Effects of contrasting catch crops on nitrogen availability and nitrous oxide emissions in an organic cropping system

Li, Xiaoxi; Petersen, Søren O.; Sørensen, Peter; Olesen, Jørgen E.

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2014.10.016

Cited by 83 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…The soil mineral N content, which may be an indicator of N leaching risk (Kankanen and Eriksson 2007), was not measured in our microplots. However, there were no dramatic changes in soil nitrate under catch crops before and during the winter 2012 in our large plots (Li et al 2015). Similarly, Kankanen and Eriksson (2007) observed no increase of soil nitrate under red clover in late autumn and succeeding spring compared to bare soil fallow.…”

Section: Catch Crop Dry Matter and N Accumulationmentioning

confidence: 42%

“…The experiment was conducted at Research Centre Foulum, Aarhus University, Denmark (56°30′N, 9°34′E) as part of a field experiment to study nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions as affected by different catch crop types and management (Li et al 2015). The upper 30 cm soil is a loamy sand soil with 8.6 % clay, 12.0 % silt and 79.4 % sand.…”

Section: Experimental Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using catch crops (or cover crops, CCs) in cool seasons, e.g., from autumn to early spring, is a common practice to preserve soil N and decrease N leaching losses outside the main crop season in Western and Northern Europe (Askegaard and Eriksen 2008). Moreover, N in CC residues may be a significant source of N and contribute to the yield of succeeding main crops in N limited systems (Thorup-Kristensen et al 2003;Li et al 2015). A tendency of less annual variation in yields was observed in organic crop rotations with catch crops (Olesen et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantifying biological nitrogen fixation of different catch crops, and residual effects of roots and tops on nitrogen uptake in barley using in-situ 15N labelling

Sørensen

et al. 2015

Plant Soil

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Background and aims Contributions of legume-based catch crops (LBCCs) to succeeding cereals may be significant. We quantified biological N fixation (BNF) and residual N effects of contrasting CC tops and roots. Methods BNF of three LBCCs (red clover, winter vetch, perennial ryegrass-red clover mixture) was quantified in microplots by 15 N labelling. Their residual effects on spring barley were tested against two non-LBCCs (perennial ryegrass, fodder radish) after spring incorporation of CC tops or roots in monoliths. Results Total N accumulated in LBCCs was 153-226 kg N ha −1 , of which 62-66 % was derived from BNF in tops and 31-46 % in macro-roots (0-18 cm soil). Macro-roots represented 31-50 % of total plant N.LBCCs showed similar capacity for soil N extraction as non-LBCCs. After incorporation of LBCC residues, the dry matter and N yields of spring barley were comparable to the effect of 50 kg N fertilisation ha −1 , whereas no extra N uptake was derived from non-LBCCs. The 15 Nbased N fertiliser values of LBCC tops were 34-47 % against 26-29 % for non-LBCCs. Conclusions LBCC roots contributed substantial amounts of N to the system, a source that is usually underestimated. N immobilisation after incorporation of non-LBCCs may hamper the growth of following main crops especially after removing tops.Keywords Legume-based catch crop . Biological N fixation . Soil N uptake . Residual N effect . 15 N isotope dilution . Spring barley Abbreviations N N i t r o g e n DM Dry matter CC Catch crop (Non-)LBCC (Non-)legume-based catch crop BNF Biological N fixation CL Red clover GC Perennial ryegrass-red clover mixture WV Winter vetch FR Fodder radish GR Perennial ryegrass CO Control without catch crops in large plots Plant Soil

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Section: Catch Crop Dry Matter and N Accumulationmentioning

confidence: 42%

Section: Experimental Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantifying biological nitrogen fixation of different catch crops, and residual effects of roots and tops on nitrogen uptake in barley using in-situ 15N labelling

Sørensen

et al. 2015

Plant Soil

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“…To fully quantify the impact of cover cropping on N 2 O emissions, it is important to collect measurements during both the fallow and the cash crop growing periods of the rotation cycle and to distinguish between these two phases. Studies that focused on the cash crop growing season dominated our dataset while studies comparing N 2 O emissions from the growth periods of legume cover crops versus bare fallows, such as Li et al (2015) were especially lacking. Growing non-legume cover crops during the traditional fallow periods significantly reduced N 2 O emissions, probably because cover crops actively scavenged soil N and led to decreased N 2 O by reducing soil NO 3 pools (Thorup-Kristensen et al 2003).…”

Section: Ecologically-based Nutrient Management Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

