Simulating nitrate retention in soils and the effect of catch crop use and rooting pattern under the climatic conditions of Northern Europe

This model analysis of catch crop effects on nitrate retention covered three soil texture classes sand, loamy sand, sandy loam) and three precipitation regimes in a temperate climate representative for northern Europe (annual precipitation 709-1026 mm) for a period of 43 years. Simulations were made with two catch crops (ryegrass and Brassica) with different rooting depths, and soil N effects in the next spring were analysed to 0.25, 0.75 and 2.0 m depth to represent the catch crop effect on following crops with different rooting depths. Nitrate retained without a catch crop was generally located in deeper soil layers. In the low precipitation regime the overall fraction of nitrate retained in the 0-2.0 m soil profile was 0.23 for the sandy soil, 0.69 for the loamy sand and 0.81 for the sandy loam. Ryegrass reduced leaching losses much less efficiently than Brassica, which depleted nitrate in the 0-0.75 m soil layer more completely, but also in the deeper soil layer, which the ryegrass could not reach. A positive N effect (Neff, spring mineral N availability after catch crop compared with bare soil) was found in the 0-0.25 m layer (i.e. shallow rooting depth of a subsequent main crop) in all three soil texture classes, with on average 10 kg N ha-1 for ryegrass and 34 kg N ha-1 for Brassica. Considering the whole soil profile (0-2.0 m deep rooting of next crop), a positive Neff was found in the sandy soil, whereas generally a negative Neff was found in the loamy sand and especially the sandy loam. The simulations showed that for shallow-rooted crops, catch crop Neff values were always positive, whereas Neff for deeper-rooted crops depended strongly on soil and annual variations in precipitation conditions. These results are crucial both for farmers crop rotation planning and for design of appropriate catch crop strategies with the aim of protecting the aquatic environment.

[1]  J. Magid,et al.  Disproportionately high N-mineralisation rates from green manures at low temperatures – implications for modeling and management in cool temperate agro-ecosystems , 2004, Plant and Soil.

[2]  H. Aronsson,et al.  Nitrogen leaching and crop availability in manured catch crop systems in Sweden , 2000, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[3]  H. Kristensen,et al.  Root Growth and Nitrate Uptake of Three Different Catch Crops in Deep Soil Layers , 2004 .

[4]  T. A. Breland,et al.  Influence of biochemical quality on C and N mineralisation from a broad variety of plant materials in soil , 2005, Plant and Soil.

[5]  K. Loague,et al.  Statistical and graphical methods for evaluating solute transport models: Overview and application , 1991 .

[6]  P. Leffelaar,et al.  Field observations on nitrogen catch crops , 1998, Plant and Soil.

[7]  J. Magid,et al.  Catch crops affect nitrogen dynamics in organic farming systems without livestock husbandry—Simulations with the DAISY model , 2006 .

[8]  L. S. Jensen,et al.  Low soil temperature effects on short-term gross N mineralisation–immobilisation turnover after incorporation of a green manure , 2001 .

[9]  P. de Willigen,et al.  Nitrogen turnover in the soil-crop system; comparison of fourteen simulation models , 1991, Fertilizer research.

[10]  K. Thorup‐Kristensen.  Root growth and nitrogen uptake of carrot, early cabbage, onion and lettuce following a range of green manures , 2006 .

[11]  K. Thorup-Kristensen.  Are differences in root growth of nitrogen catch crops important for their ability to reduce soil nitrate-N content, and how can this be measured? , 2001, Plant and Soil.

[12]  K. Thorup-Kristensen.  The effect of nitrogen catch crop species on the nitrogen nutrition of succeeding crops , 1994, Fertilizer research.

[13]  Peter J. Gregory,et al.  Water relations of winter wheat: 1. Growth of the root system , 1978, The Journal of Agricultural Science.

[14]  V. Reddy,et al.  Soil nitrate-nitrogen under tomato following tillage, cover cropping, and nitrogen fertilization , 1999 .

[15]  D. J. Greenwood,et al.  Estimation of the year-to-year variations in nitrate leaching in different soils and regions of England and Wales , 1982 .

[16]  K. Thorup-Kristensen.  The Effect of Nitrogen Catch Crops on the Nitrogen Nutrition of a Succeeding Crop: I. Effects through Mineralization and Pre-emptive Competition , 1993 .

[17]  Kristian Kristensen,et al.  Nitrate leaching from organic arable crop rotations: effects of location, manure and catch crop , 2005 .

[18]  T. A. Breland.  Enhanced mineralization and denitrification as a result of heterogeneous distribution of clover residues in soil , 1994, Plant and Soil.

[19]  Ole H. Jacobsen,et al.  Modelling mean nitrate leaching from spatially variable fields using effective hydraulic parameters , 1999 .

[20]  Steffen Fritz,et al.  Soil Atlas of Europe , 2005 .

[21]  E. S. Jensen.  The release and fate of nitrogen from catch-crop materials decomposing under field conditions , 1992 .

[22]  Bernd Diekkrüger,et al.  Validity of agroecosystem models a comparison of results of different models applied to the same data set , 1995 .

[23]  K. Thorup-Kristensen.  Effect of deep and shallow root systems on the dynamics of soil inorganic N during 3-year crop rotations , 2006, Plant and Soil.

[24]  P. Barraclough.  Root growth, macro-nutrient uptake dynamics and soil fertility requirements of a high-yielding winter oilseed rape crop , 1989, Plant and Soil.

[25]  A. Levett,et al.  The effects of soil water content and bulk density on the compactibility and soil penetration resistance of some Western Australian sandy soils , 1988 .

[26]  J. Vos,et al.  Field observations on nitrogen catch crops. I. Potential and actual growth and nitrogen accumulation in relation to sowing date and crop species , 1997, Plant and Soil.

[27]  Liwang Ma,et al.  Modeling Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics for Soil Management , 2001 .

[28]  Leif T. Jensen,et al.  A comparison of the performance of nine soil organic matter models using datasets from seven long-term experiments , 1997 .

[29]  A. Smit,et al.  Root characteristics of selected field crops: Data from the Wageningen Rhizolab (1990–2002) , 2005, Plant and Soil.

[30]  S. Hansen,et al.  Simulation of nitrogen dynamics and biomass production in winter wheat using the Danish simulation model DAISY , 1991, Fertilizer research.

[31]  J. Vos,et al.  Field observations on nitrogen catch crops. III. Transfer of nitrogen to the succeeding main crop , 2001, Plant and Soil.

[32]  Søren Hansen,et al.  Daisy: an open soil-crop-atmosphere system model , 2000, Environ. Model. Softw..

[33]  J. Olesen,et al.  The value of catch crops and organic manures for spring barley in organic arable farming , 2007 .

[34]  Søren Hansen,et al.  Parameter assessment for simulation of biomass production and nitrogen uptake in winter rape , 1995 .

[35]  K. Thorup‐Kristensen,et al.  Effects of Green Manure Crops on Soil Mineral Nitrogen Available for Organic Production of Onion and White Cabbage in Two Contrasting Years , 2001 .