming reduced the ratios of the above three nitrogen and phosphorus components in cascade ponds in the study area. Our results show that strengthening agricultural land pollution control and aquaculture management could help to improve water quality of pond ecosystems in the study area.

Effects of tillage on soil nitrogen and its components from rice-wheat fields in subtropical regions of China

It is of great significance to explore the effects of different tillage practices on total nitrogen and its components in rice-wheat rotation farmland.The experiment was carried out in Jiangyan County,Jiangsu Province of China,and a total of four treatments were set up:minimum tillage(MT),rotary tillage(RT),conventional tillage(CT),and conventional tillage without straw retention(CT0).The total nitrogen(TN),light fraction nitrogen(LFN),heavy fraction nitrogen(HFN),particulate nitrogen(PN),and mineral-associated nitrogen(MN)in 0-20 cm soil were determined.The results show that MT increased TN concentration by2.26%-27.57%compared with the other treatments in 0-5 cm soil,but it lost this advantage in 5-10 cm and 10-20 cm soil.MT altered the concentration of LFN by 6.03%-95.86%,of HFN by 1.68%-20.75%,of PN by 12.58%-96.83%,and of MN by−1.73%-9.83%as compared to RT,CT,and CT0 in 0-5 cm soil,respectively.With the deepened of soil depth,the concentration of TN,LFN,HFN,PN,and MN decreased quickly in MT,which was lower than that in RT and CT at 10-20 cm soil depth.Straw return increased the concentration of TN and its components in 0-20 cm soil.The concentration of TN was extremely significantly positively correlated with that of LFN,HFN,PN,and MN(p<0.01).The variation of TN was significantly positively correlated with that of LFN,HFN,PN,and MN(p<0.01),and LFN showed the highest sensitivity to tillage practice.In general,minimum tillage combined with straw retention increased the concentration of soil TN and its components in topsoil.LFN was the best indicator to indicate the change in soil total nitrogen affected by tillage practice.

Effects of land use, climate, topography and soil properties on regional soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in the Upstream Watershed of Miyun Reservoir, North China

Soil organic carbon （SOC） and total nitrogen （TN） contents as well as their relationships with site characteristics are of profound importance in assessing current regional, continental and global soil C and N stocks and potentials for C sequestration and N conservation to offset anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. This study investigated contents and distribution of SOC and TN under different land uses, and the quantitative relationships between SOC or TN and site characteristics in the Upstream Watershed of Miyun Reservoir, North China. Overall, both SOC and TN contents in natural secondary forests and grasslands were much higher than in plantations and croplands. Land use alone explained 37.2% and 38.4% of variations in SOC and TN contents, respectively. The optimal models for SOC and TN, achieved by multiple regression analysis combined with principal component analysis （PCA） to remove the multicollinearity among site variables, showed that elevation, slope, soil clay and water contents were the most significant factors controlling SOC and TN contents, jointly explaining 70.3% of SOC and 67.1% of TN contents variability. Only does additional 1.9% and 3% increase in the interpretations of SOC and TN contents variability respectively when land use was added to regressions, probably due to environment factors determine land use. Therefore, environmental variables were more important for SOC and TN variability than land use in the study area, and should be taken into consideration in properly evaluating effects of future land use changes on SOC and TN on a regional scale.