Long-term effects of balanced fertilization on grass forage yield, quality and nutrient uptake, soil organic C and N, and some soil quality characteristics

Malhi, S. S.; Nyborg, M.; Soon, Y. K.

doi:10.1007/s10705-009-9306-3

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Elevated levels of soil N–NO 3 could come as a result of N fertilizer, which has been considered as a management tool to increase biomass yields in conservation grasslands [8], [23]. Fertilization experiments show that higher N fertilizer rates lead to higher concentrations of N in biomass tissue for C3-dominated mixed grasslands [49], for switchgrass [50], and other C4 grasses [51]. Nitrogen fertilization can lead to a loss of species and functional group turnover [52], but when fertilized grasslands are harvested, species diversity has been shown to be maintained [53] or increase [40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Potential of Biomass from Conservation Grasslands in Minnesota, USA

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Perennial biomass from grasslands managed for conservation of soil and biodiversity can be harvested for bioenergy. Until now, the quantity and quality of harvestable biomass from conservation grasslands in Minnesota, USA, was not known, and the factors that affect bioenergy potential from these systems have not been identified. We measured biomass yield, theoretical ethanol conversion efficiency, and plant tissue nitrogen (N) as metrics of bioenergy potential from mixed-species conservation grasslands harvested with commercial-scale equipment. With three years of data, we used mixed-effects models to determine factors that influence bioenergy potential. Sixty conservation grassland plots, each about 8 ha in size, were distributed among three locations in Minnesota. Harvest treatments were applied annually in autumn as a completely randomized block design. Biomass yield ranged from 0.5 to 5.7 Mg ha−1. May precipitation increased biomass yield while precipitation in all other growing season months showed no affect. Averaged across all locations and years, theoretical ethanol conversion efficiency was 450 l Mg−1 and the concentration of plant N was 7.1 g kg−1, both similar to dedicated herbaceous bioenergy crops such as switchgrass. Biomass yield did not decline in the second or third year of harvest. Across years, biomass yields fluctuated 23% around the average. Surprisingly, forb cover was a better predictor of biomass yield than warm-season grass with a positive correlation with biomass yield in the south and a negative correlation at other locations. Variation in land ethanol yield was almost exclusively due to variation in biomass yield rather than biomass quality; therefore, efforts to increase biomass yield might be more economical than altering biomass composition when managing conservation grasslands for ethanol production. Our measurements of bioenergy potential, and the factors that control it, can serve as parameters for assessing the economic viability of harvesting conservation grasslands for bioenergy.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Potential of Biomass from Conservation Grasslands in Minnesota, USA

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Nitrogen application substantially decreased N concentration in the biomass from the D, E and F treatments compared with the control, although many researchers have recorded the opposite result, i.e., an increase in biomass N concentration with N application (Pelletier et al 2006;Pontes et al 2007;Aavola and Kärner 2008;Brum et al 2009;Liu et al 2010;Malhi et al 2010;Pan et al 2010). This can be explained in three possible ways.…”

Section: Concentration Of Elements In the Biomassmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Rengen Grassland Experiment: relationship between soil and biomass chemical properties, amount of elements applied, and their uptake

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Rengen Grassland Experiment (RGE) was established in the Eifel Mountains (Germany) on a low productive Nardetum in 1941. Since then, the following fertilizer treatments have been applied with a late two-cut system: unfertilized control, Ca, CaN, CaNP, CaNPKCl and CaNPK 2 SO 4 . We aimed to understand how concentrations of macro (N, P, K, Ca and Mg), micro (Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) and trace (As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb) elements in the plant biomass were affected by long-term fertilizer application, soil chemical properties and biomass production. In 2008, biomass samples from the first cut (early July) and the second cut (mid-October) were collected and analyzed. The simultaneous application of N, P and K decreased nitrogen concentration in the aboveground biomass, but substantially increased biomass production. Late cutting management decreased forage quality in highly productive more than in low productive plant communities. The concentrations of P and K in the plant biomass were positively related to P and K application and, therefore, to plant available P and K concentrations in the soil. The concentrations of some micro (Fe, Mn and Zn) and trace (As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb) elements in the plant biomass were negatively correlated with the amount of elements supplied by fertilizers and biomass production, probably because of the dilution effect. Long-term fertilizer application resulted in the accumulation of macro (P, Ca and Mg), micro (Fe and Mn) and trace (As and Cr) elements in the soil, but in many cases this accumulation was not connected with an increase in the concentrations of these elements in the plant biomass. Nutritional status, as indicated by the biomass N:P ratio, was consistent with N or P limitation as indicated by the nitrogen and phosphorus nutrition indices. Furthermore, additional K (co-) limitation was indicated by the N:K and K:P ratios in the biomass from the NP treatment. The results from the RGE indicate that there is no simple positive relationship between the applied elements and their concentrations in the plant biomass.

show abstract

“…At some localities the application of nitrogen does not have to produce any effect, because the growth of grassland is limited by different source (Malhi et al, 2010) -usually by phosphorus or potassium. Niinemets & Kull (2005) recorded significant increase in yield of grasslands on calcite soil even when phosphorus was applied solely.…”

Section: Effect Of Fertilization On Primary Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%