Mineral nitrogen content in hydrographic areas of Poland depending on land use

Abstract

A b s t r a c t. One unintended consequence of nitrogen use in agriculture is an increase in nitrate content in ground waters. Nitrogen content was evaluated in soil samples from specific hydrographic regions of Poland from the 60-90 cm soil layer, in which this nutrient is not readily available to the main root mass of crop plants and may negatively affect the environment. It was revealed that N min content in specific hydrographic regions was highly dependent on both the soil type and land use. Notably higher values of N min content were observed for organic soils. The highest N contents were found in the grasslands of the northwestern area of Poland, while they were slightly lower in several regions of the main Odra River catchment and west of the Vistula River. The area with a high N min content in soils under maize was significantly larger compared to the grasslands area and primarily included the hydrographic regions of the Odra River basin in its south-western stretch, and of the Vistula River on its western and south-eastern side. With regard to the arable land under mixed cereals, the soils with the highest N min content in the non-root layer were predominantly located in hydrographic regions belonging to the main Odra catchment and to the catchment of the Vistula River in its upper course.K e y w o r d s: nitrogen, spatial distribution, hydrographic areas, land use, grassland

Dynamics of Changes in Selected Soil Traits in the Profiles of Arable Soils Anthropogenically Alkalised by the Cement and Lime Industry within the Kielecko-Łagowski Vale (Poland)

“…Nitrogen in soils belongs to active and dynamic elements. Its content in the surface horizon of soils in Poland has been estimated to be from 0.02% to 0.035% and depends on a number of factors, including the climate ones [33][34][35].…”

Use of Digestate as an Alternative to Mineral Fertilizer: Effects on Soil Mineral Nitrogen and Winter Wheat Nitrogen Accumulation in Clay Loam

“…Part of the SMN was absorbed by the wheat. However, N is not taken up from the deeper soil layers until wheat roots have formed [30]. The unusually warm winter was likely to have contributed to SMN losses.…”

Soil Nitrate Nitrogen Content and Grain Yields of Organically Grown Cereals as Affected by a Strip Tillage and Forage Legume Intercropping

“…The increase in mineral nitrogen in soil was due to the nitrogen-rich and rapidly decomposing (C:N < 15) mass of forage legumes incorporated during ploughing [ 9 ]. Previous studies showed that in the conditions of variable humidity in autumn, most of the mineral nitrogen accumulates in the deeper layer (30–60 cm) after ploughing in forage legume mass [ 9 ], and usually this nitrogen is not available, as the main cereal roots have not yet formed [ 38 ]. Therefore, during such a period, there is a risk of nitrogen migration into deeper soil layers and its leaching [ 10 ].…”