Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Soil Research Soil Research Society
Soil, land care and environmental research
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > SR > SR23164
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 62(2)

Effects of straw mulching, liming, and soil texture on ammonia volatilisation: a study of conventional and enhanced efficiency fertilisers

Bruno Maia Abdo Rahmen Cassim https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3346-4007 A , Vitor Rodrigues Cordioli https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8038-673X B , Guilherme Frelo Chilante https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4204-1910 B , Fabrício Linares Mazzi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4412-9629 B , Antonio Saraiva Muniz https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0506-8584 B , Tadeu Takeyoshi Inoue https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5143-6117 B and Marcelo Augusto Batista https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6233-192X B *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A University of São Paulo, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, Department of Soil Science, Pádua Dias Ave, 11, Piracicaba, São Paulo 13418-900, Brazil.

B State University of Maringá, Department of Agronomy, Colombo Ave, 5790, Maringá, Paraná 87020-900, Brazil.

* Correspondence to: mabatista@uem.br

Handling Editor: Peter Grace

Soil Research 62, SR23164 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR23164
Submitted: 18 August 2023  Accepted: 29 January 2024  Published: 13 February 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context

In no-tillage agriculture, maintenance of soil cover combined with liming without incorporation increases nitrogen (N) loss via ammonia (NH3) volatilisation, decreasing the efficiency of nitrogen fertilisers.

Aims

To quantify N losses by NH3 volatilisation from conventional and enhanced efficiency fertilisers applied to a clayey and a sandy loam soil subjected or not to lime (CaCO3) application and straw mulching.

Methods

Two laboratory experiments were carried out; one using a clayey soil, and the other using a sandy loam soil. Both experiments followed a 4 × 2 × 2 factorial design with four N sources (urea, urea-NBPT, urea-formaldehyde, and ammonium sulfate), absence and presence of liming, and absence and presence of Brachiaria ruziziensis straw mulching. NH3 volatilisation was measured using closed flasks containing filter paper soaked with sulfuric acid and quantified by titration with sodium hydroxide.

Key results

NH3 volatilisation was up to 62% of the N applied. Losses due to NH3 volatilisation from both soil types decreased in the following order of treatment: liming + straw mulching > straw mulching only > liming only. Urea-formaldehyde and ammonium sulfate were the most efficient in reducing NH3 emissions. However, when ammonium sulfate was applied to a clayey soil after liming, it resulted in higher NH3 emissions than conventional urea.

Conclusions

Urea-formaldehyde showed better performance in reducing NH3 losses due to greater stability in the presence of straw or liming.

Implications

Soils with straw and limestone can lead to large NH3 volatilisation losses if urea conventional is broadcast.

Keywords: formaldehyde, NBPT, nitrogen, nonlinear model, no-tillage, soil acidity, urea, urease inhibitor.

References

Akaike H (1974) A new look at the statistical model identification. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control 19, 716-723.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Al-Kanani T, MacKenzie AF (1992) Effect of tillage practices and hay straw on ammonia volatilization from nitrogen fertilizer solutions. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 72, 145-157.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Barth G, Francisco E, Suyama JT, Garcia F (2018) Nutrient uptake illustrated for modern, high-yielding soybean. Better Crop with Plant Food 102, 11-14.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Behera SN, Sharma M, Aneja VP, Balasubramanian R (2013) Ammonia in the atmosphere: a review on emission sources, atmospheric chemistry and deposition on terrestrial bodies. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 20, 8092-8131.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Besen MR, Ribeiro RH, Minato EA, Batista MA, Bayer C, Piva JT (2021) Modelling of N2O emissions from a maize crop after the application of enhanced-efficiency nitrogen fertilisers. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 52, 1645-1656.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Black AS, Sherlock RR, Smith NP, Cameron KC, Goh KM (1985) Effects of form of nitrogen, season, and urea application rate on ammonia volatilisation from pastures. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 28, 469-474.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Black AS, Sherlock RR, Smith NP (1987) Effect of urea granule size on ammonia volatilization from surface-applied urea. Fertilizer Research 11, 87-96.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bremner JM, Mulvaney RL (1978) Urease activity in soils. In ‘Soil enzymes.’ (Ed. RG Burns) pp. 149–196. (Academic Press: London)

