No abstract

Graphical abstractSchematic diagram of urea dissolution, diffusion and hydrolysis in the soil. (a) Without an inhibitor, hydrolysis is fast (dark blue color) causing NH3/NH4+ accumulation and increasing the pH close to the soil surface around the fertilizer granule, driving NH3 volatilization. As the ammonia species are less mobile in soil, diffusion is limited. (b) The inhibitor maintains urea unhydrolyzed for some time. Urea has no electrical charges and diffuses easily into the soil solution. When the effect of the inhibitor phases down and urea starts to hydrolyze, both the pH and the NH3/NH4+ concentrations are lower (light blue color) as a result of dilution. Part of the urea is incorporated into the soil before hydrolysis; the NH3 produced inside the soil is retained by the negative charges of colloidal material and losses are reduced even if no rain or irrigation incorporates urea into the soil.

Legal restrictions from burning sugarcane prior to harvest are causing a sharp increase in acreage which is harvested as green cane. The presence of a thick sugarcane trash mulch left after harvest makes it difficult to incorporate fertilisers in the soil. Since large losses of ammonia may occur when urea is surface applied to trash, it is important to find ways to improve urea-N use efficiency. The urease inhibitor NBPT slows down urea hydrolysis and thus may help decrease ammonia losses. Ammonia traps were set up in seven sugarcane fields covered with trash and fertilised with ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate, urea, and NBPT-treated urea. All N fertilisers were surface-applied at rates of 80 or 100 kg N ha -1 . Very little N was lost when ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate were used. However, volatilisation losses as ammonia from the urea treatments varied from 1% (rainy days after fertilisation) to 25% of the applied N. The percentage of reduction in volatilisation due to NBPT application ranged from 15% to 78% depending on the weather conditions during the days following application of N. Addition of NBPT to urea helped to control ammonia losses, but the inhibitor was less effective when rain sufficient to incorporate urea into the soil occurred only 10 to 15 days or latter after fertiliser application. RESUMO: Restrições legais à colheita de cana-de-açúcar com despalha a fogo estão causando um aumento da área cultivada com cana crua. Essa prática gera uma espessa camada de palha de cana sobre o solo após a colheita, o que dificulta a incorporação de fertilizantes. Uma vez que grandes quantidades de amônia podem ser perdidas quando a uréia é aplicada superficialmente sobre a palha, é importante buscar alternativas para maximizar a eficiência de uso do N-uréia. O inibidor de urease NBPT retarda a hidrólise da uréia e pode contribuir para diminuir as perdas de amônia por volatilização. Para quantificar essas perdas, foram instaladas câmaras coletoras de amônia em sete áreas de produção de cana-de-açúcar colhida sem queima; estas foram fertilizadas com sulfato ou nitrato de amônio, uréia ou uréia tratada com NBPT. Todos os fertilizantes nitrogenados foram aplicados superficialmente em doses de 80 ou 100 kg ha -1 de N. As perdas de N foram muito pequenas quando se usou nitrato ou sulfato de amônio. Entretanto, as perdas por volatilização de amônia decorrentes do uso de uréia variaram de 1% (com dias chuvosos após a adubação) a 25% do N aplicado. O uso de NBPT proporcionou reduções de 15 a 78% nas perdas por volatilização, dependendo das condições climáticas nos dias posteriores à aplicação de N. A adição de NBPT à uréia ajudou a controlar as perdas de amônia, mas o inibidor foi menos efetivo quando chuvas suficientes para incorporar a uréia no solo ocorreram somente 10 a 15 dias, ou mais, após a aplicação dos fertilizantes. Palavras-chave: NBPT, adubos nitrogenados, perdas de amônia Cantarella et al.

No abstract

Bioethanol from sugarcane is becoming an increasingly important alternative energy source worldwide as it is considered to be both economically and environmentally sustainable. Besides being produced from a tropical perennial grass with high photosynthetic efficiency, sugarcane ethanol is commonly associated with low N fertilizer use because sugarcane from Brazil, the world's largest sugarcane producer, has a low N demand. In recent years, several models have predicted that the use of sugarcane ethanol in replacement to fossil fuel could lead to high greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings. However, empirical data that can be used to validate model predictions and estimates from indirect methodologies are scarce, especially with regard to emissions associated with different fertilization methods and agricultural management practices commonly used in sugarcane agriculture in Brazil. In this study, we provide in situ data on emissions of three GHG (CO 2 , N 2 O, and CH 4 ) from sugarcane soils in Brazil and assess how they vary with fertilization methods and management practices. We measured emissions during the two main phases of the sugarcane crop cycle (plant and ratoon cane), which include different fertilization methods and field conditions. Our results show that N 2 O and CO 2 emissions in plant cane varied significantly depending on the fertilization method and that waste products from ethanol production used as organic fertilizers with mineral fertilizer, as it is the common practice in Brazil, increase emission rates significantly. Cumulatively, the highest emissions were observed for ratoon cane treated with vinasse (liquid waste from ethanol production) especially as the amount of crop trash on the soil surface increased. Emissions of CO 2 and N 2 O were 6.9 kg ha À1 yr À1 and 7.5 kg ha À1 yr À1, respectively, totaling about 3000 kg in CO 2 equivalent ha À1 yr À1 .

