Controlled-release fertilizer, floating duckweed, and biochar affect ammonia volatilization and nitrous oxide emission from rice paddy fields irrigated with nitrogen-rich wastewater

• Published in: Paddy and water environment Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 105 - 111
• Main Authors: Sun, Haijun, Zhang, Hailin, Min, Ju, Feng, Yanfang, Shi, Weiming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Springer Japan 01.01.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Ammonia; Aquatic plants; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Charcoal; Ecotoxicology; Emissions; Environmental quality; Fertilizers; Floating plants; Geoecology/Natural Processes; Hydrogeology; Hydrology/Water Resources; Irrigation; Life Sciences; Livestock; Livestock production; Nitrogen; Nitrous oxide; Rice; Soil Science & Conservation; Urea; Wastewater irrigation; Nitrogen use efficiency; Urea; Biochar; Nitrogen fertilizer; Waste water
• ISSN: 1611-2490; 1611-2504
• DOI: 10.1007/s10333-015-0482-2

It is of great concern that nitrogen-rich (N-rich) wastewater irrigation increases ammonia (NH 3 ) volatilization from rice ( Oryza sativa L.) paddy fields. A pilot-scale field trial was conducted to study the impact of different management practices on reducing NH 3 volatilization and their subsequent impacts on nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emission from a paddy field irrigated with N-rich wastewater generated by livestock production and supplemented with urea N fertilizer. A total of 225 kg N ha −1 combined with urea and N-rich wastewater was split into basal, the first, and second supplementary applications for the following five treatments: urea N mixed with controlled-release N fertilizer (BBF), floating duckweed (FDW), biochar alone (BC), biochar mixed with calcium superphosphate (BCP), and control with no amendment (CK). Results showed that each treatment had similar pattern of NH 3 volatilization and N 2 O emission after N application. Treatments of BBF, FDW, and BCP effectively reduced NH 3 losses by 22.8, 55.2, and 39.2 %, respectively, compared with the CK. BBF treatment decreased NH 3 volatilization after the first supplementary N fertilization; BCP treatment reduced NH 3 volatilization after the basal fertilization; and FDW treatment reduced NH 3 volatilization after both the basal and first supplementary fertilization. Besides controlling the NH 3 volatilization, BCP treatment also reduced 19.5 % of N 2 O loss. However, BC alone suppressed N 2 O emission by 24.3 %, but did not reduce NH 3 loss. The findings can practically guide farmers to choose the appropriate management practices in improving N use efficiency and minimizing the impact of fertilization on environmental quality.