Short‐term and residual availability of nitrogen after long‐term application of organic fertilizers on arable land

Gutser, R.; Ebertseder, Th.; Weber, Andreas; Schraml, M.; Schmidhalter, Urs

doi:10.1002/jpln.200520510

Cited by 344 publications

(287 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Another factor indirectly affecting nitrate leaching risk is often an increase of the total amounts of available organic manures after implementation of biogas plants due to digestion of dedicated energy crops (Möller et al 2011), resulting very often in higher overall organic manure applications at inconvenient periods. The significantly lower N efficiencies of organic manures, including unseparated digestates, in comparison to mineral N fertilizers (e.g., Gutser et al 2005) are a further reason for higher N loss risks after setup of such biogas plants as higher amounts of total N are often applied to secure the N demand of crops.…”

Section: Effects Of Anaerobic Digestion On Digestate Organic Matter Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of anaerobic digestion on soil carbon and nitrogen turnover, N emissions, and soil biological activity. A review

Möller¹

2015

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

236

139

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Sustainability in agriculture means the inclusion of several aspects, as sustainable agriculture systems must not compromise not only their ability to satisfy future needs by undermining soil fertility and the natural resource base but also sustainable agriculture has had to address a range of other issues including energy use, efficient use, and recycling of nutrients, the effects on adjacent ecosystems including the effects on water bodies and climate change. Organic manures are an important factor to keep the soil fertility level of soils. However, their management is often related to large emissions. In this context, anaerobic digestion is-similarly to composting-a treatment option for stabilization of biogenic wastes leading to a residual product called digestates, enabling the sanitation and the recycling and use as fertilizer. It is also a means to obtain energy from wastes as well as from dedicated energy crops. Therefore, anaerobic digestion potentially addresses several aspects of agricultural sustainability. This review discusses the current state of knowledge on the effects of anaerobic digestion on organic compounds in digestates and the most important processes influencing N emissions in the field, as well as the possible longterm effects on soil microbial biomass and soil fertility. The main findings are that (1) the direct effects of anaerobic digestion on long-term sustainability in terms of soil fertility and environmental impact at the field level are of minor relevance. (2) The most relevant effects of anaerobic digestion on soil fertility as well as on N emissions will be expected from indirect effects related to cropping system changes such as changes in crop rotation, crop acreage, cover cropping, and total amounts of organic manures including digestates. Furthermore, (3) the remaining organic fraction after anaerobic digestion is much more recalcitrant than the input feedstocks leading to a stabilization of the organic matter and a lower organic matter degradation rate after field application, enabling a similar reproduction of the soil organic matter as obtained by direct application of the feedstock or by composting of the feedstock. (4) Regarding emissions, the main direct effect of anaerobic digestion on a farm level is the influence on gaseous emissions during manure or digestate treatment and handling, whereas the direct effects of anaerobic digestion on a field level on emissions (NH 3 − and N 2 O − emissions, NO 3 -leaching) are negligible or at least ambiguous. (5) The main direct effects of anaerobic digestion on the field level are short-term effects on soil microbial activity and changes in the soil microbial community. Therefore, in terms of the effects on agricultural sustainability, potential cropping system-based changes induced by introduction of biogas plants are probably much more relevant for the overall performance and sustainability of the cropping system than the direct effects triggered by application of digestates in comparison to the undigested feedstock...

