Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Ammonia volatilization from nitrogen fertilizers applied to cereals in two cropping areas of southern Australia

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

As farmers in southern Australia typically apply nitrogen (N) to cereal crops by top-dressing with ammonia (NH3) based fertilizer in late winter or early spring there is the potential for large losses of NH3. This paper describes the results of micrometeorological measurements to determine NH3 loss and emission factors following applications of urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), and ammonium sulfate (AS) at different rates to cereal crops at two locations in southern Australia. The amounts of NH3 lost are required for farm economics and management, whilst emission factors are needed for inventory purposes. Ammonia loss varied with fertilizer type (urea > UAN > AS) and location, and ranged from 1.8 to 23 % of N applied. This compares with the emission factor of 10 % of applied N advocated by IPCC ( 2007). The variation with location seemed to be due to a combination of factors including soil texture, soil moisture content when fertilizer was applied and rainfall after fertilizer application. Two experiments at one location, 1 week apart, demonstrated how small, temporal differences in weather conditions and initial soil water content affected the magnitude of NH3 loss. The results of these experiments underline the difficulties farmers face in timing fertilization as the potential for loss, depending on rainfall, can be large.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • BCG (Birchip Cropping Group) (2009) Nitrogen in no-till. http://www.bcg.org.au/resources/5988BCGFactsheetNitrogen_May2009.pdf

  • Black AS, Sherlock RR, Cameron KC, Smith NP, Goh KM (1985a) Comparison of three field methods for measuring ammonia volatilization from urea granules broadcast on to pasture. J Soil Sci 36:271–280

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Black AS, Sherlock RR, Smith NP, Cameron KC, Goh KM (1985b) Effects of form of nitrogen, season, and urea application rate on ammonia volatilisation from pastures. N Z J Agric Res 28:31–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black AS, Sherlock RR, Smith NP (1987) Effect of timing of simulated rainfall on ammonia volatilization from urea, applied to soil of varying moisture content. Eur J Soil Sci 38:679–687

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • BOM (Bureau of Meteorology) (2009) Climate statistics for Australian sites. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/ca_site_file_names.shtml

  • Bouwman AF, Boumans LJM, Batjes NH (2002) Estimation of global NH3 volatilization loss from synthetic fertilizers and animal manure applied to arable lands and grasslands. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 16:1024–1038

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouwmeester RJB, Vlek PLG, Stumpe JM (1985) Effect of environmental factors on ammonia volatilization from a urea-fertilized soil. Soil Sci Soc Am J 49:376–381

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cai GX, Fan XH, Yang Z, Zhu ZL (1998) Gaseous loss of nitrogen from fertilizers applied to wheat on a calcareous soil in North China Plain. Pedosphere 8:45–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai G, Chen D, White RE, Fan XH, Pacholski A, Zhu ZL, Ding H (2002a) Gaseous nitrogen losses from urea applied to maize on a calcareous fluvo-aquic soil in the North China Plain. Aust J Soil Res 40:737–748

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cai GX, Chen DL, Ding H, Pacholski A, Fan XH, Zhu ZL (2002b) Nitrogen losses from fertilizers applied to maize, wheat and rice in the North China Plain. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 63:187–195

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Denmead OT (1983) Micrometeorological methods for measuring gaseous losses of nitrogen in the field. In: Freney JR, Simpson JR (eds) Gaseous loss of nitrogen from plant-soil systems, vol 9. Developments in plant and soil sciences. Martinus Nijhoff/Dr W. Junk, The Hague, pp 133–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Denmead OT (2008) Approaches to measuring fluxes of methane and nitrous oxide between landscapes and the atmosphere. Plant Soil 309:5–24

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ernst JW, Massey HF (1960) The effects of several factors on volatilization of ammonia formed from urea in the soil. Soil Sci Soc Am J 24:87–90

