Abstract
Total nitrogen loss and ammonia volatilization from applications of ammonium bicarbonate and urea to flooded rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown on an acidic lacustrine clay in China were measured by15N balance and micrometeorological methods. Attempts were also made to reduce nitrogen loss by using different methods of applying the fertilizers.
Ammonia volatilization from ammonium bicarbonate was greater than that from urea (18.2% and 8.8%, respectively, of the applied N). The total loss of ammonia from urea in this study was less than the losses observed in similar studies elsewhere. This was presumably because of the low incident radiation and low floodwater pHs in this experiment.
Denitrification losses, calculated as the difference between total nitrogen loss and ammonia loss, were 42.2% and 39.3%, respectively, for ammonium bicarbonate and urea, and thus were more important than ammonia losses from both types of fertilizer.
The different management treatments studied had an appreciable effect on ammonia flux densities but did not reduce the overall loss as measured by15N-balance.
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Cai, GX., Zhu, ZL., Trevitt, A. et al. Nitrogen loss from ammonium bicarbonate and urea fertilizers applied to flooded rice. Fertilizer Research 10, 203–215 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01049350
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01049350