REGIONAL ASSESSMENT OF SOIL NITROGEN MINERALIZATION IN DIVERSE CROPLAND OF A REPRESENTATIVE INTENSIVE AGRICULTURAL AREA

Highlights

● Soil N mineralization (N_min) rates varied spatially among cropland fields.

● Soil N_min rates increased with a decreasing elevation.

● Soil N_min was mainly affected by SOC, TN, and available C and N.

● N_min in cropland soil should be considered when evaluating regional water pollution.

Abstract

Soil nitrogen mineralization (N_min) is a key process that converts organic N into mineral N that controls soil N availability to plants. However, regional assessments of soil N_min in cropland and its affecting factors are lacking, especially in relation to variation in elevation. In this study, a 4-week incubation experiment was implemented to measure net soil N_min rate, gross nitrification (Nit) rate and corresponding soil abiotic properties in five field soils (A–C, maize; D, flue-cured tobacco; and E, vegetables; with elevation decreasing from A to E) from different altitudes in a typical intensive agricultural area in Dali City, Yunnan Province, China. The results showed that soil N_min rate ranged from 0.10 to 0.17 mg·kg⁻¹·d⁻¹ N, with the highest value observed in field E, followed by fields D, C, B, and A, which indicated that soil N_min and Nit rates varied between fields, decreasing with elevation. The soil Nit rate ranged from 434.2 to 827.1 µg·kg⁻¹·h⁻¹ N, with the highest value determined in field D, followed by those in fields E, C, B, and A. The rates of soil N_min and Nit were positively correlated with several key soil parameters, including total soil N, dissolved organic carbon and dissolved inorganic N across all fields, which indicated that soil variables regulated soil N_min and Nit in cropland fields. In addition, a strong positive relationship was observed between soil N_min and Nit. These findings provide a greater understanding of the response of soil N_min among cropland fields related to spatial variation. It is suggested that the soil N_min from cropland should be considered in the evaluation of the N transformations at the regional scale.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

cropland / gross nitrification rate / regulatory factors / soil nitrogen mineralization / spatial variation

References

[1] Das A K, Boral L, Tripathi R S, Pandey H N. Nitrogen mineralization and microbial biomass-N in subtropical humid forest of Meghalaya, India. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 1997, 29(9–10): 1609–1612

[2] Erisman J W, Sutton M A, Galloway J, Klimont Z, Winiwarter W. How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world?. Nature Geoscience, 2008, 1(10): 636–639

[3] Vitousek P M, Naylor R, Crews T, David M B, Drinkwater L E, Holland E, Johnes P J, Katzenberger J, Martinelli L A, Matson P A, Nziguheba G, Ojima D, Palm C A, Robertson G P, Sanchez P A, Townsend A R, Zhang F S. Nutrient imbalances in agricultural development. Science, 2009, 324(5934): 1519–1520

[4] Liu Y, He N P, Wen X F, Yu G R, Gao Y, Jia Y L. Patterns and regulating mechanisms of soil nitrogen mineralization and temperature sensitivity in Chinese terrestrial ecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2016, 215: 40–46

[5] Evans C A, Miller E K, Friedland A J. Nitrogen mineralization associated with birch and fir under different soil moisture regimes. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 1998, 28(12): 1890–1898

[6] Bonito G M. Factors regulating nitrogen mineralization rates of an oak pine and northern hardwood forest along an elevation gradient. Dissertation for the Master’s Degree. Athens: University of Georgia, 2001

[7] Wang J Y, He L Y, Xu X F, Ren C J, Wang J, Guo Y X, Zhao F Z. Linkage between microbial functional genes and net N mineralization in forest soils along an elevational gradient. European Journal of Soil Science, 2022, 73(4): e13276

[8] Wang C H, Wan S Q, Xing X R, Zhang L, Han X G. Temperature and soil moisture interactively affected soil net N mineralization in temperate grassland in Northern China. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 2006, 38(5): 1101–1110

[9] Ma B L, Dwyer L M, Gregorich E G. Soil nitrogen amendment effects on seasonal nitrogen mineralization and nitrogen cycling in maize production. Agronomy Journal, 1999, 91(6): 1003–1009

[10] Heumann S, Böttcher J. Temperature functions of the rate coefficients of net N mineralization in sandy arable soils Part II. Evaluation via field mineralization measurements. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 2004, 167(4): 390–396

[11] Hou R J, Li T X, Fu Q, Liu D, Li M, Zhou Z Q, Li Q L, Zhao H, Yu P F, Yan J W. The effect on soil nitrogen mineralization resulting from biochar and straw regulation in seasonally frozen agricultural ecosystem. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020, 255: 120302

[12] Carlyle J C, Nambiar E K S, Bligh M W. The use of laboratory measurements to predict nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in Pinus radiate plantations after harvesting. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 1998, 28(8): 1213–1221

[13] Vervaet H, Massart B, Boeckx P, Van Cleemput O, Hofman G. Use of principal component analysis to assess factors controlling net N mineralization in deciduous and coniferous forest soils. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 2002, 36(2): 93–101

[14] Cao W, Hong H, Yue S, Ding Y, Zhang Y. Nutrient loss from an agricultural catchment and landscape modeling in southeast China. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2003, 71(4): 761–767

[15] Booth M S, Stark J M, Rastetter E. Controls on nitrogen cycling terrestrial ecosystems: a synthetic analysis of literature data. Ecological Monographs, 2005, 75(2): 139–157