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fan XH, Song YS, Lin DX, Yang LZ, Zhou JM (2005) Ammonia volatilization losses from urea applied to wheat on a paddy soil in Taihu Region, China. Pedosphere 15:59–65

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations) (2010) FAOSTAT. http://faostat.fao.org

  • FAO, Ifa (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Fertilizer Industry Association) (2001) Global estimates of NH3, NO and N2O from agricultural land. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO, Ifa, IFDC, Ipi, PPI (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Fertilizer Industry Association, International Fertilizer Development Center, International Potash Institute, Phosphate and Potash Institute) (2002) Fertilizer use by crop, 5th edn. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Fenn LB, Miyamoto S (1981) Ammonia loss and associated reactions of urea in calcareous soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 45:537–540

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Flesch TK, Wilson JD, Harper LA, Crenna BP, Sharpe RR (2004) Deducing ground-to-air emissions from observed trace gas concentrations: a field trial. J Appl Meteorol 43:487–502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freney JR, Simpson JR, Denmead OT (1983) Volatilization of ammonia. In: Freney JR, Simpson JR (eds) Gaseous loss of nitrogen from plant-soil systems. Matinus Nijhoff/Dr. W. Junk, The Hague, pp 1–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Freney JR, Leuning R, Simpson JR, Denmead OT, Muirhead WA (1985) Estimating ammonia volatilization from flooded rice fields by simplified techniques. Soil Sci Soc Am J 49:1049–1054

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Freney JR, Denmead OT, Saffigna PG, Wood AW, Chapman LS, Hurney AP (1991) Ammonia loss from sugar cane fields as affected by fertilizer placement, irrigation and canopy development. In: ASSCT (ed) Proceedings of Australian society of sugar cane technologists (ASSCT), vol 13. ASSCT, pp 73–78.

  • Freney JR, Denmead OT, Wood AW, Saffigna PG (1994) Ammonia loss following urea addition to sugar cane trash blankets. In: ASSCT (ed) Proceedings of Australian society of sugar cane technologists (ASSCT), vol 16. ASSCT, pp 114–121

  • Harper LA, Catchpoole VR, Davis R, Weir KL (1983) Ammonia volatilization: soil, plant, and microclimate effects on diurnal and seasonal fluctuations. Agron J 75:212–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heffer P (2009) Assessment of fertilizer use by crop at the global level. International Fertilizer Industry Association, Paris. http://www.fertilizer.org/ifa/Home-Page/STATISTICS/FUBC

  • IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (1996) Climate change 1995: the science of climate change. Contribution of working group 1 to the second assessment of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (2007) Revised 2006 IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories. The Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Isbell RF (2002) The Australian soil classification. CSIRO, Collingwood

    Google Scholar 

  • Leuning R, Freney JR, Denmead OT, Simpson JR (1985) A sampler for measuring atmospheric ammonia flux. Atmos Environ 19:1117–1124

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mosier A, Kroeze C, Nevison C, Oenema O, Seitzinger S, van Cleemput O (1998) Closing the global N2O budget: nitrous oxide emissions through the agricultural nitrogen cycle—OECD/IPCC/IEA phase II development of IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventory methodology. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 52:225–248

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mulvaney RL (1996) Nitrogen—inorganic forms. In: Sparks DL (ed) Methods of soil analysis. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, pp 1123–1185

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulvaney RL, Bremner JM (1979) A modified diacetyl monoxime method for colorimetric determination of urea in soil extracts. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 10:1163–1170

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peoples MB, Freney JR, Mosier AR (1995) Minimizing gaseous losses of nitrogen. In: Bacon PE (ed) Nitrogen fertilization in the environment. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 565–602

    Google Scholar 

  • Poole N (2009) Crop sensors, canopy management and better decisions. Australian Grain, Toowoomba. http://www.ausgrain.com.au/index.html

