Abstract
Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) is apotential crop for production of bioenergy and biomass in northern Europe. In this study labelled 15N was used to follow the fate of applied N in roots and shoots of reed canary grass during a year. Two rates of15N fertiliser were applied in spring 1995 and 1996 to a clay (50 kg ha−1 and 100 kg ha−1) and an organic soil (30 kg ha−1 and 60 kg ha−1). The data did not indicate significant differences between recoveries of nitrogen following application of fertiliser at recommended and half of the recommended rates. The recovery of added N in shoots was highest at midsummer. The median values were 68% and 58% inorganic soil and 42% and 65% in clay soil, in 1995 and 1996respectively. Some of the N utilised by shoots was remobilised to the roots during autumn. The highest median recovery of applied N in roots was 19%in clay soil in October 1996, corresponding to a 13 percentage unit increase in recovery during autumn. In contrast, the lowest remobilisation was recorded after a rainy spring in clay soil, being only 3 percentage units. During winter the loss of N and fertiliser N from the shoots continued, and consequently the total N content in shoots was about half of that for autumn. In spring, one year after N application, the shoots contained 9–20% of applied N. The data suggest both intensive uptake and remobilisation of fertiliser N during over a year, following delayed harvest, and indicate the importance of the rhizome system in N turnover.
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Partala, A., Mela, T., Esala, M. et al. Plant recovery of 15N-labelled nitrogen applied to reed canary grass grown for biomass. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 61, 273–281 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013773131365
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013773131365