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Changes of Soil Nitrate‐Nitrogen and Denitrification as Affected by Nitrogen Fertilizer on Two Quebec Soils
Author(s) -
Liang B. C.,
MacKenzie A. F.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1994.00472425002300030017x
Subject(s) - loam , denitrification , leaching (pedology) , soil water , fertilizer , agronomy , environmental science , nitrate , nitrogen , soil texture , growing season , soil science , chemistry , biology , organic chemistry
Corn ( Zea mays L.) production may result in NO − 3 ‐N accumulation in soils because of high N fertilizer applications. Nitrate‐N in soil may be lost by denitrification and leaching. Prediction of the amount lost would be helpful in minimizing these losses. Field experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of N fertilizer rates on soil NO − 3 ‐N under corn on two soils of contrasting texture from 1988 to 1991 in southwestern Quebec. Denitrification as affected by previous N fertilizer rates was estimated for the nongrowing season of 1990–1991. Soil NO − 3 ‐N levels in the fall increased linearly with increasing N fertilizer rates above the normal N rate both on clay and sandy clay loam soils. However, NO − 3 ‐N could have been leached out of the rooting zone on the coarser Chicot soil (fine‐loamy, mixed, frigid Typic Hapludalf) in the late growing season, depending on rainfall. The changes in soil NO − 3 ‐N over winter were a function of both soil NO − 3 ‐N levels the previous fall and over‐winter precipitation. Denitrification losses varied from 7 to 24 kg ha −1 during the nongrowing season, increasing with N fertilizer rates only on the Ste. Rosalie clay soil (fine, mixed, frigid Typic Humaquept). In comparison with total NO − 3 ‐N disappearance over the same period, losses of NO − 3 ‐N due to denitrification were relatively small. Thus, significant portions of NO − 3 ‐N losses were probably due to leaching both on clay and sandy clay loam soils.