Abstract
This research proposes an assessment for nitrogen (N) pollution loads potential from farmland, based on comparison of N in objective crop yields with standard fertilizer usage. N in the objective yield was calculated using the “Standard Table of Food Composition in Japan”. Three findings were made by considering yields removed from farmland. First, paddy rice and beans have a low pollution potential, with rice paddies showing a negative pollution potential for N (around −14 kg/ha). Second, almost all vegetable and orchard crops tested had a high pollution potential for N, although this differed from crop to crop. Third, our outcomes align well with farmland pollution potential and non-absorbed nitrogen (NAN) as defined by Nishio, although the latter and indices rely on a laborious and complicated method. The correlation coefficients were 0.745 (R 2 = 0.555). These outcomes show the effectiveness of our proposed assessment for potential environmental pollution loads.
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Acknowledgments
We express sincere thanks to the staffs of the Ishikawa Agriculture Research Center, as well as the following Professors of Ishikawa Prefectural University, Ryūich Matsuno for suggesting use of the ‘Standard Table of Food Composition in Japan’; Koyo Yonebayashi for comments on soil and fertilizer application; and Yasutaka Kano for comments on crop residual materials and recycling.
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Maruyama, T., Hashimoto, I., Takimoto, H. et al. Assessment for nitrogen pollution loads from farmland, Japan, by objective yield and standard fertilizer usage. Paddy Water Environ 7, 151–159 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-009-0157-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-009-0157-y