The effect of urea pellet size and rate of application on ammonia volatilization and soil nitrogen dynamics

Watson, C. J.; Kilpatrick, D. J.

doi:10.1007/bf01049746

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Toxicity due to high NH 3 concentrations is recognized as a problem that reduces seed germination (Yadvinder et al, 1994; Malhi, 1995). Volatilization losses increased with increasing application rates on acidic soils following surface broadcasting of urea (Black et al, 1987; Watson and Kilpatrick, 1991) but to our knowledge, only one study by Buresh (1987) observed increases in N loss (50% higher) with point placed (incorporated) urea compared to surface application. The soils studied by Buresh (1987) were poor and sandy, suggesting that they would have a low CEC and pH buffer capacity, and that high permeability would have allowed NH 3 to diffuse relatively easily to the surface.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 74%

Banding of Urea Increased Ammonia Volatilization in a Dry Acidic Soil

et al. 2009

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Volatilization of ammonia following application of urea contributes to smog formation and degradation of natural ecosystems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of (i) incorporation and banding of urea and (ii) surface broadcast of slow-release urea types on NH(3) volatilization in a dry acidic soil. Volatilization was measured using wind tunnels for 25 d after standard urea (140 kg N ha(-1)) was broadcast, broadcast and incorporated (0-5 cm), or incorporated in shallow bands (3-5 cm) to a conventionally tilled silty loam soil. Urea supplemented with a urease inhibitor or coated with a polymer was also broadcast at the soil surface. Little N diffused out of the polymer-coated granules and ammonia losses were low (4% of applied N). Use of a urease inhibitor also resulted in a low NH(3) loss (5% of applied N) while maintaining soil mineral N at levels similar to plots where untreated urea was broadcast. The rate of hydrolysis of urea broadcast at the soil surface was slowed by the lack of moisture and NH(3) loss (9% applied N) was the lowest of all treatments with standard urea. Incorporation of broadcast urea increased emissions (16% applied N) by increasing urea hydrolysis relative to surface application. Furthermore, incorporation in band also increased emissions (27% applied N) due to a localized increase in soil pH from 6.0 to 8.7. We conclude that incorporating urea in bands in a dry acidic soil can increase NH(3) volatilization compared to broadcast application followed by incorporation.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 74%

Banding of Urea Increased Ammonia Volatilization in a Dry Acidic Soil

et al. 2009

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“…The combined use of manure and synthetic N fertilizers likely stimulated microbial immobilization of N, promotes crop N uptake, and delays hydrolysis of urea, all of which may result in high N use efficiency and less N losses as NH 3 (Sommer et al., 2004; Ti et al., 2019). Among synthetic N fertilizers, urea had the highest EF (14.47%), and calcium nitrate had the lowest (1.25%), indicating that NH 3 losses were most responsive to the use of urea due to its formation of localized higher pH hotspots (Watson & Kilpatrick, 1991). The use of EENFs significantly decreased the EF as compared with conventional N fertilizer forms, to the largest extent for the combined use of nitrification and urease inhibitors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global soil‐derived ammonia emissions from agricultural nitrogen fertilizer application: A refinement based on regional and crop‐specific emission factors

Zou

Han

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

141

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Ammonia (NH3) emissions from fertilized soils to the atmosphere and the subsequent deposition to land surface exert adverse effects on biogeochemical nitrogen (N) cycling. The region‐ and crop‐specific emission factors (EFs) of N fertilizer for NH3 are poorly developed and therefore the global estimate of soil NH3 emissions from agricultural N fertilizer application is constrained. Here we quantified the region‐ and crop‐specific NH3 EFs of N fertilizer by compiling data from 324 worldwide manipulative studies and focused to map the global soil NH3 emissions from agricultural N fertilizer application. Globally, the NH3 EFs averaged 12.56% and 14.12% for synthetic N fertilizer and manure, respectively. Regionally, south‐eastern Asia had the highest NH3 EFs of synthetic N fertilizer (19.48%) and Europe had the lowest (6%), which might have been associated with the regional discrepancy in the form and rate of N fertilizer use and management practices in agricultural production. Global agricultural NH3 emissions from the use of synthetic N fertilizer and manure in 2014 were estimated to be 12.32 and 3.79 Tg N/year, respectively. China (4.20 Tg N/year) followed by India (2.37 Tg N/year) and America (1.05 Tg N/year) together contributed to over 60% of the total global agricultural NH3 emissions from the use of synthetic N fertilizer. For crop‐specific emissions, the NH3 EFs averaged 11.13%–13.95% for the three main staple crops (i.e., maize, wheat, and rice), together accounting for 72% of synthetic N fertilizer‐induced NH3 emissions from croplands in the world and 70% in China. The region‐ and crop‐specific NH3 EFs of N fertilizer established in this study offer references to update the default EF in the IPCC Tier 1 guideline. This work also provides an insight into the spatial variation of soil‐derived NH3 emissions from the use of synthetic N fertilizer in agriculture at the global and regional scales.

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“…The impact of urea application rate on the proportion (%) of applied N that is lost as NH 3 following surface broadcasting has been variable, with reports of decreased (du Preez and Burger 1987;Tian et al 1998), similar (Fenn et al 1980;Stumpe et al 1984;Cai et al 2002), and increased (Ellington 1986;Fenn et al 1987;Watson and Kilpatrick 1991) emissions (Table 1). Urea is often placed in bands below the soil surface (2 to 15 cm depth) at or after planting of row crops to increase plant N-use efficiency (Grant et al 2001).…”

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confidence: 99%

NH₃ volatilization, soil concentration and soil pH following subsurface banding of urea at increasing rates

et al. 2013

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Rochette, P., Angers, D. A., Chantigny, M. H., Gasser, M.-O., MacDonald, J. D., Pelster, D. E. and Bertrand, N. 2013. NH 3 volatilization, soil [Formula: see text] concentration and soil pH following subsurface banding of urea at increasing rates. Can. J. Soil Sci. 93: 261–268. Subsurface banding of urea can result in large ammonia (NH3) emissions following a local increase in soil ammonium ([Formula: see text]) concentration and pH. We conducted a field experiment to determine how application rates of subsurface banded urea impact NH3 volatilization. Urea was banded at a 5 cm depth to a silty loam soil (pH=5.5) at rates of 0, 6.1, 9.2, 13.3 and 15.3 g N m−1. Ammonia volatilization (wind tunnels), and soil [Formula: see text] concentration and pH (0–10 cm) were monitored for 25 d following urea application. Volatilization losses increased exponentially with urea application rate to 11.6% of applied N for the highest urea rate, indicating that as more urea N was added to the soil a larger fraction was lost as NH3. Cumulative NH3-N emissions were closely related (R 2≥0.85) to maximum increases in soil [Formula: see text] concentration and pH, and their combined influence likely contributed to the nonlinearity of the volatilization response to urea application rate. However, the rapid increase in NH3 losses when soil pH rose above 7 suggests that soil pH was the main factor explaining the nonlinear response of NH3 volatilization. When compared with previous studies, our results suggest that the response of NH3 volatilization losses to urea application rate in acidic soils are controlled by similar factors whether urea is broadcasted at the soil surface or subsurface banded.

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The effect of urea pellet size and rate of application on ammonia volatilization and soil nitrogen dynamics

Cited by 14 publications

References 30 publications

Banding of Urea Increased Ammonia Volatilization in a Dry Acidic Soil

Banding of Urea Increased Ammonia Volatilization in a Dry Acidic Soil

Global soil‐derived ammonia emissions from agricultural nitrogen fertilizer application: A refinement based on regional and crop‐specific emission factors

NH₃ volatilization, soil concentration and soil pH following subsurface banding of urea at increasing rates

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The effect of urea pellet size and rate of application on ammonia volatilization and soil nitrogen dynamics

Cited by 14 publications

References 30 publications

Banding of Urea Increased Ammonia Volatilization in a Dry Acidic Soil

Banding of Urea Increased Ammonia Volatilization in a Dry Acidic Soil

Global soil‐derived ammonia emissions from agricultural nitrogen fertilizer application: A refinement based on regional and crop‐specific emission factors

NH3 volatilization, soil concentration and soil pH following subsurface banding of urea at increasing rates

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NH₃ volatilization, soil concentration and soil pH following subsurface banding of urea at increasing rates