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Assessment of nitrate leaching loss on a yield-scaled basis from maize and wheat cropping systems

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Abstract

Background and aims

It is so far a gap in knowledge to assess nitrate (NO3 −) leaching loss linking with crop yield for a given cereal cropping system.

Methods

We conducted a meta-analysis on 32 published studies reporting both NO3 − leaching losses and crop yields in the maize (N = 20) and wheat (N = 12) systems.

Results

On average, 22 % and 15 % of applied fertilizer N to wheat and maize systems worldwide are leached in the form of NO3 −, respectively. The average area-scaled NO3 - leaching loss for maize (57.4 kg N ha−1) was approx. two times higher than for wheat (29.0 kg N ha−1). While, if scaled to crop yields, the average yield-scaled NO3 − losses were comparable between maize (5.40 kg N Mg−1) and wheat (5.41 kg N Mg−1) systems. Across all sites, the lowest yield-scaled NO3 − leaching losses were observed at slightly suboptimal fertilization rates, corresponding to 90 % and 96 % of maximum maize or wheat yields, respectively.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that small adjustments of agricultural N management practices can effectively reduce yield-scaled NO3 − leaching losses. However, further targeted field experiments are still needed to identify at regional scale best agricultural management practices for reducing yield-scaled NO3 − leaching losses in maize and wheat systems.

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Acknowledgments

This study was gratefully supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41271321), the Helmholtz-CAS Joint Laboratory ENTRANCE and is part of the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security programme (CCAFS) of CGIAR institutes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Kreuzeckbahnstr.19, 82467, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

    Minghua Zhou & Klaus Butterbach-Bahl

  2. International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Old Naivasha Road, 00100, Nairobi, Kenya

    Klaus Butterbach-Bahl

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  1. Minghua Zhou
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  2. Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
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Correspondence to Klaus Butterbach-Bahl.

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Responsible Editor: Zucong Cai.

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Zhou, M., Butterbach-Bahl, K. Assessment of nitrate leaching loss on a yield-scaled basis from maize and wheat cropping systems. Plant Soil 374, 977–991 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1876-9

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