Large‐scale bioenergy demand has triggered new approaches to straw management in Brazilian sugarcane fields. With the progressive shift from a burned to a nonburned harvest system, most of the straw presently retained on the soil surface has become economically viable feedstock for bioenergy production. The trade‐offs between the need to preserve soil quality and produce more bioenergy have been the subject of intense discussion. This study presents a synthesis of available information on the magnitude of the main impacts of straw removal from sugarcane fields for bioenergy production and therefore represents an easily available resource to guide management decisions on the recommended amount of straw to be maintained on the field to take advantage of the agronomic, environmental, and industrial benefits. Crop residues remaining on sugarcane fields provide numerous ecosystem services including nutrient recycling, soil biodiversity, water storage, carbon accumulation, control of soil erosion, and weed infestation. Furthermore, several studies reported higher sugarcane production under straw retention on the field, while few suggest that straw may jeopardize biomass production in cold regions and under some specific soil conditions. Pest control is among the parameters favored by straw removal, while N2O emissions are increased only if straw is associated with the application of N fertilizer and vinasse. An appropriate recommendation, which is clearly site specific, should be based on a minimum mass of straw on the field to provide those benefits. Overall, this review indicates that most of the agronomic and environmental benefits are achieved when at least 7 Mg ha−1 of dry straw is maintained on the soil surface. However, modeling efforts are of paramount importance to assess the magnitude and rates of straw removal considering the several indicators involved in this complex equation, so that an accurate straw recovery rate could be provided to producers and industry toward greater sustainability.

RESUMOEm pastagens manejadas intensivamente, que recebem altas doses de nutrientes, é necessário conhecer sua extração para auxiliar as recomendações de adubação. Este trabalho teve a finalidade de avaliar os nutrientes extraídos pela fitomassa de capimmarandu (Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst ex. A. Rich.) Stapf cv. Marandu) submetido a fontes e doses de N e seu efeito na recuperação aparente do N, em experimento conduzido em Latossolo Vermelho Distrófico típico, sob condições tropicais. Foram aplicadas três doses de N: 50, 100 e 200 kg ha -1 corte -1 , nas formas de uréia e de nitrato de amônio (NA), após quatro cortes consecutivos na estação chuvosa, além da testemunha. Houve aumento na extração dos nutrientes com doses crescentes de N, com valores elevados para K e N. As extrações dos macronutrientes foram maiores para K seguidas de N, Ca, Mg, P e S e dos micronutrientes na seguinte ordem decrescente: Fe, Mn, Zn e Cu. A recuperação média do N, pela forragem, de todas as doses da uréia foi de 84% da obtida com o NA, para o qual variou entre 38 e 51%. Em capim-marandu com produções elevadas de forragem, a extração de K é grande e a recuperação média de N da uréia é inferior à média do nitrato de amônio. Termos para indexação:Brachiaria brizantha, extração de nutrientes, nitrato de amônio, teores de nutrientes, uréia. ABSTRACTData about nutrient extraction in pastures receiving high rates of nutrients are important to help to define fertilizer recommendations. The present work had the objective of evaluating nutrient extraction and N recovery by marandu grass (Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst ex. A. Rich.) Stapf cv. Marandu) treated with different sources and rates of N, grown on a dark red latosol (Hapludox), under tropical conditions, in Brazil. Three rates of N were surface-applied: 50, 100 and 200 kg ha -1 cutting -1 as urea or ammonium nitrate, after four consecutive cuttings, during the rainy season. Nutrient extraction increased with increasing nitrogen rates, with high values mainly for K and N. When forage yield was high (treatment with 400 kg ha -1 year -1 of N) and for both fertilizer, macronutrient extraction was greater for K and N, followed by Ca, Mg, P, and S. Micronutrient extraction decreased in the following order: Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu. Mean N recovery, by forage, from urea was of about 84% of that of ammonium nitrate, which varied from 38 to 51% of applied N. Large amounts of K are extract for marandu grass with high forage yield, and mean urea-N recovery is lower than for ammonium nitrate-N.

Crop residues returned to the soil are important for the preservation of soil quality, health, and biodiversity, and they increase agriculture sustainability by recycling nutrients. Sugarcane is a bioenergy crop that produces huge amounts of straw (also known as trash) every year. In addition to straw, the ethanol industry also generates large volumes of vinasse, a liquid residue of ethanol production, which is recycled in sugarcane fields as fertilizer. However, both straw and vinasse have an impact on N 2 O fluxes from the soil. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that is a primary concern in biofuel sustainability. Because bacteria and archaea are the main drivers of N redox processes in soil, in this study we propose the identification of taxa related with N 2 O fluxes by combining functional responses (N 2 O release) and the abundance of these microorganisms in soil. Using a large-scale in situ experiment with ten treatments, an intensive gas monitoring approach, high-throughput sequencing of soil microbial 16S rRNA gene and powerful statistical methods, we identified microbes related to N 2 O fluxes in soil with sugarcane crops. In addition to the classical denitrifiers, we identified taxa within the phylum Firmicutes and mostly uncharacterized taxa recently described as important drivers of N 2 O consumption. Treatments with straw and vinasse also allowed the identification of taxa with potential biotechnological properties that might improve the sustainability of bioethanol by increasing C yields and improving N efficiency in sugarcane fields.