title: Ammonia volatilization from a Chinese cabbage field under different nitrogen treatments in the Taihu Lake Basin, China.
abstract: Ammonia (NH3) volatilization is a major pathway of nitrogen (N) loss from soil-crop systems. As vegetable cultivation is one of the most important agricultural land uses worldwide, a deeper understanding of NH3 volatilization is necessary in vegetable production systems. We therefore conducted a 3-year (2010-2012) field experiment to characterize NH3 volatilization and evaluate the effect of different N fertilizer treatments on this process during the growth period of Chinese cabbage. Ammonia volatilization rate, rainfall, soil water content, pH, and soil NH4(+) were measured during the growth period. The results showed that NH3 volatilization was significantly and positively correlated to topsoil pH and NH4(+) concentration. Climate factors and fertilization method also significantly affected NH3 volatilization. Specifically, organic fertilizer (OF) increased NH3 volatilization by 11.77%-18.46%, compared to conventional fertilizer (CF, urea), while organic-inorganic compound fertilizer (OIF) reduced NH3 volatilization by 8.82%-12.67% compared to CF. Furthermore, slow-release fertilizers had significantly positive effects on controlling NH3 volatilization, with a 60.73%-68.80% reduction for sulfur-coated urea (SCU), a 71.85%-78.97% reduction for biological Carbon Power® urea (BCU), and a 77.66%-83.12% reduction for bulk-blend controlled-release fertilizer (BBCRF) relative to CF. This study provides much needed baseline information, which will help in fertilizer choice and management practices to reduce NH3 volatilization and encourage the development of new strategies for vegetable planting.
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Non-point Source Pollution Control, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang Province, China. Electronic address: shanlinan_1986@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Linan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Non-point Source Pollution Control, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang Province, China. Electronic address: yfhe@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yunfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Hongcai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism*; D001937:Brassica / Q000378:metabolism*; D002681:China; D005308:Fertilizers / Q000032:analysis; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D012987:Soil; D000641:Ammonia; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Ammonia volatilization; Nitrogen fertilizer; Slow-release fertilizer; Vegetable soil