Improving soil fertility/productivity and reducing environmental impact of nitrogen (N) fertilization are essential for sustainable agriculture. Quantifying the contribution of various fertilization regimes to soil N storage and loss has been lacking in a wide range of spatiotemporal scales. Based on data collected from field experiments at three typical agricultural zones in China, soil N dyna...

Agricultural soils are responsible for the majority of nitrous oxide (N(2)O) emissions in the USA. Irrigated cropping, particularly in the western USA, is an important source of N(2)O emissions. However, the impacts of tillage intensity and N fertilizer amount and type have not been extensively studied for irrigated systems. The DAYCENT biogeochemical model was tested using N(2)O, crop yield, s...

Soil biochemical properties and microbial communities are usually considered as important indicators of soil health because of their association with plant nutrition. In this study, we investigated the impact of long-term application of bioorganic fertilizer (BOF) on soil biochemical properties and microbial communities in the apple orchard soil of the Loess Plateau. The experiment included thr...

The application of compost or fertilizer at rates that exceed crop nutrient requirements can result in phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) accumulation in soil. This study was conducted to determine the influence of soil P and N contents on the concentrations and total amounts of P and N transported in runoff. Composted beef cattle feedlot manure or inorganic fertilizer were added from 1992 to 1995...

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of fertilizer application on heterotrophic soil respiration (Rh) in soil respiration (Rs) components in red pine stands. Two types of fertilizer (N3P4K1 = 113:150:37 kg·ha−1·year−1; P4K1 = 150:37 kg·ha−1·year−1) were applied manually on the forest floor for two years. Rs and Rh rates were monitored from April 2011 to March 2013. Mean Rs and Rh ra...

Displacement of soil particles caused by erosion influences soil condition and fertility. To date, the cesium 137 isotope ((137)Cs) technique is most commonly used for soil particle tracing. However when large areas are considered, the expensive soil sampling and analysis present an obstacle. Infrared spectral measurements would provide a solution, however the small concentrations of the isotop...

The effect of nitrogen (N) fertilizer on switchgrass biomass production has been evaluated in a number of locations on a small-plot scale; however, field-scale information regarding switchgrass response to N and N use efficiency (NUE) in different regions of the USA is limited. Switchgrass was planted in South Dakota (SD), New York (NY), Oklahoma (OK), and Virginia (VA) in 2008 and in Iowa (IA)...

Fungi play important roles as decomposers, plant symbionts and pathogens in soils. The structure of fungal communities in the rhizosphere is the result of complex interactions among selection factors that may favour beneficial or detrimental relationships. Using culture-independent fungal community profiling, we have investigated the effects of nitrogen fertilizer dosage on fungal communities i...

Nitrogen (N) requirements of rice crop are met from both the soil and fertilizers. Because of acute N deficiency in most rice soils, fertilizer N must be applied to meet the crop demand. N fertilizer applied to rice crops is partially lost through different mechanisms, including ammonia volatilization, denitrification, and leaching. These losses may cause environmental problems such as pollutin...