Spatial-Temporal Differentiation of Soil Biochemical Parameters and Their Relationship with Nitrogen Resources during the Vegetation Period of Selected Crops

Agnieszka Wolna-Maruwka (), Aleksandra Grzyb (), Remigiusz Łukowiak, Jakub Ceglarek, Alicja Niewiadomska and Dariusz Kayzer
Additional contact information
Agnieszka Wolna-Maruwka: Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Szydłowska 50, 60-656 Poznan, Poland
Aleksandra Grzyb: Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Szydłowska 50, 60-656 Poznan, Poland
Remigiusz Łukowiak: Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Environmental Biogeochemistry, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 38/42, 60-625 Poznan, Poland
Jakub Ceglarek: Environmental Remote Sensing and Soil Science Research Unit, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University, Krygowskiego 10, 61-680 Poznan, Poland
Alicja Niewiadomska: Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Szydłowska 50, 60-656 Poznan, Poland
Dariusz Kayzer: Department of Mathematical and Statistical Methods, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznan, Poland

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-27

Abstract: Understanding the spatial–temporal variability of soil enzymatic activity and its relationship with nitrogen (N) resources in the soil and crop yield is crucial in rational management practices of mineral fertilization. The scarcity of comprehensive studies on geostatic analyses of agricultural soils and plant yields, which would take into account both temporal and spatial variability, was the reason for undertaking this research. The aim of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal variability of the activity of soil enzymes, such as acid (PAC) and alkaline (PAL) phosphatases, urease (URE) and protease (PROT), the content of N-NH 4 (ammonium ions), N-NO 3 (nitrate ions), phosphorus (P), pH, moisture, as well as crop yield on a conventionally managed farmland of 40 ha. During the two-year experiment, soil samples were collected from 37 measurement points. Wheat was the first tested crop, followed by oilseed rape. It was shown that all the tested soil parameters showed temporal and spatial variability, and a significant number of them were significantly higher in July. The creation of raster maps showing the distribution of the tested parameters allowed for the observation of the considerable activity of PAC, PAL, URE, and PROT, as well as a high application of N-NO 3 in the southern part of the field during the growth of the plants. The statistical analysis revealed a negative interaction between the N-NH 4 and N-NO 3 and the urease in the soil under the cultivation of plants. The pH and the percentage of moisture in the soil also had higher values in the south of the field. This pointed to the existence of separate production zones in the south-central part of the field, characterized by a higher yield of wheat and rape. On the basis of the conducted research, it was unequivocally stated that the values of enzymatic and chemical parameters of the soil were reflected in the size of the yield obtained, which allows conclusions to be drawn with respect to the rational management of N in the production process, laying the foundations for precision agriculture.

Keywords: geostatistics; soil enzymes; nitrogen ions; yield; precision farming; spatial variability (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: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/10/2034/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/10/2034/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:10:p:2034-:d:1264939

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().