[16] Baldos A P, Corre M D, Veldkamp E. Response of N cycling to nutrient inputs in forest soils across a 1000–3000 m elevation gradient in the Ecuadorian Andes. Ecology, 2015, 96(3): 749–761

[17] Li D J, Yang Y, Chen H, Xiao K C, Song T Q, Wang K L. Soil gross nitrogen transformation in typical karst and nonkarst forests, Southwest China. Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences, 2017, 122(11): 2831–2840

[18] Dai S Y, Wang J, Cheng Y, Zhang J B, Cai Z C. Effects of long-term fertilization on soil gross N transformation rates and their implications. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2017, 16(12): 2863–2870

[19] Wang J, Cheng Y, Jiang Y J, Sun B, Fan J B, Zhang J B, Müller C, Cai Z C. Effects of 14 years of repeated pig manure application on gross nitrogen transformation in an upland red soil in China. Plant and Soil, 2017, 415(1–2): 161–173

[20] Bengtson G, Bengtson P, Månsson K F. Gross nitrogen mineralization-, immobilization-, and nitrification rates as a function of soil C/N ratio and microbial activity. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 2003, 35(1): 143–154

[21] Zhang S H, Chen D D, Sun D S, Wang X T, Smith J L, Du G Z. Impacts of altitude and position on the rates of soil nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in alpine meadows on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 2012, 48(4): 393–400

[22] Xu P, Jiang M D, Khan I, Zhao J S, Yang T W, Tu J M, Hu R G. Available nitrogen and ammonia-oxidizing archaea in soil regulated N₂O emissions regardless of rice planting under a double rice cropping-fallow system. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2022, 340: 108166

[23] Ingwersen J, Butterbach-Bahl K, Gasche R, Richter O, Papen H. Barometric process separation: new method for quantifying nitrification, denitrification, and nitrous oxide sources in Soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 1999, 63(1): 117–128

[24] Montagnini F, Buschbachier R. Nitrification rates in two undisturbed tropical rain forests and three slash and burn sites of the Venezuelan Amazon. Biotropica, 1989, 21(1): 9–14

[25] Sierra J. Temperature and soil moisture dependence of N mineralization in intact soil cores. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 1997, 29(9–10): 1557–1563

[26] Knoepp J D, Swank W T. Rates of nitrogen mineralization across an elevation and vegetation gradient in the southern Appalachians. Plant and Soil, 1998, 204(2): 235–241

[27] Trindade H, Coutinho J, Jarvis S, Moreira N. Nitrogen mineralization in sandy loam soils under an intensive double-cropping forage system with dairy-cattle slurry applications. European Journal of Agronomy, 2001, 15(4): 281–293

[28] Eghball B, Wienhold B J, Gilley J E, Eigenberg R A. Mineralization of manure nutrients. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 2002, 57(6): 470–473

[29] Sierra J. Nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in a tropical soil: effects of fluctuating temperature conditions. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 2002, 34(9): 1219–1226

[30] Kristensen H L, Debosz K, McCarty G W. Short-term effects of tillage on mineralization of nitrogen and carbon in soil. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 2003, 35(7): 979–986

[31] Yang L, Zhang F, Gao Q, Mao R, Liu X. Impact of land-use types on soil nitrogen net mineralization in the sandstorm and water source area of Beijing, China. Catena, 2010, 82(1): 15–22

[32] Rustad L, Campbell J, Marion G, Norby R, Mitchell M, Hartley A, Cornelissen J, Gurevitch J. GTCE-NEWS. A meta-analysis of the response of soil respiration, net nitrogen mineralization, and aboveground plant growth to experimental ecosystem warming. Oecologia, 2001, 126(4): 543–562

[33] Gutiérrez-Girón A, Díaz-Pinés E, Rubio A, Gavilán R G. Both altitude and vegetation affect temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter decomposition in Mediterranean high mountain soils. Geoderma, 2015, 237−238: 1−8

[34] Urakawa R, Ohte N, Shibata H, Isobe K, Tateno R, Oda T, Hishi T, Fukushima K, Inagaki Y, Hirai K, Oyanagi N, Nakata M, Toda H, Kenta T, Kuroiwa M, Watanabe T, Fukuzawa K, Tokuchi N, Ugawa S, Enoki T, Nakanishi A, Saigusa N, Yamao Y, Kotani A. Factors contributing to soil nitrogen mineralization and nitrification rates of forest soils in the Japanese archipelago. Forest Ecology and Management, 2016, 361: 382–396

[35] Springob G, Kirchmann H. Bulk soil C to N ration as a simple measure of net N mineralization from stabilized soil organic matter in sandy arable soils. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 2003, 35(4): 629–632

[36] Colman B P, Schimel J P. Drivers of microbial respiration and net N mineralization at the continental scale. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 2013, 60: 65–76

[37] Katsvario T W, Cox W J, Van Es H M. Spatial growth, and nitrogen uptake variability of corn at two nitrogen levels. Agronomy Journal, 2003, 95(4): 1000–1011

[38] Shahandeh H, Wright A L, Hons F M, Lascano R J. Spatial and temporal variation of soil nitrogen parameters related to soil texture and corn Yield. Agronomy Journal, 2005, 97(3): 772–782

Acknowledgements

This study was founded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M703131) and National Key Research and Development Program (2019YFD1100503).

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Peng Xu, Minghua Zhou, Bo Zhu, and Klaus Butterbach-Bahl declare that they have no conflicts of interest or financial conflicts to disclose. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s) 2023. Published by Higher Education Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)