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The effects of urine nitrogen application rate on nitrogen transformations in grassland soils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2019

C. Somers ,
N. T. Girkin Open the ORCID record for N. T. Girkin [Opens in a new window] ,
B. Rippey ,
G. J. Lanigan  and
K. G. Richards
C. Somers
Affiliation:
Johnstown Castle Research Centre, Teagasc, Wexford, Ireland School of Environmental Science, University of Ulster, Coleraine, UK
N. T. Girkin
Affiliation:
Johnstown Castle Research Centre, Teagasc, Wexford, Ireland Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
B. Rippey
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Environmental Science, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK
G. J. Lanigan
Affiliation:
Johnstown Castle Research Centre, Teagasc, Wexford, Ireland
K. G. Richards*
Affiliation:
Johnstown Castle Research Centre, Teagasc, Wexford, Ireland
*
Author for correspondence: K. G. Richards, E-mail: karl.richards@teagasc.ie
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Abstract

Urine is a critical nitrogen (N) input in temperate grazed grasslands and can drive substantial nitrous oxide (N2O) production in soils. However, it remains unclear how differences in the N input rate affect N2O fluxes and vary between different grassland soils. The effect of increasing urine N application on ammonium (NH4+), nitrite (NO2−) and nitrate (NO3−) concentrations and N2O production was tested in two grassland soils, a free-draining loam and an imperfectly drained sandy-loam. It was hypothesized that high-urine N application rates would lead to ammonia/ammonium (NH3/NH4+) accumulation influencing N transformation rates and N2O production which differ between grassland soils. Fresh cattle urine was applied at rates equivalent to 300 and 1000 kg N/ha in an aerobic incubation experiment. Soils were destructively sampled over 80 days to measure changes in inorganic-N and pH. The higher N addition rate was associated with elevated NH3 concentrations up to day 35 in soils, probably inhibiting NO2− to NO3− reduction. In contrast, there was no inhibition of nitrification in the 300 kg N/ha treatment. Cumulative N2O fluxes were greatest from the 300 kg N/ha treatment for the loam soil, but were greater for the sandy-loam under the 1000 kg N/ha treatment. The results also show that differences in soil properties, in particular carbon availability, can be important in regulating N transformation and N2O production. Collectively, these results demonstrate the proposed mechanism of nitrification inhibition at high-N input rates, driven by either high NH3/NH4 and/or increased levels of NH4HCO3 from urea hydrolysis.

Keywords

Denitrificationgrasslandnitrificationnitrogennitrous oxideurine
Type
Crops and Soils Research Paper
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 157 , Issue 6 , August 2019 , pp. 515 - 522
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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