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Soil pH differently affects N2O emissions from soils amended with chemical fertilizer and manure by modifying nitrification and denitrification in wheat-maize rotation system

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Abstract

Emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, from farmland have been recognized to be affected by soil pH and nitrogen (N) fertilizer application. However, the interactive effects of soil pH and N fertilizer type on N2O emissions and their influencing mechanism are poorly understood. A field experiment was conducted to elucidate the impacts of synthetic fertilizer and manure on soil properties and N2O fluxes along a soil acidity gradient (soil pH = 6.8, 6.1, 5.2, and 4.2) in the Huai River Basin, and a lab incubation experiment was performed to understand the underlying mechanisms of changed N2O flux. Low soil pH inhibited the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria abundance and thereby reduced the N2O production by nitrification under both synthetic fertilizer and manure application. The N2O production by denitrification was also reduced with declining soil pH, likely due to the decreased nirS and nirK abundances, and lower NO3−. However, low soil pH reduced the nosZ abundance and increased (nirS + nirK)/nosZ ratio, resulting in the increased N2O/(N2O + N2) ratio. Finally, with the decreased nitrification and denitrification, soil N2O emission was significantly reduced with declining soil pH regardless of fertilizer types. Compared with synthetic fertilizer, manure application increased soil nutrients (total N, dissolved organic C, and NO3−), nirK abundance, and (nirS + nirK)/nosZ ratio in the soils with pH of 5.2 and 4.2, thereby promoting N2O production by denitrification and N2O/(N2O + N2) product ratio in acidic soils. Consequently, soil N2O emission was increased with manure application in acidic soils. This study provides novel insight and improves our understanding of how soil pH regulates nitrification, denitrification, and N2O emissions from soils amended with chemical fertilizer and manure, which gives guidance on developing N management strategies for sustainable production and N2O mitigation in acid soils.

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Funding

The work was supported by the Natural Science Research Project for Anhui Universities (2022AH050876), the Natural Science Foundation for Anhui Province (2308085QC88), the R&D Project on Climate-Smart Cultivation Technology for Rice and Wheat Systems along the Huai River (FYHT20230036), and the Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Farmland Ecological Conservation and Pollution Prevention (FECPP202202).

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  1. Gong Wu and Fei Liang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agronomy, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China

    Gong Wu, Fei Liang, Qi Wu, Xiao-Gang Feng, Wen-ding Shang, Hua-wei Li, Xiao-xiao Li, Zhao Che, Zhao-rong Dong & He Song

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  1. Gong Wu
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  2. Fei Liang
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  3. Qi Wu
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Contributions

Conceptualization, G.W., F.L., H.S.; formal analysis, G.W., F.L., X.F.; investigation, G.W., F.L., W.S., H.L., S.L.; writing—original draft, G.W., F.L.; writing-review and editing, X.L., Z.C., Z.D., H.S.; supervision, H.S.; founding acquisition, Z.D. and H.S.

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Correspondence to He Song.

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Wu, G., Liang, F., Wu, Q. et al. Soil pH differently affects N2O emissions from soils amended with chemical fertilizer and manure by modifying nitrification and denitrification in wheat-maize rotation system. Biol Fertil Soils 60, 101–113 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-023-01775-9

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