title: Long-term incorporation of manure with chemical fertilizers reduced total nitrogen loss in rain-fed cropping systems.
abstract: Improving soil fertility/productivity and reducing environmental impact of nitrogen (N) fertilization are essential for sustainable agriculture. Quantifying the contribution of various fertilization regimes to soil N storage and loss has been lacking in a wide range of spatiotemporal scales. Based on data collected from field experiments at three typical agricultural zones in China, soil N dynamics and N changes in soil profile (0-100 cm) were examined during 1990-2009 under chemical fertilization, manure incorporation with fertilizer, and fertilizer with straw return treatments. We employed a mass balance approach to estimate the N loss to the environment after taking into account soil N change. Results showed a significant increase in soil N storage under manure incorporation treatments, accompanied with the lowest N loss (ave.20-24% of total N input) compared to all other treatments (ave.35-63%). Both soil N distribution and mass balance data suggested higher leaching risk from chemical fertilization in acidic soil of southern China with higher precipitation than the other two sites. This research concludes that manure incorporation with chemical fertilizer not only can achieve high N use efficiency and improve soil fertility, but also leads to the lowest total N loss or damage to the environment.
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Improving Quality of Arable Land, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Yinghua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Improving Quality of Arable Land, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Minggang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: USDA Agricultural Research Service, San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, Parlier, CA, 93648-9757, USA.
authors.forename: Suduan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Soil and Fertilizer, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830091, China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Nutrition and Agricultural Resources, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, China.
authors.forename: Shaomin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Improving Quality of Arable Land, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Boren
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang