Dataset Information

Assessment of soil water, carbon and nitrogen cycling in reseeded grassland on the North Wyke Farm Platform using a process-based model.

ABSTRACT: The North Wyke Farm Platform (NWFP) generates large volumes of temporally-indexed data that provides a valuable test-bed for agricultural mathematical models in temperate grasslands. In our study, we used the primary datasets generated from the NWFP (https://nwfp.rothamsted.ac.uk/) to validate the SPACSYS model in terms of the dynamics of water loss and forage dry matter yield estimated through cutting. The SPACSYS model is capable of simulating soil water, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) balance in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. The validated model was then used to simulate the responses of soil water, C and N to reseeding grass cultivars with either high sugar (Lolium perenne L. cv. AberMagic) or deep rooting (Festulolium cv. Prior) traits. Simulation results demonstrated that the SPACSYS model could predict reliably soil water, C and N cycling in reseeded grassland. Compared to AberMagic, the Prior grass could fix more C in the second year following reseeding, whereas less C was lost through soil respiration in the first transition year. In comparison to the grass cultivar of the permanent pasture that existed before reseeding, both grasses reduced N losses through runoff and contributed to reducing water loss, especially Prior in relation to the latter. The SPACSYS model could predict these differences as supported by the rich dataset from the NWFP, providing a tool for future predictions on less characterized pasture.

SUBMITTER: Li Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5535641 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Assessment of soil water, carbon and nitrogen cycling in reseeded grassland on the North Wyke Farm Platform using a process-based model.

Li Yuefen Y Liu Yi Y Harris Paul P Sint Hadewij H Murray Phil J PJ Lee Michael R F MRF Wu Lianhai L

The Science of the total environment 20170612

The North Wyke Farm Platform (NWFP) generates large volumes of temporally-indexed data that provides a valuable test-bed for agricultural mathematical models in temperate grasslands. In our study, we used the primary datasets generated from the NWFP (https://nwfp.rothamsted.ac.uk/) to validate the SPACSYS model in terms of the dynamics of water loss and forage dry matter yield estimated through cutting. The SPACSYS model is capable of simulating soil water, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) balance in ...[more]

PMID: 28614739

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Project description:The North Wyke Farm Platform was established as a United Kingdom national capability for collaborative research, training and knowledge exchange in agro-environmental sciences. Its remit is to research agricultural productivity and ecosystem responses to different management practices for beef and sheep production in lowland grasslands. A system based on permanent pasture was implemented on three 21-ha farmlets to obtain baseline data on hydrology, nutrient cycling and productivity for 2 years. Since then two farmlets have been modified by either (i) planned reseeding with grasses that have been bred for enhanced sugar content or deep-rooting traits or (ii) sowing grass and legume mixtures to reduce nitrogen fertilizer inputs. The quantities of nutrients that enter, cycle within and leave the farmlets were evaluated with data recorded from sensor technologies coupled with more traditional field study methods. We demonstrate the potential of the farm platform approach with a case study in which we investigate the effects of the weather, field topography and farm management activity on surface runoff and associated pollutant or nutrient loss from soil. We have the opportunity to do a full nutrient cycling analysis, taking account of nutrient transformations in soil, and flows to water and losses to air. The NWFP monitoring system is unique in both scale and scope for a managed land-based capability that brings together several technologies that allow the effect of temperate grassland farming systems on soil moisture levels, runoff and associated water quality dynamics to be studied in detail.HighlightsCan meat production systems be developed that are productive yet minimize losses to the environment?The data are from an intensively instrumented capability, which is globally unique and topical.We use sensing technologies and surveys to show the effect of pasture renewal on nutrient losses.Platforms provide evidence of the effect of meteorology, topography and farm activity on nutrient loss.

