Dynamic model-based N management reduces surplus nitrogen and improves the environmental performance of corn production

Sela, Shai; Woodbury, Peter B.; Es, Harold M. van

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aab908

Cited by 35 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Several tactics have been proposed to increase NRE crop by improving the synchrony between fertilizer N addition and crop N uptake. These include at-planting application or split application of N fertilizer between pre-plant and early-vegetative growth (Randall and Sawyer, 2008), subsurface placement of N fertilizer (Nkebiwe et al, 2016), inseason diagnostic tools to fine-tune N rate according to weather and soil conditions (Colaço and Bramley, 2018;Sela et al, 2018), enhancedefficiency fertilizers (Li et al, 2018), and enhanced efficiency crops with deep, vigorous root systems (Yu et al, 2015). Gardner and Drinkwater (2009) evaluated the impact of several of these management tactics using meta-analysis and found that they increased NR crop by −0.9 to 43%.…”

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legacy effects of long-term nitrogen fertilizer application on the fate of nitrogen fertilizer inputs in continuous maize

Poffenbarger

Sawyer

Barker

et al. 2018

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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Nitrogen fertilizer management can impact soil organic C (SOC) stocks in cereal-based cropping systems by regulating crop residue inputs and decomposition rates. However, the impact of long-term N fertilizer management, and associated changes in SOC quantity and quality, on the fate of N fertilizer inputs is uncertain. Using two 15-year N fertilizer rate experiments on continuous maize (Zea mays L.) in Iowa, which have generated gradients of SOC, we evaluated the legacy effects of N fertilizer inputs on the fate of added N. Across the historical N fertilizer rates, which ranged from 0 to 269 kg N ha−1 yr−1, we applied isotopicallylabeled N fertilizer at the empirically-determined site-specific agronomic optimum rate (202 kg N ha−1 at the central location and 269 kg N ha−1 at the southern location) and measured fertilizer recovery in crop and soil pools, and, by difference, environmental losses. Crop fertilizer N recovery efficiency (NREcrop) at physiological maturity averaged 44% and 14% of applied N in central Iowa and southern Iowa, respectively (88 kg N ha−1 and 37 kg N ha−1, respectively). Despite these large differences in NREcrop, the response to historical N rate was remarkably similar across both locations: NREcrop was greatest at low and high historical N rates, and least at the intermediate rates. Decreasing NREcrop from low to intermediate historical N rates corresponded to a decline in early-season fertilizer N recovery in the relatively slow turnover topsoil mineral-associated organic matter pool (0-15 cm), while increasing NREcrop from intermediate to high historical N rates corresponded to an increase in early-season fertilizer N recovery in the relatively fast turnover topsoil particulate organic matter pool and an increase in crop yield potential. Despite the variation in NREcropalong the historical N rate gradient, we did not detect an effect of historical N rate on environmental losses during the growing season, which averaged 34% and 69% of fertilizer N inputs at the central and southern locations, respectively (69 kg N ha−1 and 185 kg N ha−1, respectively). Our results suggest that, while beneficial for SOC storage over the long term, fertilizing at the agronomic optimum N rate can lead to significant environmental N losses. . "Legacy effects of long-term nitrogen fertilizer application on the fate of nitrogen fertilizer inputs in continuous maize." Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 265 (2018): 544-555. A B S T R A C TNitrogen fertilizer management can impact soil organic C (SOC) stocks in cereal-based cropping systems by regulating crop residue inputs and decomposition rates. However, the impact of long-term N fertilizer management, and associated changes in SOC quantity and quality, on the fate of N fertilizer inputs is uncertain. Using two 15-year N fertilizer rate experiments on continuous maize (Zea mays L.) in Iowa, which have generated gradients of SOC, we evaluated the legacy effects of N fertilizer inputs on the fate of added N. Across the historical N fertilizer rates, which ran...

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Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legacy effects of long-term nitrogen fertilizer application on the fate of nitrogen fertilizer inputs in continuous maize

Poffenbarger

Sawyer

Barker

et al. 2018

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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“…McLellan et al (2018) recently suggested N balance, which is a simple input-output based metric defined as the amount of N applied to a production unit minus the amount of N removed from the field at harvest. N balance is readily calculated across different scales and is a good predictor of potential N pollution (Van Groenigen et al 2010, McLellan et al 2018, Sela et al 2018b. It was found to positively correlate with both N leaching Butterbach-Bahl 2014, Zhao et al 2016) and gaseous N losses (Van Groenigen et al 2010, Venterea et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was found to positively correlate with both N leaching Butterbach-Bahl 2014, Zhao et al 2016) and gaseous N losses (Van Groenigen et al 2010, Venterea et al 2016). Although relations between N balance and N losses are notoriously noisy, several studies suggested a nonlinear increase in N losses and possible critical threshold values ranging from 0 to 50 kg ha −1 for different production environments (Van Groenigen et al 2010, Venterea et al 2016, Zhao et al 2016, Sela et al 2018b. This characteristic makes N balance useful for policies that aim to reduce N losses or track progress toward sustainability goals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards applying N balance as a sustainability indicator for the US Corn Belt: realistic achievable targets, spatio-temporal variability and policy implications

Sela

Woodbury

Marjerison

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Gains in nitrogen use efficiency in the production of corn (Zea mays L.) remain low due to management constraints and difficulties in accurately predicting the optimum fertilizer application rate. Retailers and consumers are looking for robust sustainability indicators to help drive the industry towards more sustainable food production, including the simple input-output based 'N balance' metric. Seven-year simulations for 25 locations across five US Corn Belt States (NE, IA, MN, IL, IN) were conducted using the biogeochemical Adapt-N® model to determine (i) realistically achievable N balance values when N rates are optimized, (ii) the effects of climate and soil type on achievable N balance values, and (iii) the relative importance of N application timing (fall, spring, split in-season) and formulation (+/− nitrapyrin) in reducing N balance. Split in-season applications reduced N rates by 39% and 22% over fall and spring applications and N balance by 36% and 22%, respectively. Adding nitrapyrin to fall or spring preplant applications modestly reduced N inputs by 9% and 4% and N balance by 18% and 12%. Split N management reduced N losses by 52% and 31% of total areascaled N losses compared to fall and spring N applications and adding nitrapyrin by 13% and 10%, respectively. Benefits from improved timing and formulation were greater in the more humid eastern part of the region. Split in-season N management allows farmers to reach sustainable N balance levels in 88% of cases, with the remainder mostly affected by mid-season droughts. Economic assessment found partial profit to be enhanced with lower N balance, suggesting that N balance reductions may be achieved through voluntary approaches. The model simulations offered ranges of realistic N balance values that can be used to inform policy discussions. It appears that N balance is best applied when averaged over multiple seasons and threshold levels should be guided by characteristics of the production environment, including soil type and climate.

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“…increases production costs and causes environmental degradation when unutilized N is lost from fields through denitrification, volatilization, leaching, and runoff (Banger et al, 2020;Rasouli et al, 2014;Sela et al, 2018;Tian et al, 2016). Thus, optimizing N supply to meet crop demands becomes critical due to both economic and environmental concerns (Banger et al, 2020;Ewing & Runck, 2015).…”

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confidence: 99%

Delta yield–based optimal nitrogen rate estimates for corn are often economically sound

et al. 2021

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Corn producers often overapply nitrogen (N) fertilizer to minimize risk of yield loss because of uncertainty regarding actual corn N requirements. On-farm N trials, which are simple to deploy and interpret, may enable producers to better understand their corn N fertilizer requirements. We analyzed a database of corn yield response to N trials conducted in Ontario, Canada to determine if delta yield (dY) N trials can reliably estimate economic optimum N rates (EONRs) and to assess the financial liability of dY-EONR estimates. Delta yield is calculated as the yield difference between nonlimiting and very low (starter only) N rates. The dY-EONR estimation relationship is derived from a rectangular hyperbolic relationship between agronomic efficiency and dY. The derived dY-EONR relationship has a rapid initial estimated EONR rate of increase that diminishes with increasing dY and that approaches a constant increase rate of 16.1 kg N ha -1 . At a N-corn price ratio of 7, the dY-EONR estimation model has RMSE = 29.1 kg N ha -1 (R 2 = .64). Within range of recent corn and N prices, 64-80% of dY-EONR estimates in combined calibration and validation data (n = 746) had return losses less than $25 ha -1 relative to the actual EONR.Return losses exceeding $50 ha -1 occurred for 8-18% of the dY-EONR estimates, most of which (83-98%) were due to overestimation. Delta yield trials provide an easily implemented method for corn producers to conduct on-farm yield response trials repeatedly over years in order to obtain a better idea of their N requirements. INTRODUCTIONNitrogen (N) fertilizer contributes significantly to corn (Zea mays L.) production costs, but the actual requirement varies substantially among years and fields and spatially within fields (Scharf et al., 2005;Shanahan, Kitchen et al., 2008). Ransom et al. (2020) reported that corn producer-selected Abbreviations: AE, agronomic efficiency; dEY, grain yield increase associated with applying EONR; dY, delta yield or grain yield increase associated with applying nonlimiting N rates; EONR, economic optimum nitrogen rate; OMAFRA, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; PR, ratio of N cost and corn price.

show abstract

Dynamic model-based N management reduces surplus nitrogen and improves the environmental performance of corn production

Cited by 35 publications

References 44 publications

Legacy effects of long-term nitrogen fertilizer application on the fate of nitrogen fertilizer inputs in continuous maize

Legacy effects of long-term nitrogen fertilizer application on the fate of nitrogen fertilizer inputs in continuous maize

Towards applying N balance as a sustainability indicator for the US Corn Belt: realistic achievable targets, spatio-temporal variability and policy implications

Delta yield–based optimal nitrogen rate estimates for corn are often economically sound

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