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Losses of fertilizer nitrogen after a winter fertilization in three managed pine plantations of the southeastern United States
Author(s) -
Raymond Jay E.,
Fox Thomas R.,
Cook Rachel L.,
Albaugh Timothy J.,
Rubilar Rafael
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.1002/saj2.20017
Subject(s) - urea , microcosm , fertilizer , human fertilization , nitrogen , nitrogen fertilizer , zoology , urease , agronomy , chemistry , environmental science , biology , environmental chemistry , organic chemistry
Losses of fertilizer nitrogen (N) were compared between urea and urea treated with the urease inhibitor N‐(n‐Butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (urea + NBPT) after a surface application in winter at three thinned mid‐rotation (age 15–20 years) loblolly pine plantations in Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida. Treatments were labeled with 15 N and applied to open chamber microcosms in January and February 2016. Fifteen days after application, microcosms were removed from the field to determine fertilizer N lost from each microcosm. Losses following fertilization with urea (24% to 50%) were greater ( p ≥ .05) at all sites compared to urea + NBPT (12% to 22%). Fertilizer N losses were greater in Florida than in SC and Virginia although N loss following urea fertilization was still 25% in Virginia. The loss of fertilizer N was consistently lower on beds compared to interbeds for both urea (bed = 25%, interbed = 40%) and urea + NBPT (bed = 12%, interbed = 23%). This research highlights the value of using urea + NBPT to reduce fertilizer N losses after a winter application and the greater potential loss in the interbed on wetter sites.