Abstract
It is not clear how the number of 15 N-injection needles affects the estimated results of gross N transformation rates in the presence of plants. To evaluate this, a 15 N tracing study of sandy loam soil and a silty loam soil in the presence of maize (Zea mays L., cv. “Zhengdan 958”) was conducted and the Ntraceplant tool was used to quantify gross N transformation rates. Our results showed that the number of 15 N-injection needles could significantly influence the estimated results of gross N transformation rates in the studied soil–plant systems. There was no discernible difference in the gross rates of N mineralization (Min), the oxidation of NH4+ to NO3− (ONH4), the oxidation of recalcitrant organic-N to NO3− (ONrec), the NH4+ and NO3− plant uptake between 4-needle and 6-needle injections for both studied soils. However, for the 1-needle and 2-needle injections in the silty loam soil, Min was significantly lower than the 4-needle and 6-needle injections. While, in sandy loam soil, Min measured with 1-needle injection was significantly higher than the 4-needle and 6-needle injections. The ONH4 and ONrec also varied for the 1-needle and 2-needle injections, compared to the 4-needle and 6-needle injections. The total plant N uptake rate declined with the increase in the number of injection needles. Based on these results and considering the simplicity of the experimental procedure, we suggest that the 4-needle injection could be used in the 15 N tracing studies conducted in pot (diameter = 6.4 cm in this study) experiments with plants, i.e., one needle for about 8 cm2.
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Data Availability
All data used in this study are available from the corresponding author by request.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers U20A20107 and 41830642], Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province [KYCX22_1588], and the “Double World-Classes” Development in Geography project. The study was carried out as part of the IAEA-funded coordinated research project “Minimizing farming impacts on climate change by enhancing carbon and nitrogen capture and storage in Agro-Ecosystems (D1.50.16)” and was carried out in close collaboration with the German Science Foundation research unit DASIM (FOR 2337).
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Zhu, Q., Wang, W., Dai, S. et al. Effects of the number of 15 N-injection needles on the estimation of gross N transformation rates using 15 N tracing tool including plant. Biol Fertil Soils 60, 47–51 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-023-01697-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-023-01697-6