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Assessment of nitrate leakage and N2O emission from five environmental-friendly agricultural practices using fuzzy logic method and empirical formula

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Abstract

Agricultural nonpoint source pollution in China has been the major environmental problem, so environmental-friendly agricultural practices (EAPs) must be promoted to improve environmental quality. However, the most suitable practices for each agricultural region must first be identified. Thus, in the presented study a fuzzy-logic method and a revised empirical formula were used to assess nitrate leakage and N2O emissions, respectively, and to compare five EAPs in Xinxiang, a major grain-producing county in Henan Province, China. The required information was collected in face–to–face interviews with 10 extension service experts from the county, using a questionnaire to explore their opinions of the EAPs currently adopted by smallholder farmers, as well as the amounts, frequencies, varieties and proportions of nitrogen fertilizers applied annually. The results indicate that reduced tillage, soil testing and fertilizer recommendations would be the most appropriate practices to initially promote on a large scale in Xinxiang.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for this paper was provided by the National S&T Major Project (No. 2012ZX07101004 and No. 2014ZX07105001), Agricultural Clean Watershed Innovation Project, National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant 31170416), and Special Foundation for Basic Scientific Research of Central Public Welfare Institute (BSRF201209). The authors are grateful to editors and anonymous reviewers.

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  1. Agricultural Clean Watershed Group, Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, CAAS, Key Laboratory for Agricultural Environment MOA, Beijing, 100081, China

    Lihuan Qin, Yongfeng Wu, Qian Wang & Liangguo Luo

  2. Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, CAAS, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yan Wang

  3. Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, CAS, Beijing, 100085, China

    Lihuan Qin

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  1. Lihuan Qin
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  2. Yan Wang
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Qin, L., Wang, Y., Wu, Y. et al. Assessment of nitrate leakage and N2O emission from five environmental-friendly agricultural practices using fuzzy logic method and empirical formula. Environ Monit Assess 187, 371 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4569-4

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