Nitrogen mobility,ammonia volatilization,and estimated leaching loss from long-term manure incorporation in red soil

Nitrogen（N） loss from fertilization in agricultural fields has an unavoidable negative impact on the environment and a better understanding of the major pathways can assist in developing the best management practices. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fate of N fertilizers applied to acidic red soil（Ferralic Cambisol） after 19 years of mineral（synthetic） and manure fertilizer treatments under a cropping system with wheat-maize rotations. Five field treatments were examined： control（CK）, chemical nitrogen and potash fertilizer（NK）, chemical nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer（NP）, chemical nitrogen, phosphorus and potash fertilizer（NPK） and the NPK with manure（NPKM, 70% N from manure）. Based on the soil total N storage change in 0–100 cm depth, ammonia（NH_3） volatilization, nitrous oxide（N_2O） emission, N plant uptake, and the potential N leaching loss were estimated using a mass balance approach. In contrast to the NPKM, all mineral fertilizer treatments（NK, NP and NPK） showed increased nitrate（NO_3~–） concentration with increasing soil depth, indicating higher leaching potential. However, total NH_3 volatilization loss was much higher in the NPKM（19.7%） than other mineral fertilizer treatments（≤4.2%）. The N_2O emissions were generally low（0.2–0.9%, the highest from the NPKM）. Total gaseous loss accounted for 1.7, 3.3, 5.1, and 21.9% for NK, NP, NPK, and NPKM treatments, respectively. Estimated N leaching loss from the NPKM was only about 5% of the losses from mineral fertilizer treatments. All data demonstrated that manure incorporation improved soil productivity, increased yield, and reduced potential leaching, but with significantly higher NH_3 volatilization, which could be reduced by improving the application method. This study confirms that manure incorporationis an essential strategy in N fertilization management in upland red soil cropping system.