Continuous no-till decreased soil nitrous oxide emissions during corn years after 48 and 50 years in a poorly-drained Alfisol

Amanda Weidhuner; Omid R Zandvakili; Ronald Krausz; Stephen J Crittenden; Meihua Deng; Dane Hunter; Amir Sadeghpour

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156296

Continuous no-till decreased soil nitrous oxide emissions during corn years after 48 and 50 years in a poorly-drained Alfisol

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Sep 10;838(Pt 4):156296. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156296. Epub 2022 May 31.

Authors

Amanda Weidhuner¹, Omid R Zandvakili¹, Ronald Krausz¹, Stephen J Crittenden², Meihua Deng³, Dane Hunter¹, Amir Sadeghpour⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Agricultural Sciences, College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA.
² Brandon Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2701 Grand Valley Road, PO Box 1000A, R.R. #3, Brandon, MB R7A 5Y3, Canada.
³ State Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control, Institute of Agr-product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China.
⁴ School of Agricultural Sciences, College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA. Electronic address: amir.sadeghpour@siu.edu.

PMID: 35660440
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156296

Abstract

The soil quality benefits from switching from chisel-disk (CD) operations to continuous no-till (NT) in corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) rotations have been proven over time; but to mitigate climate change, effects of continuous NT on nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions must be evaluated. The objectives of this study were to determine the influence of contrasting tillage practices (CD vs. NT) on soil N₂O emissions, soil nitrogen (N) dynamics, corn grain yields, N removals and partial N balances, soil volumetric water content (VWC) and soil temperature following 48 and 50 years of tillage implementation in a long-term corn-soybean rotation experiment in a poorly-drained Alfisol. A four-time replicated randomized complete block design was conducted with tillage treatments [CD (grower's current practice) and NT] as main plots and fertility [a no-fertilizer control (CTR) and fertilizing corn N, P, and K (NPK)] as subplots. Corn grain yield, N removal, and partial N balances were greater in CD than NT in 2018 but not in 2020. Soil N₂O-N was similar among tillage treatments in 2018 (3.2 kg N₂O-N ha^-1) but higher in CD (8.5 kg N₂O-N ha^-1) than in NT (6.2 kg N₂O-N ha^-1) in 2020. The CD treatment had higher two-yr cumulative N₂O-N emissions (11.9 kg N₂O-N ha^-1) than NT (9.1 kg N₂O-N ha^-1), indicating that NT has a potential for reducing N₂O-N in poorly-drained Alfisols. Grain yield-scaled N₂O-N was lower in NT than CD in 2020 but not in 2018. Soil N₂O emissions were positively associated with soil NO₃-N, partial N balances, and corn grain yield and negatively associated with soil bulk density and temperature. We concluded that after 48 and 50 years, continuous NT can maintain corn grain yield and mitigate N₂O-N emissions indicating to mitigate climate change and increase multi-sphere benefits, continuous NT practices should be implemented.

Keywords: Conservation tillage; Conventional tillage; Nitrogen balance; Nitrous oxide emissions; Soil nitrogen.

MeSH terms

Crop Production* / methods
Crops, Agricultural*
Fertilizers / analysis
Glycine max
Nitrogen / analysis
Nitrous Oxide / analysis
Soil* / chemistry
Zea mays*

Substances

Fertilizers
Nitrogen
Nitrous Oxide
Soil