Impacts of nitrogen fertilizer type and application rate on soil acidification rate under a wheat-maize double cropping system

Tianxiang Hao; Qichao Zhu; Mufan Zeng; Jianbo Shen; Xiaojun Shi; Xuejun Liu; Fusuo Zhang; Wim de Vries

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110888

Impacts of nitrogen fertilizer type and application rate on soil acidification rate under a wheat-maize double cropping system

J Environ Manage. 2020 Sep 15:270:110888. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110888. Epub 2020 Jun 14.

Authors

Tianxiang Hao¹, Qichao Zhu¹, Mufan Zeng², Jianbo Shen¹, Xiaojun Shi³, Xuejun Liu⁴, Fusuo Zhang¹, Wim de Vries⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of MOE, Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; School of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
² College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of MOE, Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
³ College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China; Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China.
⁴ College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of MOE, Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; School of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China. Electronic address: liu310@cau.edu.cn.
⁵ Environmental Systems Analysis Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands; Alterra-Wageningen UR, Soil Science Centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands.

PMID: 32721326
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110888

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer-induced soil acidification in Chinese croplands is well-known, but insight in the impacts of different N fertilizer management approaches (fertilizer type and rate) on soil acidification rates is very limited. Here, we conducted a field experiment on a moderate acid soil to quantify soil acidification rates in response to N fertilization by different fertilizer types and N rates through monitoring the fate of elements (mainly nutrients) related to H⁺ production and consumption. Two N fertilizer types (urea and NH₄Cl) and three N rates (control, optimized and conventional, 0/120/240 kg N ha^-1 for wheat, 0/160/320 kg N ha^-1 for maize) were included. Nitrogen addition led to an average H⁺ production of 4.0, 8.7, 11.4, 29.7 and 52.6 keq ha^-1 yr^-1, respectively, for the control, optimized urea, conventional urea, optimized NH₄Cl and conventional NH₄Cl plots. This was accompanied with a decline in soil base saturation of 1-10% and in soil pH of 0.1-0.7 units in the topsoil (0-20 cm). Removal of base cations by crop harvesting and N transformations contributed ~70% and ~20% to the H⁺ production in the urea treated plots, being ~20% and ~75% in the NH₄Cl treated plots, respectively. The large NH₄⁺ input via fertilization in the NH₄Cl treated plots strongly enhanced the H⁺ production induced by N transformations. The low contribution of N transformations to the H⁺ production in the urea treated plots was due to the limited NO₃^- leaching, induced by the high N losses to air caused by denitrification. Increased N addition by urea, however, strongly increased H⁺ production by enhanced plant uptake of base cations, mainly due to a large potassium uptake in straw. Our results highlight the important role of optimizing fertilizer form and N rate as well as straw return to the field in alleviating soil acidification.

Keywords: Ammonium chloride; Cropland; Soil acidification; Soil pH; Urea.

MeSH terms

Agriculture
China
Fertilizers*
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Nitrogen
Soil
Triticum*
Zea mays

Substances

Fertilizers
Soil
Nitrogen

Grants and funding

BB/N013468/1/BB_/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom