Dissolved organic nitrogen contributes significantly to leaching from furrow-irrigated cotton–wheat–maize rotations
B. C. T. Macdonald A E , A. J. Ringrose-Voase A , A. J. Nadelko B , M. Farrell C , S. Tuomi A and G. Nachimuthu D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A CSIRO Agriculture, Black Mountain, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
B CSIRO Agriculture, Narrabri, NSW 2390, Australia.
C CSIRO Agriculture, Waite Adelaide, SA 5064, Australia.
D NSW Department of Primary Industries, Narrabri, NSW 2390, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: ben.macdonald@csiro.au
Soil Research 55(1) 70-77 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR16047
Submitted: 16 February 2016 Accepted: 18 March 2016 Published: 12 September 2016
Abstract
Leaching of nitrogen (N) in intensive irrigated agriculture can be a significant loss pathway. Though many studies have focussed on losses of mineral N, and in particular nitrate, dissolved organic N (DON) has received less coverage. In the present study, over a 5-year period (2008–2013), 740 kg N ha–1 fertiliser was applied to an irrigated cotton–wheat–maize rotation on a cracking clay (grey Vertosol). Deep drainage from the undisturbed soil profile at the site was measured at 2.1 m below the soil surface using a variable tension lysimeter. In total, 108 mm of drainage occurred during the 5 years and the majority of the drainage and the irrigations occurred during the cotton seasons. The majority of the N loss occurred during the first 3–4 irrigations and neither the N loss nor its composition were affected by the product or timing of the fertiliser application. The N in the drainage was composed of 12.8 kg NOx-N ha–1, 8.7 DON-N and 0.1 NH4+-N kg ha–1, which shows that DON is an important component (40%) of the deep drainage N from irrigated Vertosol cotton production systems. Overall the total N flux lost via deep drainage represents 3% of the applied N fertiliser.
Additional keywords: ammonium, DON, nitrate, tension lysimeter, Vertosol.
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