Modeling the Effect of Milk Vetch–Rice Rotation on N Runoff Loss in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

Abstract

The winter planting of green manure (GM) is widely used in South China to reduce chemical nitrogen (N) fertilizer use, improve soil fertility, and maintain rice yields, but its effect on N runoff loss in paddy fields remains unclear. This study combines multi-site field experiments with a process model (WHCNS-Rice) to assess how GM with reduced N fertilizer impacts N runoff loss and its forms in the Yangtze River’s middle and lower reaches, considering different rainfall years. The network field experiments included four treatments: conventional fertilization (FR), conventional fertilization plus straw return (FRS), GM with a 40% N reduction (MR), and GM-straw combined return with a 40% N reduction (MRS). Monitoring the results showed that compared to the winter fallow treatment, the GM treatments reduced the peak and average total N (TN) concentrations by 11.1–57.9% (average 26.9%) and 17.1–27.3% (average 22.3%), respectively. The TN runoff loss under the GM treatment decreased by 3.50–10.61 kg N ha−1 (22.5–42.1%). GM primarily reduced the runoff loss of dissolved inorganic N (DIN), with reductions at different sites ranging from 0.22 to 9.66 kg N ha−1 (8.4–43.4%), indicating GM effectively decreases N runoff by reducing DIN. Model simulations of ponding water depth, runoff, TN concentration in surface water, and TN loss in paddy fields produced the consistency indices and simulation efficiencies of 0.738–0.985, 0.737–0.986, 0.912–0.986, and 0.674–0.972, respectively, indicating that the model can be used to evaluate water consumption and N runoff loss in the GM-paddy system. The simulations showed that GM with a 40% N fertilizer significantly reduced N runoff loss under all rainfall conditions, with the greatest reductions in wet years. Under wet, normal, and dry conditions, the GM treatments significantly reduced average TN loss by 0.37–5.53 kg N ha−1 (12.77–29.17%), 0.21–5.32 kg N ha−1 (9.95–24.51%), and 0.02–3.2 kg N ha−1 (1.78–23.19%), respectively, compared to the winter fallow treatment. These results indicate that the combination of GM and a 40% reduction in N fertilizer can significantly reduce N runoff loss from paddy fields, demonstrating good effectiveness under various rainfall conditions, making it a green production model worth promoting.