O. Van Cleemput

Nitrite: a key compound in N loss processes under acid conditions?

Nitrite is very important in N transformation processes because it is an intermediate product in the aerobic nitrification as well as in the anaerobic denitrification process. Under soil conditions whereby aerobic and anaerobic zones are close to each other, the mobile nitrite can be a link between both N transformation processes. Because of its low stability in acid conditions, nitrite can be a key compound in N loss processes.

Progress in Nitrogen Cycling Studies

N research effort has undergone major changes over recent decades with changing emphasis because of environmental problems and issues. This driving force, coupled with a universal desire to improve N-use efficiency, appreciation of the importance of maintaining soil resource quality and a need to provide integrated landscape managements, will continue to prompt new research areas and issues for study. Already, much information has been provided and new approaches and needs defined. It will be essential in future research to take full note of the many interactions that occur and to provide a mechanistic basis so that scaling of effects can be undertaken with the appropriate simplification without being superficial. Examples of interactions, as well as fundamental gaps in the basic processes are discussed and needs for future research identified.

Methane oxidation in soils with different textures and land use

Intact core samples from soils with different textures and land use were tested for their capacity to oxidise methane. The soil cores were taken from arable land, grassland and forest. It was found that coarse textured soils (6.74–16.38 µg CH4 m-2 h-1) showed a higher methane uptake rate than fine textured soils (4.66–5.34 µg CH4 m-2 h-1). Increasing soil tortuosity was thought to reduce the methane oxidation rate in fine textured soils. The oxidation rate of forest soils (16.32–16.38 µg CH4 m-2 h-1), even with a pH below 4.5, was very pronounced and higher than arable land (11.40–14.47 µg CH4 m-2 h-1) and grassland (6.74–9.30 µg CH4 m-2 h-1). Within the same textural class arable land showed a faster methane uptake rate than grassland. In grassland with a fine texture, even methane production was observed. Nitrogen availability and turnover in these land use systems were thought to cause the different oxidation rates. Decreasing the moisture content slowed down the oxidation rate in all soils. This could be caused by an increased N turnover and a starvation of the methanotrophic bacteria.

Effect of urease inhibitors on urea hydrolysis and ammonia volatilization

SummaryTwo laboratory incubation experiments were conducted to study the effects of the urease inhibitors hydroquinone (HQ), phenyl phosphorodiamidate (PPDA), and N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) in retarding the hydrolysis of urea, in the evolution of mineral N, and in reducing NH3 loss through volatilization, under aerobic and waterlogged conditions, both at 25°C. NBPT generally exceeded PPDA and HQ in the ability to delay urea hydrolysis and NHinf4sup+accumulation under aerobic conditions, whereas PPDA retarded these activities more effectively under anaerobic conditions. HQ was less effective than the other two urease inhibitors. Under aerobic conditions, 20% of the applied urea was lost through NH3 volatilization after 5 days in the system without an inhibitor. With the addition of HQ and PPDA, the volatilization was delayed by 1 day but not eliminated. NBPT effectively decreased the NH3 loss, from 20 to 3% of the applied urea. A more severe N loss (40%) occurred in the waterlogged system. HQ had little effect on NH3 volatilization. PPDA decreased the NH3 loss from 40 to less than 20% of the applied urea. The effectiveness of NBPT decreased under anaerobic conditions. It was concluded that urease inhibitors can reduce NH3 volatilization following the application of urea. However, environmental conditions might have an important influence on the effectiveness of these inhibitors.

Simulation of net N immobilisation and mineralisation in substrate-amended soils by the NCSOIL computer model

Abstract The capability of the NCSOIL computer model to simulate the effects of residue fractions on mineralisation-immobilisation turnover was evaluated. Heterogeneous organic substrates were represented in the model by three Van Soest pools, decomposing at different rates. Dried and ground wheat straw, sunflower stalks, wheat stubble and sheep manure (5.22 g kg–1 soil) were respectively added to a Chromic Calcixerert and aerobically incubated for 224 days at 22±2  °C and 75% field capacity. The CO2 evolution rates peaked shortly after the C amendments were added, with the highest rate in the sunflower- stalk-amended soils. The addition of organic substrates induced rapid N immobilisation. Net mineralisation was detected earliest in the sunflower-stalk treatment (day 14), while soils with the other amendments showed no net N mineralisation until day 52. The NCSOIL model was calibrated for this soil with CO2 and inorganic N data from the control soil, yielding a χ2 value of 0.011. The overestimation by the model of the C mineralisation data in the case of C-amended soils clearly showed that the concept of three Van Soest pools, decomposing independently at a specific rate constant, is not valid. A retardation factor, that was related to the lignin content of the decomposing material, was introduced into the model. After its introduction the model satisfactorily simulated the C mineralisation rates. However, for all plant residues, N mineralisation was underestimated towards the end of the incubation period. In the case of the soil amended with sheep manure, there was a large discrepancy between simulated and experimental N mineralisation-immobilisation kinetics, suggesting a different allocation of N in animal manure to N-containing fractions compared to that of plant residues. The results indicated that a N fractionation procedure for organic residues should be tested and incorporated into the model.

The influence of land use and pesticides on methane oxidation in some Belgian soils.

Abstract In a first experiment, the effect of land use on the uptake rate of atmospheric CH4 was studied in laboratory incubations of intact soil cores. A soil under deciduous forest showed the highest CH4 oxidation. Its overall CH4 uptake during the measuring period (202 days) was 1.03 kg CH4 ha–1. Natural grassland showed the second highest CH4 oxidizing capacity (0.71 kg CH4 ha–1). The overall amount of CH4 uptake by fertilized pasture was 0.33 kg CH4 ha–1. CH4 oxidation in arable soils with different fertilizer treatments varied between 0.34 and 0.37 kg CH4 ha–1. Undisturbed soils had a higher CH4 uptake capacity than agricultural soils. The moisture content of the soil was found to be an important parameter explaining temporal variations of CH4 oxidation. Different methods of fertilization which had been commenced 10 years previously were not yet reflected in the total CH4 uptake rate of the arable soil. In a second experiment, a number of frequently used pesticides were screened for their possible effect on CH4 oxidation. In a sandy arable soil lenacil, mikado and oxadixyl caused significantly reduced CH4 oxidation compared to the control. Under the same conditions, but in a clayey arable soil, mikado, atrazine and dimethenamid caused a reduction of the CH4 uptake. In a landfill cover soil, with a 100-fold higher CH4 oxidation rate, no inhibition of CH4 oxidation was observed, not even when the application rate of pesticides was tenfold higher than usual.

Mitigation of N2O and CH4 emission from rice and wheat cropping systems using dicyandiamide and hydroquinone

Agriculture contributes considerably to the emission of greenhouse gases, such as N2O and CH4. Here we summarize results from previous pot experiments assessing the effectiveness of urease and nitrification inhibitors reducing both N2O and CH4 emissions from wheat and rice cropping systems fertilized with urea (U). For the wheat cropping system, using a cambisol, we observed that the application of U with hydroquinone (HQ, a urease inhibitor), U with dicyandiamide (DCD, a nitrification inhibitor) and U with HQ plus DCD decreased the N2O emissions by 11.4, 22.3 and 25.1%, respectively. For the rice copping system, using a luvisol, we found that the application of U with HQ, U with DCD and U with HQ plus DCD decreased N2O emissions by 10.6, 47.0 and 62.3%, respectively, and CH4 emissions by 30.1, 53.1 and 58.3%, respectively. In terms of total global warming potential (GWP) a reduction of 61.2% could be realized via the combined addition of HQ and DCD. The addition of wheat straw reduced the activity of HQ and DCD in the rice cropping experiments. In terms of total GWP only a reduction of 30.7% could be achieved. In general, both in upland and flooded conditions, the application of HQ and DCD alone was less effective than HQ in combination with DCD, but not significantly for U plus DCD treatment. Our observations may be further constrained, however, by practical, economic or social problems and should therefore be tested at the scale of a region (e.g. a watershed) and related to an integrated abatement of agricultural N losses.

Ammonia emissions from anaerobic swine lagoons: Model development

Concentrated animal production may represent a significant source for ammonia emissions to the environment. Most concentrated animal production systems use anaerobic or liquid/slurry systems for wasteholding; thus, it is desirable to be able to predict ammonia emissions from these systems. A process model was developed to use commonly available measurements, including effluent concentration, water temperature, wind speed, and effluent pH. The developed model simulated emissions, as measured by micrometeorological techniques, with an accuracy that explains 70% of the variability of the data using average daily emissions and explains 50% of the variability of the data using 4-h average data. The process model did not show increased accuracy over a statistical model, but the deviations between model and measurement were distributed more evenly in the case of the process model than in the case of the statistical model.

Nitrite stability influenced by iron compounds

Abstract The decomposition of nitrite was studied in the presence of (1) different amounts of ferrous iron and (2) an amorphous and a crystalline (haematite) iron product at different pH and Eh conditions. It was found that ferrous iron positively influenced the nitrite decomposition. Even at pH 6, where self-decomposition is excluded, some nitrite was decomposed. It was shown that at all studied pH values the second order decomposition rate increased as the amount of ferrous iron increased. From the calculation of the activation energy it was found that the dependence of the rate constant on temperature increased when the medium was more acid, or when the amount of Fe2+ increased at the same pH. The nitrite half-life was longest at pH 6, 25°C and 200 mg Fe2+ l−1; it was shortest at pH 4, 30°C and 800 mg Fe2+ l−1. The experiments with Fe2+ derived from solid iron compounds showed that all conditions favouring a high amount of ferrous iron in solution, such as low redox potential, low pH, amorphous or less crystalline material, enhanced nitrite decomposition.

A methodology for the calculation of farm level nitrogen and phosphorus balances in Flemish agriculture

Abstract Since the early 1990s, Flemish agriculture has been confronted with serious nutrient problems. Recently, the Flemish Government started encouraging farmers to take responsibility for the manure problem. This was done by giving them the choice between a manure administration system, based on fixed standards, or a nutrient balance system. In this project a methodology for the composition of nutrient balances at farm level in Flanders was developed. This methodology defines input–output models for the different sectors (cattle, pigs and poultry) and fixes rules on how to determine quantities and nutrient contents for several products. In addition, nutrient flows were followed during 1 year on 40 Flemish farms in different sectors and a mineral balance was calculated for each of them. Four major restrictions to the accurate calculation of farm level nutrient balances were identified: (1) the wide variability that is allowed between actual and reported nutrient composition of concentrated feed; (2) the estimates of the amount and composition of manure; (3) the assessment of changes in standing stock on the farm between the beginning and end of the reporting period and (4) the accuracy of the data supplied by the farmers.