Cancellier EL, Silva DRG, Faquin V, Gonçalves BdA, Cancellier LL, Spehar CR (2016) Ammonia volatilization from enhanced-efficiency urea on no-till maize in brazilian cerrado with improved soil fertility. Ciência e Agrotecnologia 40, 133-144.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Cantarella H, Otto R, Soares JR, Silva AGdB (2018) Agronomic efficiency of NBPT as a urease inhibitor: a review. Journal of Advanced Research 13, 19-27.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Cassim BMAR, Kachinski WD, Besen MR, Coneglian CF, Macon CR, Paschoeto GF, Inoue TT, Batista MA (2021) Duromide increase NBPT efficiency in reducing ammonia volatilization loss from urea. Revista Brasileira de Ciencia do Solo 45, e0210017.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Cassim BMAR, Besen MR, Kachinski WD, Macon CR, de Almeida Junior JHV, Sakurada R, Inoue TT, Batista MA (2022) Nitrogen fertilizers technologies for corn in two yield environments in South Brazil. Plants 11, 1890.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Chaturvedi S, Dave PN (2013) Review on thermal decomposition of ammonium nitrate. Journal of Energetic Materials 31, 1-26.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Curtin D, Campbell CA, Messer D (1996) Prediction of titratable acidity and soil sensitivity to pH change. Journal of Environmental Quality 25, 1280-1284.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Da Ros CO, Aita C, Giacomini SJ (2005) Ammonia volatilization after urea surface applied in corn no-tillage. Ciência Rural 35, 799-805.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Del Moro SK, Sullivan DM, Horneck DA (2017) Ammonia volatilization from broadcast urea and alternative dry nitrogen fertilizers. Soil Science Society of America Journal 81, 1629-1639.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

de Souza TL, de Oliveira DP, Santos CF, Reis THP, Cabral JPC, da Silva Resende ER, Fernandes TJ, de Souza TR, Builes VR, Guelfi D (2023) Nitrogen fertilizer technologies: opportunities to improve nutrient use efficiency towards sustainable coffee production systems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 345, 108317.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Dick WA (1984) Influence of long-term tillage and crop rotation combinations on soil enzyme activities. Soil Science Society of America Journal 48, 569-574.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

du Toit DJJ, Swanepoel PA, Hardie AG (2022) Effect of lime source, fineness and granulation on neutralisation of soil pH. South African Journal of Plant and Soil 39, 163-174.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Fenn LB, Kissel DE (1973) Ammonia volatilization from surface applications of ammonium compounds on calcareous soils: I. general theory. Soil Science Society of America Journal 37, 855-859.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ferguson RB, Kissel DE, Koelliker JK, Basel W (1984) Ammonia volatilization from surface-applied urea: effect of hydrogen ion buffering capacity. Soil Science Society of America Journal 48, 578-582.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ferm M (1998) Atmospheric ammonia and ammonium transport in Europe and critical loads: a review. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 51, 5-17.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ferreira C, Ribeiro J, Clift R, Freire F (2019) A circular economy approach to military munitions: valorization of energetic material from ammunition disposal through incorporation in civil explosives. Sustainability 11, 255.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Frankenberger WT, Jr, Tabatabai MA (1982) Amidase and urease activities in plants. Plant and Soil 64, 153-166.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Giroto AS, do Valle SF, Guimarães GGF, Jablonowski ND, Ribeiro C, Mattoso LHC (2021) Different Zn loading in urea–formaldehyde influences the N controlled release by structure modification. Scientific Reports 11, 7621.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Havlin JL, Tisdale SL, Nelson WL, Beaton JD (2017) ‘Soil fertility and fertilizers: an introduction to nutrient management.’ (Pearson)

Hill J, Goodkind A, Tessum C, Thakrar S, Tilman D, Polasky S, Smith T, Hunt N, Mullins K, Clark M, Marshall J (2019) Air-quality-related health damages of maize. Nature Sustainability 2, 397-403.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

International Fertilizer Association - IFA (2019) Executive summary fertilizer outlook 2019-2023. In ‘Proceedings of the IFA Annual Conference’. pp. 1–11. Available at https://www.fertilizer.org/resource/executive-summary-fertilizer-outlook-2019-2023/

IPCC (1996) Climate change 1995: The science of climate change. Contribution of working group I to the second assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (Eds JT Houghton, LG Meira Filho, BA Callander, N Harris, A Kattenberg, K Maskell). Cambridge University Press.

