Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Biogas slurry use as N fertilizer for two-season Zizania aquatica Turcz. in China

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The development of ecological circular agriculture has been highly encouraged by the Chinese government to recycle agricultural wastes, reduce mineral fertilizer input, and protect the environment. Biogas slurry, a byproduct of biogas engineering developed in rural areas of China, could be used as N fertilizer for crop growth. The field experiments were conducted in 2014 and 2015 to study the plant growth responses and environmental impacts of applying biogas slurry to two-season Zizania aquatica Turcz. growth. The potential factors that restrict the rational use of biogas slurry were also clarified. Mineral N fertilizer can be completely or partly substituted by N fertilizer from biogas slurry to satisfy Z. aquatica plant growth. It was not at the cost of sacrificing yield, dry matter accumulation, N accumulation and physiological N use efficiency in the above-ground parts. However, the growth inhibition occurs when the N quantity in biogas slurry was 2 or 2.7 times higher than that of mineral N fertilizer. Vitamin C in non-shell swollen culms (as edible part) of Z. aquatica significantly increased after biogas slurry application. Biogas slurry application substantially increased the N concentrations, i.e., total N, NH4 +–N, and NO3 −–N in floodwater and delayed the time to reach national discharge standards. However, biogas slurry application did not affect the N concentrations in percolating water compared with the treatment with mineral N fertilizer only. Applying biogass slurry did not generate potential pollution risks by trace elements (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd, As, and Hg) in the non-shell swollen culm and soil, and did not increase the nitrate content in non-shell swollen culm. We found the NH4 +–N concentration in biogas slurry can account for 77–93% of total N and reflects the N level in biogas slurry to a great degree. Semi-quantitative color-based colorimetric methods possessing simple and fast characteristics should be developed to determine the NH4 +–N concentration with the purpose of promoting reasonable use of biogas slurry in area of crop cultivation. Otherwise, excessive use of biogas slurry can adversely affect crops and increase environmental risks.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abraham ER, Ramachandran S, Ramalingam V (2007) Biogas: can it be an important source of energy? Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 14:67–71. doi:10.1065/espr2006.12.370

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arthurson V (2009) Closing the global energy and nutrient cycles through application of biogas residue to agricultural land-potential benefits and drawbacks. Energies 2:226–242. doi:10.3390/en20200226

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Balkos KD, Britto DT, Kronzucker HJ (2010) Optimization of ammonium acquisition and metabolism by potassium in rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. IR-72). Plant Cell Environ 33:23–34. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3040.2009.02046.x

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bouwman AF, Van Vuuren DP, Derwent RG, Posch M (2002) A global analysis of acidification and eutrophication of terrestrial ecosystems. Water Air Soil Pollut 141:349–382. doi:10.1023/A:1021398008726

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Britto DT, Kronzucker HJ (2002) NH4 + toxicity in higher plants: a critical review. J Plant Physiol 159:567–584. doi:10.1078/0176-1617-0774

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cassman KG, Peng S, Olk DC, Ladha JK, Reichardt W, Dobermann A, Singh U (1998) Opportunities for increased nitrogen-use efficiency from improved resource management in irrigated rice systems. Field Crops Res 56:7–39. doi:10.1016/S0378-4290(97)00140-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen ZL (2002) The research on introduction and cultivation of Chinese wild rice shoots in the Washington region of America. J Wuhan Bot Res 20:43–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen DJ, Jiang LN, Huang H, Toyota KK, Dahlgren RA, Lu J (2013a) Nitrogen dynamics of anaerobically digested slurry used to fertilize paddy fields. Biol Fertil Soils 49:647–659. doi:10.1007/s00374-012-0752-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen G, Guo SW, Kronzucker HJ (2013b) Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in rice links to NH4 + toxicity and futile NH4 + cycling in roots. Plant Soil 369:351–363. doi:10.1007/s11104-012-1575-y

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen MP, Sun F, Shindo JK (2016) China’s agricultural nitrogen flows in 2011: environmental assessment and management scenarios. Resour Conserv Recycl 111:10–27. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.03.026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahiya AK, Vasudevan P (1986) Biogas plant slurry as an alternative to chemical fertilizers. Biomass 9:67–74. doi:10.1016/0144-4565(86)90013-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dai GZ, Deblois CP, Liu SW, Juneau P, Qiu BS (2008) Differential sensitivity of five cyanobacterial strains to ammonium toxicity and its inhibitory mechanism on the photosynthesis of rice-field cyanobacterium Ge-Xian-Mi (Nostoc). Aquat Toxicol 89:113–121. doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2008.06.007

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Duan GL, Zhang HM, Liu YX, Jia Y, Hu Y, Cheng WD (2012) Long-term fertilization with pig-biogas residues results in heavy metal accumulation in paddy field and rice grains in Jiaxing of China. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 58:637–646. doi:10.1080/00380768.2012.726597

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Elfstrand S, Bath B, Martensson A (2007) Influence of various forms of green manure amendment on soil microbial community composition, enzyme activity and nutrient levels in leek. Appl Soil Ecol 36:70–82. doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2006.11.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garg RN, Pathak H, Das DK, Tomar RK (2005) Use of flyash and biogas slurry for improving wheat yield and physical properties of soil. Environ Monit Assess 107:1–9. doi:10.1007/s10661-005-2021-x

