Measurement of ammonia volatilization loss using a dynamic chamber technique: A case study of surface-incorporated manure and ammonium sulfate in an upland field of light-colored Andosol

Abstract

The present study aimed to elucidate ammonia (NH3) volatilization loss following surface incorporation (0-15 cm mixing depth) of nitrogen (N) fertilizer in an upland field of light-colored Andosol in central Japan. A dynamic chamber technique was used to measure the NH3 effluxes. Poultry manure, pelleted poultry manure, cattle manure, pelleted cattle manure and ammonium sulfate were used as N fertilizers for basal fertilization to a bare soil with surface incorporation. All three experiments in summer and autumn 2007 and in summer 2008 showed negligible NH3 volatilization losses following the application of all N fertilizers with the same application rate of 120 kg N ha-1 as total N; these negligible losses were primarily ascribed to chemical properties of the soil, that is, its high cation exchange capacity (283 mmolc kg-1 dry soil) and relatively low pH(H2O) (5.9). In addition, the surface incorporation, the very small ratio of ammoniacal N to total N for the manure, and the decrease in soil pH to ≤5.5 following applications of ammonium sulfate were also advantageous to the inhibition of NH3 volatilization loss from the field-applied N fertilizers. © 2009 Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition.