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Effects of nitrogen fertilizer on the acidification of two typical acid soils in South China

  • IHSS 16: FUNCTIONS OF NATURAL ORGANIC MATTER IN CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

A laboratory incubation under constant temperature and humidity was conducted to estimate the impacts of nitrogen (N) fertilizers on the acidification of two acid soils (Plinthudult and Paleudalfs) in south China.

Materials and methods

The experiment had three treatments, i.e., control (CK), addition of urea (U), and addition of ammonium sulfate (AS). We measured soil pH, nitrate (NO3 −), ammonium (NH4 +), exchangeable hydrogen ion (H+), and aluminum ion (Al3+) concentrations at various intervals during the 90 days of incubation. Soil buffering capacity (pHBC) was also measured at the end of the experiment.

Results and discussion

The application of N fertilizers resulted in soil acidification. The U treatment caused greater acidification of the Plinthudult soil than the AS treatment, while there were no differences between U and AS treatments on the acidification of the Paleudalfs. At the end of the trial, the pHBC of Plinthudult in AS treatment was greater than that in CK and U treatments, which may be due to the buffering system of NH4 + and NH4OH. However, the pHBC of Paleudalfs was unchanged between treatments. The dynamics of exchangeable H+ and Al3+ corresponded to that of soil pH. Correlation analysis showed that both soil exchangeable H+ and soil exchangeable Al3+ were significantly related to soil pH.

Conclusions

Application of urea and ammonium sulfate caused acidification in both soils and increased soil exchangeable Al3+ and H+ concentrations in the Paleudalfs. The application of urea increased exchangeable Al3+, and ammonium sulfate increased pHBC in the Plinthudult.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2011CB100502), the National Science and Technology Support Program (2012BAD05B04 and 2012BAD15B04) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Subtropical Soil and Plant Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, People’s Republic of China

    Jian Zhou, Fang Xia, Xingmei Liu, Yan He, Jianming Xu & Philip C. Brookes

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  1. Jian Zhou
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  2. Fang Xia
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  3. Xingmei Liu
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  4. Yan He
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  5. Jianming Xu
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Correspondence to Yan He or Jianming Xu.

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Responsible editor: Scott X. Chang

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Zhou, J., Xia, F., Liu, X. et al. Effects of nitrogen fertilizer on the acidification of two typical acid soils in South China. J Soils Sediments 14, 415–422 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-013-0695-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-013-0695-1

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