Citation Information

  • Title : Integrated management practices significantly affect N2O emissions and wheat-maize production at field scale in the North China Plain
  • Source : NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS
  • Volume : 95
  • Issue : 2
  • Pages : 203-218
  • Year : 2013
  • DOI : 10.1007/s10705-013-9558-9
  • ISBN : 1385-1314
  • Document Type : Journal Article
  • Language : English
  • Authors:
    • Wang, D. P.
    • Zheng, L.
    • Zhang, Z. H.
    • Meng, F. Q.
    • Wu, W. L.
    • Shi, Y. F.
  • Climates: Hot summer continental (Dsa, Dfa, Dwa).
  • Cropping Systems: Maize. Wheat.
  • Countries: China.

Summary

In the North China Plain, a field experiment was conducted to measure nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) fluxes from a typical winter wheat-summer maize rotation system under five integrated agricultural management practices: conventional regime [excessive nitrogen (N) fertilization, flood irrigation, and rotary tillage before wheat sowing; CON], recommended regime 1 (balanced N fertilization, decreased irrigation, and deep plowing before wheat sowing; REC-1), recommended regime 2 (balanced N fertilization, decreased irrigation, and no tillage; REC-2), recommended regime 3 (controlled release N fertilizer, decreased irrigation, and no tillage; REC-3), and no N fertilizer (CK). Field measurements indicated that pulse emissions after N fertilization and irrigation contributed 19-49 % of annual N2O emissions. In contrast to CON (2.21 kg N2O-N ha(-1) year(-1)), the other treatments resulted in significant declines in cumulative N2O emissions, which ranged from 0.96 to 1.76 kg N2O-N ha(-1) year(-1), indicating that the recommended practices (e.g., balanced N fertilization, controlled release N fertilizer, and decreased irrigation) offered substantial benefits for both sustaining grain yield and reducing N2O emissions. Emission factors of N fertilizer were 0.21, 0.22, 0.23, and 0.37 % under CON, REC-1, REC-3, and REC-2, respectively. Emissions of N2O during the freeze-thaw cycle period and the winter freezing period accounted for 9.7 and 5.1 % of the annual N2O budget, respectively. Thus, we recommend that the monitoring frequency should be increased during the freeze-thaw cycle period to obtain a proper estimate of total emissions. Annual CH4 fluxes from the soil were low (-1.54 to -1.12 kg CH4-C ha(-1) year(-1)), and N fertilizer application had no obvious effects on CH4 uptake. Values of global warming potential were predominantly determined by N2O emissions, which were 411 kg CO2-eq ha(-1) year(-1) in the CK and 694-982 kg CO2-eq ha(-1) year(-1) in the N fertilization regimes. When comprehensively considering grain yield, global warming potential intensity values in REC-1, REC-2, and REC-3 were significantly lower than in CON. Meanwhile, grain yield increased slightly under REC-1 and REC-3 compared to CON. Generally, REC-1 and REC-3 are recommended as promising management regimes to attain the dual objectives of sustaining grain yield and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the North China Plain.

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