This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at La volatilización de amoníaco bajo diferentes tipos de manejo de suelo y de fertilizantes nitrogenados en el Valle del Ebro

The volatilisation of different low ammonia types of handle of floor and of fertilizantes nitrogenous in the Valley of the Ebro

J. Ovejero And C. Cantero-Martínez (Dep. Of Prod.Vegetable and Forestry Science, University of Lleida, Centre Agrotecnio, Unit Associated of EEAD-CSIC)

J. Lampurlanés (Dep.Or of Engineering Agroforestryal, University of Lleida, Centre Agrotecnio, Unit Associated EEAD-CSIC)

J. Álvaro-Sources (Dep. Of Suelo and Water, Experimental Station of Classroom Dei EEAD-CSIC)

25/02/2014

The use ineficiente of the fertilizantes nitrogenous can drive to losses of nitrogen in the system am used to-plant-atmosphere. This use ineficiente produces economic losses and can ocasionar environingingmental problems had to, mainly, to the broadcast of gases to the atmosphere in shape of ammonia (NH₃), nitric oxide (NO) and oxide nitroso (N₂Or). In this context, the volatilisation of ammonia constitutes one of the most important roads of broadcast of gases in shape of nitrogen (N) from the agriculture (Saarijärvi et al., 2006).

Introduction

The application of animal mucks and fertilizantes mineral nitrogenous has ascertained like the greater source of broadcasts amoniacales to the atmosphere (Pain et al., 1998), arriving to be in the cases more desfavorables of until 70% of the N applied, varying in function of the climatic conditions and of the handle of floor (Misselbrook et al., 2005). These losses can be caused by different environingingmental and characteristic processes of floor as they are the pH, the capacity of exchange catiónico, the organic matter, the presence of rests in the surface, the temperature, the wind, the evaporation of water of the surface of the floor, as well as the type and dose of fertilizante and mainly the method of application. Likewise, the broadcast of ammonia can be considered precursor of the broadcast of gases of effect invernadero (GEIs) due to the fact that the deposition in the floor of nitrogenous compounds derivatives of the NH₃ atmospheric can become in the learning of NH₄+, whose oxidation to NO₃-, in the process of nitrification, will give place to the learning of NO and N₂Or (Wrage et al., 2001).

Application of purín in experimental plot. Photo: Jonatan Ovejero.

In a lot of zones of the valley of the Ebro, from does more than 25 years has extended the system of seed direct like agricultural practice. This comports that they do not incorporate the fertilizantes with the operations of laboreo in the manufacturing before seeds it. In this zone the sources of nitrogen more used in the credited of presiembra and cobertera are formulations that have possibility to lose ammonium via volatilisation, as they are the sulphate amónico, the urea and the purín. In these products and if they do not incorporate of fast form, as it is the case of seeds it direct–no laboreo, the losses of ammonium by volatilisation can be important although difficult to quantify (Ovejero et al., 2013)

Therefore, the main aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the systems of handle of floor and the type of fertilizante on the volatilisation of ammonia in the background applications and cobertera.

Incorporation of the fertilizante by means of pass of vibrocultor. Photo: Jonatan Ovejero.

Material and methods

The study was carried out in 2 experimental fields situated in the region of The Noguera (Lleida) and in The Monegros (Huesca) situated both regions in zones semi-arid representative of the Mediterranean climate typical of the zone. The annual half precipitation in The Noguera is of 450 mm and in The Monegros of 350 mm.

In the field of The Noguera the treatments of handle of floor consisted in a minimum laboreo (ML) and in no laboreo (NL). The ML realizar by means of a vibrocultor to a depth from among 5 and 10 just cm after the application of the fertilizante (12 November 2012) with the aim to incorporate the products fertilizantes and avoid losses by volatilisation. The NL consisted in one seeds directly on the stubble of the cultivate precedent. The treatments of fertilisation in this field were: a control, credited mineral, purín of pig, pellet of purín and gallinaza. The application of fertilizantes effected before seeds it to a dose of 75 kg N has^-1 in all the treatments except in the control that did not apply fertilizante. In the mineral treatment applied sulphate amónico (21% of N). The losses of N-NH₃ measured just after the application of the fertilizante in the case of the plots of NL and after the application of the fertilizante and the pass of the vibrocultor in the plots of ML. They realizar measured daily during the first week and each 10 days later until 40 days after the fertilisation.

In the field of The Monegros the treatments of handle of floor consisted in a laboreo intensive (LI) and no laboreo (NL). The LI consisted in a pass with terracing of disks before the fertilisation (21 November 2012). To the equal that in the previous field, the NL consisted in one seeds directly on the stubble of the cultivate precedent. The treatments of fertilisation in this field were: a control, credited mineral and purín of pig. The application of fertilizante effected before the ahijamiento (19 February 2013) to a dose of 75 kg N has^-1. In the mineral treatment applied nitrate amónico (34,5% of N). The losses of N-NH₃ measured just after the application of the fertilizante so much in the case of the plots of NL as in the plots of ML. They realizar measured daily during the first week and each 10 days later until 40 days after the fertilisation.

In both fields, the measurements of broadcasts of ammonia realizar by means of the method of static cameras semi-open designed by Araújo et al. (2009). This method consists in the placing of cameras of tereftalato of polyethylene (PET) of 2 l of capacity with the bottom cut on the surface of the floor. Through them, the ammonia issued by the floor attracts by means of a sponge dampened in a solution of sour fosfórico to 10% + glycerol to 4%. Later in laboratory extracts said solution that values by means of an autoanalizador for diverse forms of mineral nitrogen.

Static camera semi-open placed in experimental field. Photo: Jonatan Ovejero.

Results

In the background application, in all the treatments analysed 90% of the broadcast of ammonia took place during the seven back days to the application of fertilizante. The broadcast accumulated of N-NH₃ in the treatment of purín of pig in the first 24 hours was of 8,7 kg of N has^-1, 5 upper times to the rest of treatments for this period (Fig.1.). However, in the first 24 hours, the broadcasts in the treatments of mineral fertilisation and of pellet of purín were minors that in the purín, increasing from this period. Like this the greater losses by volatilisation observed in the treatment of purín of pig with a total accumulated of 17,5 kg N has^-1, being of almost the double with regard to the credited mineral with 11,6 kg N has^-1 and of the triple with regard to the pellet of purín with 5,8 kg N has^-1 (Fig.1). In general, during the first 40 days and for all the treatments studied, the losses of ammonia can consider drops in comparison with the treatment of purín of pig that arrived to suppose 22% of the total of N applied.

Fig.1: Losses accumulated of ammonia in shape of nitrogen (N- NH₃) during the 40 back days to the background application for each treatment of fertilisation analysed in a field situated in the region of The Noguera (Lleida).

The incorporation of the fertilizante in the treatments of purín of pig and fertilizante mineral had a positive effect in the decrease of the taxles of volatilisation of ammonia with a reduction in the near volatilisation to 40% and to 35%, respectively (Fig.2).

Fig.2: Losses accumulated of ammonia in shape of nitrogen (N- NH₃) in the 40 back days to the background application according to the system of handle of floor used (incorporation= ML or without incorporation = SD) and the type of fertilizante applied in a field in the region of The Noguera (Lleida).

In the field situated in the region of Monegros (Huesca) observed like the half of the broadcast of ammonia took place in the first back week to the application of fertilizante. The losses by volatilisation were similar along the period studied for the treatments of purín of pig and fertilizante mineral. In both treatments the broadcast accumulated of ammonia was of 14 kg of N has^-1 with some values of total loss of near ammonia to 20% of the N of the fertilizante applied (Fig. 3).

Fig.3: Losses accumulated of ammonia in shape of nitrogen (N- NH₃) in the 40 back days to the application of cobertera for each treatment of fertilisation analysed in a field situated in the region of Monegros (Huesca).

When it compared the volatilisation of ammonia in the two systems of handle of floor, observed that in the case of the purín of pig the broadcast was similar in the plots of seed direct with regard to the ploughed. However, in the case of the fertilizante mineral the losses were 35% lower when it did not realizar any type of laboreo with regard to when it applied a laboreo intensive (Fig. 4).

Fig.4: Losses accumulated of ammonia in shape of nitrogen (N- NH₃) during the 40 back days to the application of cobertera according to the system of handle of floor used and the type of fertilizante applied in a field situated in the region of Monegros (Huesca).

Conclusions

In our conditions of study the losses of ammonia by volatilisation produce fundamentally during the first back week to the fertilisation in the background fertilisation. This is had to fundamentally to that during the 48 back hours to the fertilisation occurs between the 30 and 40% of the volatilisation of said period and to his time by the high content amoniacal of the fertilizantes used mainly the purín of pig that is the fertilizante in which greater broadcasts of ammonia produce . In the plots of mineral fertilisation and with purín of pig, the incorporation of the products fertilizantes by means of a vibrocultor diminished the losses in 35% and 40%, respectively. However, the scarce differences in these losses are of some 7 kg in the case more desfavorable, by what could not compensating the economic and environingingmental cost, as well as possible structural alterations of the floor, that supposes the pass of vibrocultor.

Regarding the application of cobertera, from the first week, produces 50% of the losses of N by volatilisation of the total of the period studied. This can be due to the fact that in the first week the climatic conditions of strong freezing were desfavorables so that there was greater broadcasts of ammonia. However from the first week the environingingmental temperature was increasing what could favour the volatilisation of ammonia in this period.

Bibliography

Araujo And.S., Marsola T., Miyazawa M., Soares L.H.B., Urquiaga S., Boddey R.M., and Alves, B.J.R. (2009). Calibration of To semi-opened static chamber for the quantification of volatilized ammonia from soil. Pesqi. Agropecu. Bras. 44, 769–776
Misselbrook T.H., Nicholson F.To., Chambers B.J., and Johnson R.To (2005). Measuring ammonia emissions from land applied manure: An intercomparison of commonly used samplers and techniques. Environinging. Pollut. 135, 389–397
Ovejero J., Lampurlanés J., Álvaro-Sources J., Square-Bonilla D., Cantero-Martínez C (2013). Effect of the laboreo and of the nitrogenous fertilisation on the volatilisation of ammonia in agroecosistemas Mediterranean of secano. Earths 209, 48-52
Pain B.F., they go der Weerden T.J., Chambers B.J., Philips V.R., and Jarvis S.C. (1998). To new inventory for ammonia emissions from Or.K. agriculture. Atmospheric Environingingment 32, 309-313
Saarijärvi K., Mattila P.K., Virkajärvi P. (2006). Ammonia volatilization from Artificial dung and urine patches measured by the equilibrium concentration technique (JTI method). Atmospheric Environingingment, 40, 5137-5145
Wrage N., Velthof G.L., they go Beusichem M.L., and Oenema Or. (2001). Role of nitrifier denitrification in the production of nitrous oxide. Soil Biology and Biochemicals 33, 1723-1732.