Jahns T, Ewen H, Kaltwasser H (2003) Biodegradability of urea-aldehyde condensation products. Journal of Polymers and the Environment 11, 155-159.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Jiang W, Zhu A, Wang C, Zhang F, Jiao X (2021) Optimizing wheat production and reducing environmental impacts through scientist–farmer engagement: lessons from the North China Plain. Food and Energy Security 10, e255.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kassam A, Friedrich T, Derpsch R (2019) Global spread of conservation agriculture. International Journal of Environmental Studies 76, 29-51.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kiehl JC (1989) Emprego de sais inorgânicos no controle da volatilização de amônia decorrente da aplicação de ureia no solo. pp. 1–108. Tese de Livre Docência – Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Universidade de São Paulo.

Krajewska B (2009) Ureases I. Functional, catalytic and kinetic properties: a review. Journal of Molecular Catalysis B: Enzymatic 59, 9-21.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Laboureur DM, Han Z, Harding BZ, Pineda A, Pittman WC, Rosas C, Jiang J, Mannan MS (2016) Case study and lessons learned from the ammonium nitrate explosion at the West Fertilizer facility. Journal of Hazardous Materials 308, 164-172.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Li T, Wang Z, Wang C, Huang J, Feng Y, Shen W, Zhou M, Yang L (2022) Ammonia volatilization mitigation in crop farming: a review of fertilizer amendment technologies and mechanisms. Chemosphere 303, 134944.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Liu L, Zhang X, Xu W, Liu X, Li Y, Wei J, Wang Z, Lu X (2020) Ammonia volatilization as the major nitrogen loss pathway in dryland agro-ecosystems. Environmental Pollution 265, 114862.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Martens DA, Bremner JM (1989) Soil properties affecting volatilization of ammonia from soils treated with urea. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 20, 1645-1657.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Milam-Guerrero JA, Yang B, To DT, Myung NV (2022) Nitrous oxide is no laughing matter: a historical review of nitrous oxide gas-sensing capabilities highlighting the need for further exploration. ACS Sensors 7, 3598-3610.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Minato EA, Besen MR, Cassim BMAR, Mazzi FL, Inoue TT, Batista MA (2019) Modeling of nitrogen losses through ammonia volatilization in second-season corn. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 50, 2733-2741.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Minato EA, Cassim BMAR, Besen MR, Mazzi FL, Inoue TT, Batista MA (2020) Controlled-release nitrogen fertilizers: characterization, ammonia volatilization, and effects on second-season corn. Revista Brasileira de Ciência Do Solo 44, e0190108.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Minato EA, Besen MR, Esper Neto M, Cassim BMAR, Zampar ÉJdO, Inoue TT, Batista MA (2023a) Ammonia volatilization and nitrogen status in second-season corn after lime and gypsum application in no-till. Acta Scientiarum – Agronomy 45, e58774.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Minato EA, Brignoli FM, Neto ME, Besen MR, Cassim BMAR, Lima RS, Tormena CA, Inoue TT, Batista MA (2023b) Lime and gypsum application to low-acidity soils: changes in soil chemical properties, residual lime content and crop agronomic performance. Soil and Tillage Research 234, 105860.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Mkhabela MS, Madani A, Gordon R, Burton D, Cudmore D, Elmi A, Hart W (2008) Gaseous and leaching nitrogen losses from no-tillage and conventional tillage systems following surface application of cattle manure. Soil and Tillage Research 98, 187-199.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Pan B, Lam SK, Mosier A, Luo Y, Chen D (2016) Ammonia volatilization from synthetic fertilizers and its mitigation strategies: a global synthesis. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 232, 283-289.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Pelster DE, Chantigny MH, Angers DA, Bertrand N, MacDonald JD, Rochette P (2018) Can soil clay content predict ammonia volatilization losses from subsurface-banded urea in eastern Canadian soils? Canadian Journal of Soil Science 98, 556-565.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Pittelkow CM, Liang X, Linquist BA, van Groenigen KJ, Lee J, Lundy ME, van Gestel N, Six J, Venterea RT, van Kessel C (2015) Productivity limits and potentials of the principles of conservation agriculture. Nature 517, 365-368.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Prăvălie R, Patriche C, Borrelli P, Panagos P, Roșca B, Dumitraşcu M, Nita I-A, Săvulescu I, Birsan M-V, Bandoc G (2021) Arable lands under the pressure of multiple land degradation processes. A global perspective. Environmental Research 194, 110697.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Reicosky DC (2015) Conservation tillage is not conservation agriculture. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 70, 103A-108A.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Rochette P, MacDonald JD, Angers DA, Chantigny MH, Gasser M-O, Bertrand N (2009) Banding of urea increased ammonia volatilization in a dry acidic soil. Journal of Environmental Quality 38, 1383-1390.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Rojas CAL, Bayer C, Fontoura SMV, Weber MA, Vieiro F (2012) Ammonia volatilization from urea as affected by tillage systems and winter cover crops in the south-central region of Paraná. Revista Brasileira de Ciencia do Solo 36, 261-270.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

