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An improved nitrogen difference method for estimating biological nitrogen fixation in legume-based intercropping systems

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Abstract

The nitrogen difference method (NDM) for quantifying N2 fixation, based on the same amount of soil N exploited by N2-fixing and non-N2-fixing plant, may not be suitable to plants with different root traits. We tested the reliability of NDM in legume-based intercropping systems by two field experiments in Northwest China. In experiment 1, faba bean (Vicia faba), pea (Pisum sativum), and soybean (Glycine max) grew solely or intercropped with maize (Zea mays) with two N application rates (0, 225 kg ha−1). The biomass of faba bean, pea, and maize was significantly increased, whereas that of soybean was decreased when intercropped than solely grown. Aggressivity analyses demonstrate greater N competition ability of faba bean and pea, but not soybean, than maize. An improved NDM (INDM) could mitigate these effects: \( {N_{{\text{fix - int}}}} = \left[ {{N_{{\text{leg - int}}}} + \frac{{1 - x}}{x}{N_{{\text{ref - int}}}} - \frac{{{N_{{\text{ref - sole}}}}}}{x}} \right] + \left[ {{\text{soil}}{N_{{\text{leg - int}}}} + \frac{{1 - x}}{x}{\text{soil}}{N_{{\text{ref - int}}}} - \frac{{{\text{soil}}{N_{{\text{ref - sole}}}}}}{x}} \right] \), where x and 1 − x are planting area of legume and non-legume in the intercropping system. Compared to traditional NDM (TNDM, \( {N_{{\text{fix - int}}}} = \left[ {{N_{{\text{leg - int}}}} - {N_{{\text{ref - sole}}}}} \right] + \left[ {{\text{soil}}{N_{{\text{leg - int}}}} - {\text{soil}}{N_{{\text{ref - sole}}}}} \right] \)), %N dfa (N derived from air) by INDM was decreased by 54.3% and 39.8% for faba bean, 44.7% and 5.0% for pea, but increased by 113.5% and 191.0% for soybean at the two N application rates, indicating different %N dfa quantifications between the two methods. In experiment 2, %N dfa of sole or intercropped faba bean was quantified by TNDM, INDM, and 15N natural abundance method (NA). The %N dfa only by INDM correlated significantly with that from NA. Both interspecific root interactions and N loss affect %N dfa estimation. Our results suggested that INDM could be more suitable than TNDM for quantifying %N dfa of a N2-fixing plant in intercropping systems.

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Abbreviations

INDM:

Improved nitrogen difference method

BNF:

Biological nitrogen fixation

NA:

15N natural abundance method

N dfa :

Nitrogen derived from air

TNDM:

Traditional nitrogen difference method

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the financial support from the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (20040019035), Ministry of Education, China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project 30821003 and 30670381). We are grateful to W. Chen, Y. Wang, and X.G. Bao for their help in field works and to Dr. Paolo Nannipieri for correction of the earlier version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Chang-Bing Yu, Yu-Ying Li, Chun-Jie Li, Fu-Suo Zhang & Long Li

  2. Institute of Soils and Fertilizers, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, 730070, People’s Republic of China

    Jian-Hao Sun

  3. School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia

    X. H. He

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  1. Chang-Bing Yu
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Correspondence to Long Li.

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Yu, CB., Li, YY., Li, CJ. et al. An improved nitrogen difference method for estimating biological nitrogen fixation in legume-based intercropping systems. Biol Fertil Soils 46, 227–235 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-009-0418-3

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