Effects of Fertilizer Placement and Nitrogen Forms on Soil Nitrogen Diffusion and Migration of Red-Yellow Soil in China

Abstract

A better understanding of nitrogen (N) diffusion and transformation in soils could reveal the capacity of the biological inorganic N and improve the efficiency of N fertilizers. A field micro-plot experiment was carried out to study the effects of fertilization methods (mixed uniformly with 12 cm top soil, placed in holes at a 12-cm depth, or placed in furrows at a 12-cm depth) and forms of N fertilizers (urea and ammonium phosphate) on the dynamics of soil N’s vertical diffusion and horizontal migration in red-yellow soil. The soil inorganic N ( and ) content following point deep placement was greater than that from mixed or furrow applications. Under point placement, the migration of soil inorganic N in urea and ammonium phosphate treatments occurred in the 6 - 15 cm layer at a horizontal distance of 0 - 9 cm. However, the nutrient preservation capability of the soil receiving ammonium phosphate was greater than that receiving urea under point deep placement. Thus, point deep placement had a tendency to increase the inorganic N in the soil and reduce inorganic N loss, which probably occurred due to the reduced soil volume with which the N fertilizer was mixed. According to crop growth and fertilizer requirements, the optimized fertilizer placement and N species resulted in a continuously high nutrient supply to crops for 90 d. However, the effects of point deep placement on increasing the N-use efficiency and reducing N loss have to be evaluated under natural field conditions.