  • Prasertsak P, Freney JR, Denmead OT, Saffigna PG, Prove BG (2001a) Significance of gaseous nitrogen loss from a tropical dairy pasture fertilised with urea. Aust J Exp Agric 41:625–632

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Prasertsak P, Freney JR, Saffigna PG, Denmead OT, Prove BG (2001b) Fate of urea nitrogen applied to a banana crop in the wet tropics of Queensland. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 59:65–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prasertsak P, Freney JR, Denmead OT, Saffigna PG, Prove BG, Reghenzani JR (2002) Effect of fertilizer placement on nitrogen loss from sugarcane in tropical Queensland. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 62:229–239

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ray HE, MacGregor JM, Schmidt EL (1957) Movement of ammonium nitrogen in soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 21:309–312

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sherlock RR, Black AS, Smith NP (1987) Micro-environment soil pH around broadcast urea granules and its relationship to ammonia volatilization. In: Bacon PE, Evans J, Storrier RR, Taylor AC (eds) Nitrogen cycling in temperate agricultural systems. Australian Society of Soil Science, Wagga Wagga, pp 316–326

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherlock RR, Freney JR, Smith NP, Cameron KC (1989) Evaluation of a sampler for assessing ammonia losses from fertilized fields. Fert Res 21:61–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherlock RR, Freney JR, Bacon PE, van der Weerden TJ (1995) Estimating ammonia volatilization from unsaturated urea fertilized and urine affected soils by an indirect method. Fert Res 40:197–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sommer SG, Schjoerring JK, Denmead OT (2004) Ammonia emission from mineral fertilizers and fertilized crops. Adv Agron 82:557–622

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Turner DA, Edis RB, Chen D, Freney JR, Denmead OT, Christie R (2010) Determination and mitigation of ammonia loss from urea applied to winter wheat with N-(n-butyl) thiophosphorictriamide. Agric Ecosyst Environ 137:261–266

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • White B (2009) The consultants view. Australian Grain, Toowoomba. http://www.ausgrain.com.au/index.html

  • Whitehead DC, Raistrick N (1990) Ammonia volatilization from five nitrogen compounds used as fertilizers following surface application to soils. Eur J Soil Sci 41:387–394

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson JD, Thurtell GW, Kidd GE, Beauchamp EG (1982) Estimation of the rate of gaseous mass transfer from a surface source plot to the atmosphere. Atmos Environ 16:1861–1867

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson JD, Catchpoole VR, Denmead OT, Thurtell GW (1983) Verification of a simple micrometeorological method for estimating the rate of gaseous mass transfer from the ground to the atmosphere. Agric Meteorol 29:183–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WindTrax (2006) WindTrax 2.0. Thunder Beach Scientific, British Columbia

    Google Scholar 

  • Yan X, Akimoto H, Ohara T (2003) Estimation of nitrous oxide, nitric oxide and ammonia emissions from croplands in East, Southeast and South Asia. Glob Chang Biol 9:1080–1096

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zadoks JC, Chang TT, Konzak CF (1974) A decimal code for the growth stages of cereals. Weed Res 14:415–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Australian Government Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (formerly the Australian Greenhouse Office) through a Grains Research and Development Corporation grant. The authors would like to thank Incitec Pivot for supplying fertilizers, Rob Christie for his support in the selection of field sites and establishing and applying treatments, and Liam Norton for technical assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Melbourne School of Land and Environment, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia

    D. A. Turner, R. E. Edis & D. Chen

  2. CSIRO Plant Industry, GPO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    J. R. Freney

  3. CSIRO Land and Water, GPO Box 1666, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    O. T. Denmead

Authors
  1. D. A. Turner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. E. Edis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. D. Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. R. Freney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. O. T. Denmead
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. A. Turner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Turner, D.A., Edis, R.E., Chen, D. et al. Ammonia volatilization from nitrogen fertilizers applied to cereals in two cropping areas of southern Australia. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 93, 113–126 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-012-9504-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-012-9504-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation