Decomposition and nitrogen release of understorey plant residues in biological and integrated apple orchards under field conditions in New Zealand

Tutua, Shane Sarere; Goh, K. M.; Daly, M.

doi:10.1007/s00374-002-0472-6

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…This is in agreement with literature which has repeatedly shown that incorporation will improve decomposition , due to better contact with microorganisms and lower risks of drying compared with surface applied material (Kumar and Goh 2000;Tutua et al 2002). From day 41 to day 87 the differences became smaller and all bags, with the exception of surface applied manure, released more than 80% of their initial N. This agreed relatively well with expectations from the different quality parameters and with findings from former experiments with Gliricidia decomposition.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Maize growth and soil nitrogen availability after fertilization with cattle manure and/or gliricidia in semi-arid NE Brazil

Mundus¹,

Menezes

Neergaard³

et al. 2008

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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Cattle manure is used as fertilizer by farmers in northeastern Brazil. However, the manure is insufficient to fertilize all cropping areas and is usually of low quality and may immobilize N. The use of Gliricidia sepium as green manure could increase the amount and quality of organic fertilizers. However, the high-quality biomass of this legume is valued as forage and may also decompose too quickly and cause nitrogen (N) leaching. This study aimed to identify efficient management practices for cattle manure and Gliricidia to improve N uptake and crop productivity in semi-arid NE Brazil. For this, we conducted three experiments. In the greenhouse, we evaluated maize growth and N uptake after application of Gliricidia and/or cattle manure under different soil moisture conditions. A litterbag field experiment evaluated the decomposition dynamics of Gliricidia or manure. Finally, a field experiment tested the effects of mixing and/or splitting Gliricidia and manure on maize productivity and N uptake. In the greenhouse, maize dry matter production and N uptake and apparent N recovery from fertilizers were significantly greater in treatments with higher proportions of Gliricidia, but mainly under high soil moisture conditions. The litterbag experiment showed that Gliricidia indeed decomposed twice as fast as cattle manure, that decomposition was up to 2.5 times faster when the materials were incorporated rather than surface applied, and also that N release was more synchronized to maize demand when fertilizers were split in two applications. In the field experiment, we observed that both mixing cattle manure and Gliricidia and splitting the application in two increased in maize productivity up to 350%.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Maize growth and soil nitrogen availability after fertilization with cattle manure and/or gliricidia in semi-arid NE Brazil

Mundus¹,

Menezes

Neergaard³

et al. 2008

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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“…A linear model, the best-adjusted model according to Wieder and Lang (1982) when a very small amount of mass is lost over the decomposition course, was also used to estimate the decomposition rate of leaves and burs. The leaves' and burs' half-life (t1 /2 ) was estimated as t1 /2 = ln(0.5)/ − k (Tutua, 2002). The amount of remaining organic matter was calculated by the ratio between the litter mass after each incubation period and the respective initial mass; only free ash material was used to avoid the influence of mineral matter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decomposition of chestnut litterfall and eight-year soil chemical changes under a no-tillage management system in Northern Portugal

Raimundo

Martins

Madeira³

2008

Ann. For. Sci.

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-• Chestnut stands (Castanea sativa Mill.) for fruit production, in Northern Portugal, are subjected to frequent soil tillage operations, which is considered a threat for the system sustainability.• The effects of replacement of conventional tillage by the no-tillage system in chestnut stands on decomposition and nutrient dynamics of leaf litter and burs were evaluated, using the litterbag methodology. Amounts of mass and nutrients in the organic layers, and chemical characteristics of the 0-20 cm top soil layer were assessed after eight years.• The mass loss and release of N, P, Ca and Mg from both leaves and burs buried in the soil were faster than from those placed on the soil surface. Burs decomposed and released nutrients more slowly than leaf litter. The no-tillage system led to the formation of organic layers, which retained great amounts of N (249.2 kg ha −1 ) and Ca (215.5 kg ha −1 ). Such a management system increased the concentration of organic C and nutrients in the 0-5 cm top soil layer, but significant differences were only observed for exchangeable Ca.• The no-tillage system may enhance organic C accumulation regarding the conventional system, due to the increment in both organic and mineral soil layers.litterfall decomposition / litterbag / nutrient dynamics / chestnut stand / soil management / decomposition models / no-tillage / conventional tillage Résumé -Décomposition des chutes de litière de châtaignier et huit années de changements chimiques du sol sous un système de gestion sans labour dans le Nord du Portugal.• Les peuplements de châtaignier (Castanea sativa Mill.) pour la production de fruits dans le Nord du Portugal font l'objet de fréquentes opérations de labour, qui sont considérées comme une menace pour un système de gestion durable.• Les effets de remplacement du labour traditionnel par un système sans labour dans les peuplements de châtaignier sur la décomposition et la dynamique des nutriments des feuilles de la litière et des bogues, ont été évalués en utilisant la technique des sacs à litière. La masse totale des nutriments dans les strates organiques et les caractéristiques chimiques de la partie supérieure (0-20 cm) du sol ont été estimées au bout de huit ans.• La perte de masse et la libération de N, P, Ca et Mg provenant des feuilles et des bogues enfouies dans le sol ont été plus rapides que dans le cas de feuilles et bogues placées à la surface du sol. Les bogues se décomposent et libèrent des nutriments plus lentement que les feuilles de la litière. Le système d'absence de labour a conduit à la formation de strates organiques, qui retiennent une grande quantité de N (249,2Kg ha −1 ) et de Ca (215,5 kg ha −1 ). Un tel système de gestion a accru la concentration en C organique et en nutriments dans la strate de la partie supérieure du sol (0-5cm), mais des différences significatives ont été observées seulement pour le Ca échangeable.• Le système sans labour peut accroître l'accumulation de C organique par rapport au système traditionnel à cause de l'accroissement ...

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“…Recycling of nutrients from these tree residues contributes to the total nutrient requirements for the subsequent year (Mazzoleni et al 2007;Parton et al 2007;Tagliavini et al 2007;Tonon et al 2007). Estimation of amount and rate of plant available nutrients from orchard residues, and factors influencing the above transformation are important to determine the optimal nutrient requirement for sustainable apple production (Alva et al 1998;Tagliavini et al 2007;Tutua et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tagliavini et al (2007) and Ventura et al (2010) studied the release of nutrients during the decomposition of apple and peach (Prunus persica L.) abscised leaves, respectively in northern Italy. However, investigations are severely lacking on the nutrients released from leaf litters of apple trees under different N, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilization regimes in the Loess Plateau area (Dou et al 1997;Alva et al 1998;Tutua et al 2002;Tagliavini et al 2007;Tonon et al 2007;Berg and McClaugherty 2008;Ventura et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Release of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium during the decomposition of apple (Malus domestica) leaf litter under different fertilization regimes in Loess Plateau, China

Han

Zhang

Fan

et al. 2011

Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

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The decomposition of apple (Malus domestica) leaf litters has a pivotal role in nutrient release in orchard ecosystems. We studied the decomposition rate and subsequent release of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) nutrients over 24-months using the litterbags method, from three types of litters sampled from an apple orchard which received different rates of N, P, K fertilization (control, CK; low fertilizer rate, LF; high fertilizer rate, HF). The patterns of mass loss of all three litters were quite similar following the exponential decay model. However, the amount of mass loss was greater for HF and LF litters than that for CK litter over the first six months. During the initial six months, concentrations of N and P in the leaf litters increased while that of K declined. Subsequently, concentrations of all elements decreased during 24-months of incubation. The release of N and P from leaf litter was positively correlated to the respective concentrations in the leaf litter at the beginning of decomposition. The amounts of N and P release from the litter were greater for that collected from the trees which received HF than that under CK and LF treatments during the course of decomposition in the two years. The rapid release of K occurred during the early stage across all litters and was not influenced by varying levels of leaf nutritional status. At the end of 24 months of decomposition, the relative release of nutrients from litters followed the order: K > N > P. The mean quantities of N, P, and K released during the first and second year following the application of 10, 6, 58% and 63, 6, 8% of recommended rates at respective nutrients for young apple orchards in Loess Plateau. Therefore, the results suggest that nutrient release from leaf litter in an apple orchard system can contribute a significant portion of the nutrient requirement for apple production. Accounting for this nutrient contribution in the annual fertilizer management is important to avoid excess application, optimize net returns, and maintain sustainable production systems.

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Decomposition and nitrogen release of understorey plant residues in biological and integrated apple orchards under field conditions in New Zealand

Cited by 17 publications

References 32 publications

Maize growth and soil nitrogen availability after fertilization with cattle manure and/or gliricidia in semi-arid NE Brazil

Maize growth and soil nitrogen availability after fertilization with cattle manure and/or gliricidia in semi-arid NE Brazil

Decomposition of chestnut litterfall and eight-year soil chemical changes under a no-tillage management system in Northern Portugal

Release of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium during the decomposition of apple (Malus domestica) leaf litter under different fertilization regimes in Loess Plateau, China

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