Predicting the Ratio of Nitrification to Immobilization to Reflect the Potential Risk of Nitrogen Loss Worldwide
- 11 May 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Environmental Science & Technology
- Vol. 55 (11), 7721-7730
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c08514
Abstract
Nitrification and immobilization compete for soil ammonium (NH4+); the relative dominance of these two processes has been suggested to reflect the potential risk of nitrogen loss from soils. Here, we compiled a database and developed a stochastic gradient boosting model to predict the global potential risk of nitrogen loss based on the ratio of nitrification to immobilization (N/I). We then conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of common management practices on the N/I ratio. The results showed that the soil N/I ratio varied with climate zones and land use. Soil total carbon, total nitrogen, pH, fertilizer nitrogen application rate, mean annual temperature, and mean annual precipitation are important factors of soil N/I ratio. Meta-analysis indicated that biochar, straw, and nitrification inhibitor application reduced the soil N/I ratio by 67, 64, and 78%, respectively. Returning plantation to forest and cropland to grassland decreased the soil N/I ratio by 88 and 45%, respectively. However, fertilizer nitrogen application increased the soil N/I ratio by 92%. Our study showed that the soil N/I ratio and its associated risk level of nitrogen loss were highly related to long-term soil and environmental properties with high spatial heterogeneity.Keywords
Funding Information
- Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (2018J01058, 2019J01104, 2019J01105)
- Australian Research Council (IH200100023, LP160101417)
- China Scholarship Council (201809350003)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (41771330, 41907077)
- Fujian Academic of Agricultural Sciences (AGP2018-9)
- Fujian Province (2019R1025-1)
This publication has 65 references indexed in Scilit:
- Nitrogen dynamics in grain crop and legume pasture systems under elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration: A meta‐analysisGlobal Change Biology, 2012
- Increased soil emissions of potent greenhouse gases under increased atmospheric CO2Nature, 2011
- Imprint of denitrifying bacteria on the global terrestrial biosphereProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2009
- When Does Nitrate Become a Risk for Humans?Journal of Environmental Quality, 2008
- Gross nitrogen mineralization-, immobilization-, and nitrification rates as a function of soil C/N ratio and microbial activitySoil Biology and Biochemistry, 2003
- Verifying the nitrification to immobilisation ratio (N/I) as a key determinant of potential nitrate loss in grassland and arable soilsAgronomy for Sustainable Development, 2002
- Nitrous oxide emission from a range of land uses across EuropeHydrology and Earth System Sciences, 2002
- Greedy function approximation: A gradient boosting machine.The Annals of Statistics, 2001
- 10.1162/153244303322753706Applied Physics Letters, 2000
- Gross nitrogen transformations in the organic layer of acid forest ecosystems subjected to increased atmospheric nitrogen inputSoil Biology and Biochemistry, 1992