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Section: Effects Of Anaerobic Digestion On Digestate Organic Matter Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of anaerobic digestion on soil carbon and nitrogen turnover, N emissions, and soil biological activity. A review

Möller¹

2015

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

236

139

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“…4). This result is reasonable because the value of available N relates to quickly-decomposable soil organic N, rather than slowlydecomposable soil organic N. Gutser et al (2005) have found that the degradability of organic matter in biogas slurry (equivalent to ADM) is small.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Nitrogen Uptake by the Rice Plant and Changes in the Soil Chemical Properties in the Paddy Rice Field during Yearly Application of Anaerobically-Digested Manure for Seven Years

Nishikawa

Inamura

2014

Plant Production Science

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This study investigated the changes in the chemical properties of the plow soil during a 7-year period with yearly application of anaerobically-digested manure (ADM), and the effect of the different ADM application methods on nitrogen (N) uptake by rice plants and the apparent N balance (input N minus output N). Among the treatments significant differences were observed in the pH, total N, and available N in the plow soil. The cumulative N uptake by rice plants in the ADM split application plots was significantly higher than that in single application plots. Consequently, the apparent N balance (input N minus output N) in the single ADM application plots was more positive. This result suggests that split application of ADM is more favorable for N uptake by rice plants. Although the apparent N balance was negative in the plots without N fertilizer, with chemical N and with low ADM, there was no observable decline in the total N and available N in the plow soil. This result implies that input and output of N in these plots were well balanced by additional N supply other than fertilization. On the other hand, the apparent N balance during the 7-year study under standard and heavy application of ADM was positive, indicating the preservation of soil fertility.

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“…However, in the year of application only a certain amount of this organically bound nitrogen will be mineralized into plant available N forms. Based on data from Gutser et al (2005) this so-called 'mineral fertilizer equivalent (MFE)' for feather meals can be estimated to 60% of the total applied N. Therefore, 1600 kg feather meal is needed to replace 125 kg nitrogen.…”

Section: Stabilized Nitrogen Fertilizermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The production was assumed to take place in Germany or bordering Table 1. Characteristics of the secondary raw material fertilizers products considered for the carbon footprint calculation (based on the data from Choi and Nelson (1996), Gutser et al (2005), and Hartz and Johnstone (2006) states. GHG emissions of meat production can be found in Table 2.…”

Section: Stabilized Nitrogen Fertilizermentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco-innovations in the German fertilizer supply chain: Impact on the carbon footprint of fertilizers

Hasler¹,

Bröring²,

Omta³

et al. 2017

Plant Soil Environ.

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The aim of this paper is to analyse to what extent the existing eco-innovations in the German fertilizer domain might reduce the fertilizer carbon footprint without compromising on crop productivity. The continuously growing demand for agricultural products will require a further increase in agricultural production mostly achieved with additional external inputs (fossil energy, pesticides, irrigation water and fertilizers). Fertilizer in general and nitrogen fertilizers in particular are major factors for yield increases in crop production. On the other hand, emissions of greenhouse gases play a dominant role in the debate on the environmental burden of fertilizers. Typical mineral fertilizers were compared with so-called stabilized nitrogen fertilizers and secondary raw material fertilizers in this study. Additionally, an effect of the combination of irrigation with fertilization (i.e. fertigation) was investigated. With an adopted life cycle assessment approach focusing on CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub>O emission, the carbon footprints of the different fertilizer options were considered. The calculations showed that especially the use of stabilized nitrogen fertilizer reduced the fertilization-related carbon footprint up to 13%. However, because of higher costs or incomplete supply chain relationships, adoption of these innovations is expected to be rather limited in the near future. Fertilizers made from secondary raw materials resulted in similar carbon footprints as mineral ones, but they can help to close nutrient cycles and use by-products of other production processes.

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Short‐term and residual availability of nitrogen after long‐term application of organic fertilizers on arable land

Cited by 344 publications

References 44 publications

Effects of anaerobic digestion on soil carbon and nitrogen turnover, N emissions, and soil biological activity. A review

Effects of anaerobic digestion on soil carbon and nitrogen turnover, N emissions, and soil biological activity. A review

Nitrogen Uptake by the Rice Plant and Changes in the Soil Chemical Properties in the Paddy Rice Field during Yearly Application of Anaerobically-Digested Manure for Seven Years

Eco-innovations in the German fertilizer supply chain: Impact on the carbon footprint of fertilizers

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