THE USE OF NITROGEN ON HILL COUNTRY

Results from trials at Te Kuiti in 1971 and 1972 substantiated for the better fertility Mairoa Ash soils the results obtained from nitrogen trials elsewhere in New Zealand. High responses (24 to 39 kg DM/kg N for applications of 2.5 kg N/ha) were obtained from early spring applications. Substantial carry-over responses (up to 65% of total response) were measured for applications made in the cold winter months of 1972. Evidence from overseas and New Zealand is reviewed which suggested higher residual responses to applied nitrogen in grazing trials than in mown plot trials. An economic analysis based on the Te Kuiti trial results investigates the profitability of hay versus nitrogen, and optimum rates of nitrogen application for two cattle fattening policies. Some practical aspects of using nitrogen on King Country farms are considered.</jats:p

Unweathered wood biochar impact on nitrous oxide emissions from a bovine-urine-amended pasture soil

Low-temperature pyrolysis of biomass produces a product known as biochar. The incorporation of this material into the soil has been advocated as a C sequestration method. Biochar also has the potential to influence the soil N cycle by altering nitrification rates and by adsorbing NH₄⁺ or NH₃. Biochar can be incorporated into the soil during renovation of intensively managed pasture soils. These managed pastures are a significant source of N₂O, a greenhouse gas, produced in ruminant urine patches. We hypothesized that biochar effects on the N cycle could reduce the soil inorganic-N pool available for N₂O-producing mechanisms. A laboratory study was performed to examine the effect of biochar incorporation into soil (20 Mg ha⁻¹) on N₂O-N and NH₃–N fluxes, and inorganic-N transformations, following the application of bovine urine (760 kg N ha⁻¹). Treatments included controls (soil only and soil plus biochar), and two urine treatments (soil plus urine and soil plus biochar plus urine). Fluxes of N₂O from the biochar plus urine treatment were generally higher than from urine alone during the first 30 d, but after 50 d there was no significant difference (P = 0.11) in terms of cumulative N₂O-N emitted as a percentage of the urine N applied during the 53-d period; however, NH₃–N fluxes were enhanced by approximately 3% of the N applied in the biochar plus urine treatment compared with the urine-only treatment after 17 d. Soil inorganic-N pools differed between treatments, with higher NH₄⁺ concentrations in the presence of biochar, indicative of lower rates of nitrification. The inorganic-N pool available for N₂O-producing mechanisms was not reduced, however, by adding biochar

Mineralisation of soil orthophosphate monoesters under pine seedlings and ryegrass

The effects of radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) seedlings and ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) on the mineralisation of orthophosphate monoesters in 7 grassland soils were assessed in a 10-month pot trial using NaOH–EDTA extraction and solution 31P NMR spectroscopy. Extraction with NaOH–EDTA recovered 46–86% of the total soil P, and NaOH–EDTA-extractable organic P determined by molybdate colourimetry ranged between 194 and 715 mg/kg soil, representing 34–85% of the total soil organic P. Orthophosphate monoesters were the predominant species of the extracted organic P in all soils, with much smaller concentrations of orthophosphate diesters, and traces of phosphonates. Concentrations of orthophosphate monoesters were consistently lower in soils under pine (103–480 mg P/kg soil) compared with the initial soils (142–598 mg P/kg soil) and most soils under grass (122–679 mg/kg soil). Mineralisation of myo-inositol hexakisphosphate accounted for 18–100% of the total mineralisation of orthophosphate monoesters in most soils under radiata pine. This suggests that supposedly recalcitrant inositol phosphates are available for uptake by radiata pine, although the extent of this varies among soils