Nitrous oxide emissions from Chinese cropland fertilized with a range of slow-release nitrogen compounds

• Published in: Agriculture, ecosystems & environment Vol. 135; no. 3; pp. 216 - 225
• Main Authors: Jiang, Jingyan, Hu, Zhenghua, Sun, Wenjuan, Huang, Yao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier B.V 31.01.2010; Amsterdam; New York: Elsevier; Elsevier
• Subjects: agricultural land; Agriculture; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biochemical inhibitor; Biological and medical sciences; Coated nitrogen; coatings; corn; Cropland; dicyandiamide; Fertilizing; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; gas emissions; General agroecology; General agroecology. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development. Rural area planning. Landscaping; General agronomy. Plant production; Generalities. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development; greenhouse gases; Hydroquinone; Maize; N 2O emissions; nitrogen fertilizers; nitrous oxide; Nitrous oxides; Precipitation; seasonal variation; Seasons; slow-release fertilizers; Triticum aestivum; urea; Urea formaldehyde; Ureas; Wheat; winter wheat; Zea mays; China; China, People's Rep., Jiangsu Prov., Nanjing; China, People's Rep; Cropland; N 2O emissions; Precipitation; Biochemical inhibitor; Coated nitrogen; Urea formaldehyde; Cultivated field; Gas emission; Nitrogen compounds; O emissions; Biochemistry; Ecology; Agricultural soil; Nitrogen; Formaldehyde; N; Ureas; Inhibitor; Nitrogen protoxide
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2009.09.014
• ISSN: 0167-8809

The consumption of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer in agriculture has increased over the past several decades and will continue to increase to meet the food and fibre demands of the growing global population, which will no doubt result in the release of additional N 2O into the atmosphere. A wise use of synthetic fertilizer N is important to mitigate N 2O emissions. Outdoor pot experiments during the winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) growing season and field experiments during the maize ( Zea mays L .) growing seasons were undertaken from 2006 to 2008 at Nanjing in eastern China to evaluate the potential of a range of typical slow-release fertilizers to mitigate N 2O emissions. Five slow-release N fertilizers, including physically altered (Ca-Mg-P-coated urea, polymer-coated urea and sulfur-coated urea), chemically altered (urea formaldehyde) and biochemically inhibited (urea with dicyandiamide and hydroquinone) nitrogen were applied in this experiment. In comparison with commercial urea, the urea formaldehyde treatment reduced N 2O emissions by ∼42% for the wheat growing season and 15-26% for the maize growing season, and the urea with dicyandiamide and hydroquinone treatment reduced N 2O emissions by 33-63% for the maize growing season. However, the treatments with Ca-Mg-P-coated urea, polymer-coated urea and sulfur-coated urea generally enhanced N 2O emissions in comparison to the emissions of the urea-treated fertilizer, especially when precipitation followed application. We conclude that the application of chemically altered or biochemically inhibited nitrogen fertilizers would have great potential to mitigate N 2O emissions, but the use of physically altered nitrogen fertilizers may have the opposite effect than desired.