Project description:Scholars have proposed the practice of split nitrogen fertilizer application (SNFA), which has proven to be an effective approach for enhancing nitrogen use efficiency. However, the combined effects of SNFA on wheat plant nitrogen use efficiency, ammonia (NH3) emission flux, as well as the rates of nitrification and denitrification in different ecosystems remain unclear. Meanwhile, few studies have sought to understand the effects of the split nitrogen fertilizer method under water-saving irrigation technology conditions on nitrogen loss. The current study assessed soil NH3 volatilization, nitrification, and denitrification intensities, as well as the abundance of nitrogen cycle-related functional genes following application of different treatments. Specifically, we applied a nitrogen rate of 240 kg⋅ha-1, and the following fertilizer ratios of the percent base to that of topdressing under water-saving irrigation: N1 (basal/dressing, 100/0%), N2 (basal/dressing, 70/30%), N3 (basal/dressing, 50/50%), N4 (basal/dressing, 30/70%), and N5 (basal/dressing, 0/100%). N3 treatment significantly reduced NH3 volatilization, nitrification, and denitrification intensities, primarily owing to the reduced reaction substrate concentration (NO3 - and NH4 +) and abundance of functional genes involved in the nitrogen cycle (amoA-AOB, nirK, and nirS) within the wheat-land soil. 15N tracer studies further demonstrated that N3 treatments significantly increased the grain nitrogen accumulation by 9.50-28.27% compared with that under other treatments. This increase was primarily due to an increase in the amount of nitrogen absorbed by wheat from soil and fertilizers, which was caused by an enhancement in total nitrogen uptake (7.2-21.81%). Overall, N3 treatment (basal/dressing, 50/50%) was found to effectively reduce nitrogen loss through NH3 volatilization, nitrification and denitrification while improving nitrogen uptake by wheat. Thus, its application will serve to further maximize the yield and provide a fertilization practice that will facilitate cleaner wheat production in the North China Plain.

Project description:Episodic inputs of labile carbon (C) to soil can rapidly stimulate nitrogen (N) immobilization by soil microorganisms. However, the transcriptional patterns that underlie this process remain unclear. In order to better understand the regulation of N cycling in soil microbial communities, we conducted a 48-h laboratory incubation with agricultural soil where we stimulated the uptake of inorganic N by amending the soil with glucose. We analyzed the metagenome and metatranscriptome of the microbial communities at four time points that corresponded with changes in N availability. The relative abundances of genes remained largely unchanged throughout the incubation. In contrast, glucose addition rapidly increased the transcription of genes encoding ammonium and nitrate transporters, enzymes responsible for N assimilation into biomass, and genes associated with the N regulatory network. This upregulation coincided with an increase in transcripts associated with glucose breakdown and oxoglutarate production, demonstrating a connection between C and N metabolism. When concentrations of ammonium were low, we observed a transient upregulation of genes associated with the nitrogen-fixing enzyme nitrogenase. Transcripts for nitrification and denitrification were downregulated throughout the incubation, suggesting that dissimilatory transformations of N may be suppressed in response to labile C inputs in these soils. These results demonstrate that soil microbial communities can respond rapidly to changes in C availability by drastically altering the transcription of N cycling genes.IMPORTANCE A large portion of activity in soil microbial communities occurs in short time frames in response to an increase in C availability, affecting the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen. These changes are of particular importance as nitrogen represents both a limiting nutrient for terrestrial plants as well as a potential pollutant. However, we lack a full understanding of the short-term effects of labile carbon inputs on the metabolism of microbes living in soil. Here, we found that soil microbial communities responded to labile carbon addition by rapidly transcribing genes encoding proteins and enzymes responsible for inorganic nitrogen acquisition, including nitrogen fixation. This work demonstrates that soil microbial communities respond within hours to carbon inputs through altered gene expression. These insights are essential for an improved understanding of the microbial processes governing soil organic matter production, decomposition, and nutrient cycling in natural and agricultural ecosystems.

Dataset Information

Assessment of soil water, carbon and nitrogen cycling in reseeded grassland on the North Wyke Farm Platform using a process-based model.

Publications

Assessment of soil water, carbon and nitrogen cycling in reseeded grassland on the North Wyke Farm Platform using a process-based model.

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