Abstract
The inefficient use of nitrogen (N) fertiliser as a consequence of N losses from soil is a pressing issue in broad-acre agricultural systems. The research reported here tested the hypothesis that granulation of synthetic N fertiliser (urea) with a natural organic C resource (brown coal) would reduce fertiliser N loss from the soil system. Urea-enriched brown coal granules were simultaneously formed and dried within a pilot-scale superheated steam dryer. After application to unplanted soil columns, the urea-brown coal granules reduced nitrous oxide emission by up to 40 %, reduced mineral nitrogen leaching and maintained higher levels of N in topsoil when compared to conventional urea alone. Reduced gaseous N losses without a reduction in plant N uptake were also observed in planted soil columns treated with urea-brown coal granules. Brown coal-urea blended fertiliser showed potential for more efficient use of N in the long term and has environmental benefits in retaining more N in the soil.
Highlights
The inefficient use of nitrogen (N) fertiliser as a consequence of N losses from soil is a pressing issue in broad-acre agricultural systems
The start-up conditions were maintained for 3 h, with product samples taken every 20 min starting at 100 min, denoted as time 0 for the experiment
Overall our results suggest that granulation of urea with brown coal (BC) can strongly reduce N losses from topsoil, by decreasing N leaching and gaseous emissions
Summary
The inefficient use of nitrogen (N) fertiliser as a consequence of N losses from soil is a pressing issue in broad-acre agricultural systems. A significant proportion of applied fertiliser N is often not used by the crop or pasture and the remainder is susceptible to loss through leaching, runoff or denitrification [1]. This lost N represents both an economic inefficiency and an environmental burden, as off-site N movement in water pollutes aquifers and natural water courses, whilst nitrous. The loss of soil organic matter has impacted on crop productivity. Gentile et al [5] found that incorporating low quality (i.e. low % N) maize residues could immobilise fertiliser N in field soil and reduce N leaching losses to a greater extent than high quality (high % N) residues, without impacting on crop N uptake over the growing season. A number of studies have shown that biochars can reduce nitrate and
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