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Geeta GS, Sreenivasa MN (2002) Influence of biogas spent slurry on growth and yield of bhendi. J Maharashtra Agric Univ 27:64–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo HB, Li SM, Peng J, Ke WD (2007) Zizania latifolia Turcz. cultivated in China. Genet Resour Crop Evol 54:1211–1217. doi:10.1007/s10722-006-9102-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gutser R, Ebertseder T, Weber A, Schraml M, Schmidhalter U (2005) Short-term and residual availability of nitrogen after long-term application of organic fertilizers on arable land. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 168:439–446. doi:10.1002/jpln.200520510

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hou H, Zhou S, Hosomi M, Toyota K, Yosimura K, Mutou Y, Nisimura T, Takayanagi M, Motobayashi T (2007) Ammonia emissions from anaerobically digested slurry and chemical fertilizer applied to flooded forage rice. Water Air Soil Pollut 183:37–48. doi:10.1007/s11270-007-9353-9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Islam MDR, Rahman SME, Rahman MDM (2010) The effects of biogas slurry on the production and quality of maize fodder. Turk J Agric For 34:91–99. doi:10.3906/tar-0902-44

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobi HF, Moschner CR, Hartung E (2009) Use of near infrared spectroscopy in monitoring of volatile fatty acids in anaerobic digestion. Water Sci Technol 60:339–346. doi:10.2166/wst.2009.345

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kotsiras A, Olympios CM, Passam HC (2005) Effects of nitrogen form and concentration on yield and quality of cucumbers grown on rockwool during spring and winter n southern Greece. J Plant Nutr 28:2027–2035. doi:10.1080/01904160500311102

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laurentin A, Edwards CA (2003) A microtiter modification of the anthrone-sulfuric acid colorimetric assay for glucosebased carbohydrates. Anal Biochem 315:143–145. doi:10.1016/S0003-2697(02)00704-2

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li RA, Cao XF, Yu ZY (1984) Genetic characteristics and classification of the paddy soils developed on the bluish purple clay and the quaternary red clay in Zhejiang province. Acta Agric Univ Zhejiangensis 3:315–323 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li BH, Li Q, Xiong LM, Kronzucker HJ, Krämer U, Shi WM (2012a) Arabidopsis plastid AMOS1/EGY1 integrates abscisic acid signaling to regulate global gene expression response to ammonium stress. Plant Physiol 160:2040–2051. doi:10.1104/pp.112.206508

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Li FJ, Dong SC, Li F (2012b) A system dynamics model for analyzing the eco-agriculture system with policy recommendations. Ecol Model 227:34–45. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2011.12.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu ZH, Jiang LH, Li XL, Hardter R, Zhang WJ, Zhang YL, Zheng DF (2008) Effect of N and K fertilizers on yield and quality of greenhouse vegetable crops. Pedosphere 18:496–502. doi:10.1016/S1002-0160(08)60040-5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu WK, Yang QC, Du LF (2009) Soilless cultivation for high-quality vegetables with biogas manure in China: feasibility and benefit analysis. Renew Agric Food Syst 24:300–307. doi:10.1017/S1742170509990081

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lo KSL, Yang WF, Lin YC (1992) Effects of organic matter on the specific adsorption of heavy metals by soil. Toxicol Environ Chem 34:139–153. doi:10.1080/02772249209357787

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu J, Jiang LN, Chen DJ, Toyota K, Strong PJ, Wang HL (2012) Decontamination of anaerobically digested slurry in a paddy field ecosystem in Jiaxing region of China. Agric Ecosyst Environ 146:13–22. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2011.10.011

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marcato CE, Pinelli E, Cecchi M, Winterton P, Guiresse M (2009) Bioavailability of Cu and Zn in raw and anaerobically digested pig slurry. Ecotoxicol Environ Safe 72:1538–1544. doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2008.12.010

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China (2014) http://www.zzys.moa.gov.cn/

  • Miranda KM, Espey MG, Wink DA (2001) A rapid, simple spectrophotometric method for simultaneous detection of nitrate and nitrite. Nitric Oxide 5:62–71. doi:10.1006/niox.2000.0319

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Montemurro F, Canali S, Convertini G (2008) Anaerobic digestates application on fodder crops: effects on plant and soil. Agrochemica 52:297–312

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China (2015) http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/zxfb/201602/t20160229_1323991.html

  • National Groundwater Quality Standard of China (1993) GB/T 14848-1993. Standards Press of China, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • National Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard of China (1999) GB 8978-1996. Standards Press of China, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • National Maximum Levels of Contaminates in Foods of China (2005) GB2762-2005. Standards Press of China, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • National Maximum Levels of Cu in Foods of China (1991) GB13106-91. Standards Press of China, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • National Maximum Levels of Zn in Foods of China (1994) GB15199-94. Standards Press of China, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • National Soil Environmental Quality Standard of China (1995) GB15618-1995. Standards Press of China, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng SZ, Yang SH, Xu JZ, Luo YF, Hou HJ (2011) Nitrogen and phosphorus leaching losses from paddy fields with different water and nitrogen managements. Paddy Water Environ 9:333–342. doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2014.04.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qin BT (2015) Sustainable agricultural development in rural China: the way of addressing agricultural pollution. Sustainable development in rural China. Chapter 2, pp 13–22. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-46476-2_2