N2O emissions from grain cropping systems: a meta-analysis of the impacts of fertilizer-based and ecologically-based nutrient management strategies

Han

Walter

Drinkwater

2017

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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Understanding how agricultural management practices impact nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions is prerequisite for developing mitigation protocols. We conducted a meta-analysis on 597 pairwise comparisons (129 papers) to assess how management affects N 2 O emissions. Pairwise comparisons of practices aimed at improving fertilizer use efficiency (39%) and tillage (30%) dominated the dataset, while ecologically-based nutrient management (ENM) practices constituted 15% of the pairs. In general, across management practices, the quantity of N added was a more significant driver of N 2 O fluxes than was the form of N (fertilizer, legume biomass or animal manures). Manure interacted with soil texture so that in coarse soils, N 2 O emissions from manures tended to be higher compared to inorganic N fertilizers. The studies of ENM strategies frequently involved overapplication of N inputs in the ENM treatments. Cover crops reduced N 2 O emissions compared to bare fallows. However, during the cash crop growing season, when differences in N added and N source were confounded, the extra N inputs from cover crops were significantly correlated with the differences in N 2 O emissions between treatments with and without cover crops. Overall, in 38% of the data pairs, N 2 O emissions were reduced with limited impacts on yields; in half of these pairs, yields were maintained or increased while in the other half they were reduced by only B10%. Knowledge gaps on mitigation of agricultural N 2 O emissions could be addressed by applying an ecosystem-based, cross-scale perspective in conjunction with the N saturation conceptual framework to guide research priorities and experimental designs.

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“…Greenhouse gas emissions, for example, depend on the complex interaction of several different biotic and abiotic variables (Snyder et al, 2014). While legume supported crop systems may limit N and C losses (Drinkwater et al, 1998, maize-soybean), management per se is a major factor in achieving this (Rees et al, 2013), especially the use of cover crops, both legume and non-legume grown to accumulate N in the soil for potential incorporation by later crops and to reduce GHG emissions (Thorup-Kristensen et al, 2003; Li et al, 2015). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparative Nitrogen Balance and Productivity Analysis of Legume and Non-legume Supported Cropping Systems: The Potential Role of Biological Nitrogen Fixation

et al. 2016

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The potential of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) to provide sufficient N for production has encouraged re-appraisal of cropping systems that deploy legumes. It has been argued that legume-derived N can maintain productivity as an alternative to the application of mineral fertilizer, although few studies have systematically evaluated the effect of optimizing the balance between legumes and non N-fixing crops to optimize production. In addition, the shortage, or even absence in some regions, of measurements of BNF in crops and forages severely limits the ability to design and evaluate new legume–based agroecosystems. To provide an indication of the magnitude of BNF in European agriculture, a soil-surface N-balance approach was applied to historical data from 8 experimental cropping systems that compared legume and non-legume crop types (e.g., grains, forages and intercrops) across pedoclimatic regions of Europe. Mean BNF for different legume types ranged from 32 to 115 kg ha−1 annually. Output in terms of total biomass (grain, forage, etc.) was 30% greater in non-legumes, which used N to produce dry matter more efficiently than legumes, whereas output of N was greater from legumes. When examined over the crop sequence, the contribution of BNF to the N-balance increased to reach a maximum when the legume fraction was around 0.5 (legume crops were present in half the years). BNF was lower when the legume fraction increased to 0.6–0.8, not because of any feature of the legume, but because the cropping systems in this range were dominated by mixtures of legume and non-legume forages to which inorganic N as fertilizer was normally applied. Forage (e.g., grass and clover), as opposed to grain crops in this range maintained high outputs of biomass and N. In conclusion, BNF through grain and forage legumes has the potential to generate major benefit in terms of reducing or dispensing with the need for mineral N without loss of total output.

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Effects of contrasting catch crops on nitrogen availability and nitrous oxide emissions in an organic cropping system

Cited by 83 publications

References 59 publications

Quantifying biological nitrogen fixation of different catch crops, and residual effects of roots and tops on nitrogen uptake in barley using in-situ 15N labelling

Quantifying biological nitrogen fixation of different catch crops, and residual effects of roots and tops on nitrogen uptake in barley using in-situ 15N labelling

N2O emissions from grain cropping systems: a meta-analysis of the impacts of fertilizer-based and ecologically-based nutrient management strategies

A Comparative Nitrogen Balance and Productivity Analysis of Legume and Non-legume Supported Cropping Systems: The Potential Role of Biological Nitrogen Fixation

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