San Francisco S, Urrutia O, Martin V, Peristeropoulos A, Garcia-Mina JM (2011) Efficiency of urease and nitrification inhibitors in reducing ammonia volatilization from diverse nitrogen fertilizers applied to different soil types and wheat straw mulching. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 91, 1569-1575.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Sangoi L, Ernani PR, Lech VA, Rampazzo C (2003) Volatilization of N-NH3 influenced by urea application forms, residue management and soil type in lab conditions. Ciência Rural 33, 687-692.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Santos HGd, Jacomine PKT, Anjos LHCd, Oliveira VAd, Lumbreras JF, Coelho MR, Almeida JAd, Araujo Filho JCd, Oliveira JBd, Cunha TJF (2018) ‘Sistema brasileiro de classificação de solos.’ (Embrapa Solos: Brasília)

Santos AKBd, Popin GV, Gmach MR, Cherubin MR, Siqueira Neto M, Cerri CEP (2022) Changes in soil temperature and moisture due to sugarcane straw removal in central-southern Brazil. Scientia Agricola 79, e20200309.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

SBCS/NEPAR (2019) ‘Manual de adubação e calagem para o Estado do Paraná.’ (Eds V Pauletti, ACV Motta). (Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência do Solo: Curitiba)

Seber GAF, Wild CJ (2003) ‘Nonlinear regression.’ (Wiley-interscience: New Jersey)

Sigurdarson JJ, Svane S, Karring H (2018) The molecular processes of urea hydrolysis in relation to ammonia emissions from agriculture. Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology 17, 241-258.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Silva AGB, Sequeira CH, Sermarini RA, Otto R (2017) Urease inhibitor NBPT on ammonia volatilization and crop productivity: a meta-analysis. Agronomy Journal 109, 1-13.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Soil Survey Staff (2014) ‘Keys to soil taxonomy.’ (United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service: Washington)

Sunderlage B, Cook RL (2018) Soil property and fertilizer additive effects on ammonia volatilization from urea. Soil Science Society of America Journal 82, 253-259.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Tasca FA, Ernani PR, Rogeri DA, Gatiboni LC, Cassol PC (2011) Ammonia volatilization following soil application of conventional urea or urea with urease inhibitor. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo 35, 493-502.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Trenkel M (2010) ‘Slow- and controlled-release and stabilized fertilizers: an option for enhancing nutrient use efficiency in agriculture.’ (IFA: Paris)

Vale MLCd, Sousa ROd, Scivittaro WB (2014) Evaluation of ammonia volatilization losses by adjusted parameters of a logistic function. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo 38, 223-231.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Wibowo ES, Park B-D, Causin V (2022) Recent advances in urea–formaldehyde resins: converting crystalline thermosetting polymers back to amorphous ones. Polymer Reviews 62, 722-756.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Wyer KE, Kelleghan DB, Blanes-Vidal V, Schauberger G, Curran TP (2022) Ammonia emissions from agriculture and their contribution to fine particulate matter: a review of implications for human health. Journal of Environmental Management 323, 116285.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Zhenghu D, Honglang X (2000) Effects of soil properties on ammonia volatilization. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 46, 845-852.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |