Effect of rice plants on nitrification-denitrification loss of nitrogen under greenhouse conditions

Abstract

Rice is unique among cereal crops in its ability to tolerate the anaerobic environment of waterlogged soils, but little is known about the influence of these plants on nitrogen loss by nitrification-denitrification. This problem was approached by loss of urea-N in cores with and without rice plants, using the acetylene inhibition method. Considerably greater denitrification was observed for surface-applied urea as compared to subsurface application in all cases. Regardless of the application point, however, the planted system yielded greater N2O+N2 accumulation in the first two days than from the nonplanted soil. After 4–6 days from fertilization no difference was observed in denitrification loss between planted and nonplanted systems. Inorganic NH4+ levels were observed to decrease rapidly in planted soils. Initial enhancement of gaseous N accumulation may occur because of the oxidized rice-root rhizosphere, however the appreciable denitrification in non-planted soil suggests that other N loss mechanisms are more important than the losses occurring in the root rhizosphere.