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Effects of 14 years of repeated pig manure application on gross nitrogen transformation in an upland red soil in China

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Abstract

Aims

Long-term application of pig manure can improve soil fertility and alleviate soil acidification, but also increase nitrogen (N) losses in subtropical upland red soils. However, mechanisms driving N losses via nitrate leaching or N2O emissions remain unknown. Herein we investigated long-term pig manure applications in upland red soils by assessing soil N transformation dynamics.

Methods

Pig manure was applied with or without lime over a 14-year period in four treatments: No manure (CK); Low-rate manure (LM, 150 kg N ha−1 y−1); High-rate manure (HM, 600 kg N ha−1 y−1); High-rate manure and lime (HML, 600 kg N ha−1 y−1 and 3000 kg Ca(OH)2 ha−1 (3y)−1). 15N tracing was used to quantify gross N transformation and N dynamics.

Results

Prolonged manure application increased soil gross N mineralization and NH4 + immobilization, although the increase was only significant for HM. Both rates were further enhanced by lime addition. Gross autotrophic nitrification also increased with increasing manure application, and further increased with lime addition. In contrast, dissimilatory NO3 − reduction to NH4 + (DNRA) and NO3 − immobilization were negligible irrespective of manure application. Thus, NO3 − produced via autotrophic nitrification was not converted to NH4 + and microbial biomass N, and accumulated in soil. Gross autotrophic nitrification was positively correlated with N2O emissions and NO3 − leaching, suggesting it largely determined N losses.

Conclusions

Autotrophic nitrification governs N losses in upland red soils receiving repeated manure applications, and attempts to reduce N emissions or N leaching should therefore control this.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the “973” Poject (2015CB954201, 2014CB953803), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41330744, 41671231), the Science and Technology Service of Chinese Academy Project (KFJ-SW-STS-142), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD, 164320H116).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Jing Wang, Jinbo Zhang & Zucong Cai

  2. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Yi Cheng, Yuji Jiang, Bo Sun & Jianbo Fan

  3. Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment (Nanjing Normal University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Jinbo Zhang & Zucong Cai

  4. State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base of Geographic Environment Evolution (Jiangsu Province), Nanjing, 210023, China

    Jinbo Zhang & Zucong Cai

  5. Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nangjing, 210023, China

    Jinbo Zhang & Zucong Cai

  6. Department of Plant Ecology (IFZ), Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    Christoph Müller

  7. School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Christoph Müller

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  1. Jing Wang
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Correspondence to Jinbo Zhang.

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Wang, J., Cheng, Y., Jiang, Y. et al. Effects of 14 years of repeated pig manure application on gross nitrogen transformation in an upland red soil in China. Plant Soil 415, 161–173 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-3156-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-3156-y

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