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Quantifying the fate of nitrogen from cereal rye root and shoot biomass using 15N

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Abstract

Cereal rye (CR, Secale cereale, L.) is the most common cover crop species in the United States. However, despite numerous environmental benefits, the number of acres planted to CR annually remains low. Lack of adoption could be related to the dearth of knowledge on the fate of scavenged CR nitrogen. Thus, the objectives of this study were to use 15N to track the fate of CR nitrogen amongst soil nitrogen pools, and explore CR nitrogen bioavailability over time. Our results indicated that soil type did not affect CR residue decomposition. However, 85% of shoot nitrogen and 11% of root nitrogen was released (moved from the residue to the measured soil N pools) during the incubation period demonstrating that residue type and quality plays a role in determining the dynamics of CR nitrogen release. On a whole plant basis, 14% of CR nitrogen became plant bioavailable over the course of the incubation, with the majority observed at or after 68 days of incubation. Further, at the final sampling date 53% of whole plant nitrogen remained in the organic form within the soil and 33% remained as undecomposed residues. While the majority of CR nitrogen did not enter the inorganic nitrogen pool indicating that CR provides little plant available N in the short-term, it helps elucidate some of the environmental responses observed after the adoption of CR. These results advance the knowledge of CR nitrogen fate and could aid in development of adaptive nitrogen fertilizer management strategies for producers adopting CR.

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Availability of data and material

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

Code utilized in SAS version 9.4 for analyses conducted during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

N:

Nitrogen

CR:

Cereal rye

CC:

Cover crop

MBN:

Microbial biomass nitrogen

GDD:

Growing degree day

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Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their contributions towards this product: Clayton Nevins, Houston Miller, Adebukola Dada, and Andrew Smith.

Funding

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2017-38640-26916 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number GNC18-269 (RTR), as well as Hatch Grants IND010811 (SDA) and IND010844 (JJC). USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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  1. Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, 915 W State St., West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Richard T. Roth, Corey G. Lacey, James J. Camberato & Shalamar D. Armstrong

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  1. Richard T. Roth
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Roth, R.T., Lacey, C.G., Camberato, J.J. et al. Quantifying the fate of nitrogen from cereal rye root and shoot biomass using 15N. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 125, 219–234 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-022-10213-5

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