Modeling transport and fate of nitrogen from urea applied to a near-trench paddy field

Abstract

A simple but comprehensive model is developed to quantify N losses from urea applied to a near-trench paddy field, considering all the N-transformations such as urea hydrolysis, volatilization, nitrification, denitrification, and all the important transportations like runoff, lateral seepage, vertical leaching and crop uptake. Seasonal average data of field observations for three crop seasons were used for model calibration and validation, which showed that ammonia volatilization accounted for 26.5–29.4% of the applied N and N uptake by crop occupied 38.2–44.8%, while N losses via surface runoff, vertical leaching and lateral seepage varied from 5.6–7.7%, 4.0–4.9% to 5.0–5.3% of the applied N, respectively. These observed results were well predicted by our model, indicating that the model performed effectively at quantifying N losses via individual processes in a wide range of urea application rates and benefit for developing water and fertilizer management strategies for near-trench paddy fields.