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The effect of grassland renovation on soil mineral nitrogen and on nitrate leaching during winter
Author(s) -
Seidel Kirsten,
Kayser Manfred,
Müller Jürgen,
Isselstein Johannes
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of plant nutrition and soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1522-2624
pISSN - 1436-8730
DOI - 10.1002/jpln.200800217
Subject(s) - leaching (pedology) , grassland , mineralization (soil science) , environmental science , nitrate , nitrogen , agronomy , nitrogen cycle , fertilizer , growing season , soil water , chemistry , soil science , biology , organic chemistry
Renovation of grassland may increase the mineralization of organic material and leads to a high amount of mineral N in soil which can be leached in the winter period. Soil mineral N (SMN) in autumn and calculated nitrate leaching during winter were measured after the renewal of 8 y–old cut grassland on a sandy soil in NW Germany in 1999 to 2002. Several factors, which may influence the intensity of N mineralization, were investigated in the 2 years following renewal: the season of renovation (spring or late summer/early autumn), the technique (rotary cultivator or direct drilling), and the amount of N fertilization (0 or 320 kg N ha –1 y –1 in the 7 years before the renovation). Calculated nitrate‐N leaching losses during winter were significantly higher following renewal in early autumn (36–64 kg N ha –1 ) compared to renewal in spring (1–7 kg N ha –1 ). This effect was only significant in the first, not in the second winter after renovation. The renovation technique had a significant effect on the nitrate‐N leaching losses only in the first year after the renovation. Direct drilling led to higher leaching losses (35 kg N ha –1 ) than the use of a rotary cultivator (30 kg N ha –1 ) in the same year. Calculated nitrate losses (on average over 60 kg N ha –1 ) were highest after renewal of N‐fertilized grassland in late summer/early autumn. To minimize N leaching losses, it would be more effective to plan grassland renewal in spring rather than in late summer/autumn. Another, however, less effective option is to reduce N fertilization before a renovation in autumn.