  • Ruser R, Schulz R (2015) The effect of nitrification inhibitors on the nitrous oxide (N2O) release from agricultural soils. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 178:4–12. doi:10.1002/jpln.201400251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schortemeyer M, Stamp P, Feil B (1997) Ammonium tolerance and carbohydrate status in maize cultures. Ann Bot 79:25–30. doi:10.1006/anbo.1996.0298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheets JP, Yang LC, Ge XM, Wang ZW, Li YB (2015) Beyond land application: emerging technologies for the treatment and reuse of anaerobically digested agricultural and food waste. Waste Manag 44:94–115. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2015.07.037

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shi WM, Xu WF, Li SM, Zhao XQ, Dong GQ (2010) Responses of two rice cultivars differing in seedling-stage nitrogen use efficiency to growth under low-nitrogen condition. Plant Soil 326:291–302. doi:10.1007/s11104-009-0007-0

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Svoboda N, Taube F, Wienforth B, Klup C, Kage H, Herrmann A (2013) Nitrogen leaching losses after biogas residue application to maize. Soil Tillage Res 130:69–80. doi:10.1016/j.still.2013.02.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tan F, Wang Z, Zhouyang SY, Li HL, Xie YP, Wang YP, Zheng YM, Li QB (2016) Nitrogen and phosphorus removal coupled with carbohydrate production by five microalgae cultures cultivated in biogas slurry. Bioresour Technol 221:385–393. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2016.09.030

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Terhoeven-Urselmans T, Scheller E, Raubuch M, Ludwig B, Joergensen RG (2009) CO2 evolution and N mineralization after biogas slurry application in the field and its yield effects on spring barley. Appl Soil Ecol 42:297–302. doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2009.05.012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terrell EE, Batra LR (1982) Zizania latifolia and Ustilago esculenta, a grass-fungus association. Econ Bot 36:274–285. doi:10.1007/BF02858549

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USDA/NRCS (1999) Soil taxonomy. A basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys, 2nd edn. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu FG, Wang L, Wang J, Yuan JF, Wang HM, Li G, Wang BX (2011) Effects of biogas slurry content on development and yield and quality of flue-cured tobacco leaf. Hubei Agric Sci 8:1606–1610 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Xue YF, Shi ZQ, Chen J, Yan SH, Zheng JC (2012) Promotion of the growth and quality of Chinese cabbage by application of biogas slurry of water hyacinth. Appl Mech Mater 195–196:1200–1206. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.195-196.1200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu XP, Li JR, Shi JM, Deng SQ, Deng CR, Wu C, Li BF (2003) The aquatic vegetable, Jiaobai (Zizania caduciflora L.) and its safe production in Zhejiang Province. Acta Agric Zhejiang 15(3):109–117 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu FB, Luo XP, Song CF, Zhang MX (2010) Concentrated biogas slurry enhanced soil fertility and tomato quality. Acta Agric 60:262–268. doi:10.1080/09064710902893385

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhai CK, Lu CM, Zhang XQ, Sun GJ, Lorenz KJ (2001) Comparative study on nutritional value of Chinese and North American wild rice. J Food Compos Anal 14:371–382. doi:10.1006/jfca.2000.0979

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng XB, Fan JB, Cui J, Wang Y, Zhou J, Ye M, Sun MM (2016) Effects of biogas slurry application on peanut yield, soil nutrients, carbon storage, and microbial activity in Ultisol soil in southern China. J Soils Sediments 16:449–460. doi:10.1007/s11368-015-1254-8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu ZL, Chen DL (2002) Nitrogen fertilizer use in China—contributions to food production impacts on the environment and best management strategies. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 63:117–127. doi:10.1023/A:1021107026067

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu K, Choi HL, Yao HQ, Suresh A, Oh DI (2009) Effects of anaerobically digested pig slurry application on runoff and leachate. Chem Ecol 25:359–369. doi:10.1080/02757540903193114

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Jiaxing Science Technology Program (2014AZ21005), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LY16D050002), and the National Natural Science Foundation (31572205).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Development of Agricultural Ecological Environment, Jiaxing Academy of Agricultural Science, Jiaxing, 314016, China

    Gui Chen, Hongmei Zhang, Yaqiang Shen & Wangda Cheng

  2. College of Biological, Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001, China

    Guohua Zhao

  3. Agricultural Economic Center of Shimen Town, Tongxiang, 314512, China

    Hongbiao Fei

Authors
  1. Gui Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Guohua Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hongmei Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yaqiang Shen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hongbiao Fei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Wangda Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Guohua Zhao or Wangda Cheng.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chen, G., Zhao, G., Zhang, H. et al. Biogas slurry use as N fertilizer for two-season Zizania aquatica Turcz. in China. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 107, 303–320 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-017-9831-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-017-9831-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation