Coupled Effects of Reduced Chemical Fertilization and Biochar Supplementation on Availability and Transformations of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Vegetable Farmland Soil: An In Situ Study in Southern China

Xiongsheng Yu, Yong Liu, Mu Zhang, Shaoying Ai, Rongping Wang, Li’an Zhu, Huihua Zhang, Ting Li, Yaqi Zhu, Chao Tu, Qihao Yang, Zili Zhang and Minglong Liu
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Xiongsheng Yu: Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nutrient Cycling and Farmland Conservation, Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer in South Region, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Yong Liu: Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nutrient Cycling and Farmland Conservation, Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer in South Region, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Mu Zhang: Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nutrient Cycling and Farmland Conservation, Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer in South Region, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Shaoying Ai: Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nutrient Cycling and Farmland Conservation, Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer in South Region, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Rongping Wang: National-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, and Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Li’an Zhu: National-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, and Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Huihua Zhang: National-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, and Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Ting Li: National-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, and Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Yaqi Zhu: Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nutrient Cycling and Farmland Conservation, Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer in South Region, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Chao Tu: Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nutrient Cycling and Farmland Conservation, Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer in South Region, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Qihao Yang: National-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, and Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Zili Zhang: College of Agriculture and Biology, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, China
Minglong Liu: Institute of Resource, Ecosystem, and Environment of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-23

Abstract: Reduced fertilization technology is an eco-friendly strategy to minimize nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) surpluses and losses in vegetable production. However, little is known about the performance of chemical fertilizer reduction when supplemented with palm silk biochar (PSB) in subtropical acid soils. A short-term (60 d) field investigation under conditions of in situ incubation was conducted in vegetable farmland in southern China. The treatments included no fertilization (Control), 100% conventional fertilization (CF 100 ), 90% conventional fertilization plus 10% PSB-based fertilization (CF 90 B 10 ), 85% conventional fertilization plus 15% PSB-based fertilization (CF 85 B 15 ), and 80% conventional fertilization plus 20% PSB-based fertilization (CF 80 B 20 ). The CF 90 B 10 , CF 85 B 15 , and CF 80 B 20 treatments had the same inputs of total N and P as the CF 100 treatment. Reduced chemical fertilization generally decreased the soil NH 4 + -N regardless of the PSB substitution rate (10%, 15%, or 20%), incubation condition (top-covered or top-open: preventing or allowing the leaching process, respectively), and sampling time (1 day or 60 days). Conversely, compared with the CF 100 treatment, both the CF 85 B 15 and CF 80 B 20 treatments did not lead to a significant decrease in the NO 3 − -N concentration in soil under top-open incubation conditions, but significantly ( p < 0.05) increased soil NO 3 − -N under top-covered incubation conditions. The CF 80 B 20 treatment significantly ( p < 0.05) decreased soil Olsen-P in comparison with the CF 100 treatment, regardless of the incubation condition and sampling time. After applying chemical fertilizer in combination with PSB, soil net ammonification and N mineralization tended to be reduced considerably, with substantial reductions of 39–76% and 24–45%, respectively; reversely, soil net nitrification was stimulated by an increased PSB substitution rate. As the rate of chemical fertilization decreased, the trends in NH 4 + -N and NO 3 − -N losses from the soil were similar to the trends observed in soil net ammonification and net nitrification, respectively. Additionally, there were no significant differences in the soil net P mineralization and Olsen-P loss between chemical fertilization alone and in combination with PSB application. Generally, the partial substitution of chemical fertilizer with PSB at a low application rate may not substantially reduce plant-available NO 3 − -N and Olsen-P. It can also contribute to the sustainable availability of N and P in vegetable farmland soil via a variety of transformation processes, such as mineralization, immobilization, and loss.

Keywords: biochar; chemical fertilizer reduction; co-application; partial substitution; nitrogen and phosphorus availability; in situ incubation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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