Based on the DSSAT model, the Innovation Team of Plant Nutrition of the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (IARRP) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) has clarified the effects of different long-term fertilization measures on spring corn yield, soil nitrogen loss and soil organic carbon accumulation, providing a theoretical support for scientifically optimizing farmland nitrogen management. Relevant research results were published in the international journal "Journal of Environmental Management".

Optimal fertilization is an effective strategy to improve the nitrogen use efficiency and ensure  high and stable  yields of crops. However, the changes of corn yield, soil mineral nitrogen accumulation, nitrogen loss, and organic nitrogen and carbon derived from  heavy nitrogen application rate of farmer’s practices and optimized nitrogen application rate under a  long term condition are still unclear.

Based on the location-fixed field experiments with different nitrogen application rates in Gongzhuling and Yushu in Jilin province, this study explored the economically optimal nitrogen application rate. Meanwhile, the DSSAT CERES-Corn model was verified and evaluated based on the field measured data, and the model was applied to evaluate the Long-term effects of  nitrogen application rate of farmer's practices (N250), optimized nitrogen application rate (N180) and 30% organic substitution (MN180) under optimized nitrogen application rate on spring maize yield and soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics during the period of the year1985 to 2020. Long-term simulation results showed that N180 and MN180 could achieve similar yields to N250 treatment at both experimental sites. Under the optimal nitrogen application rate, replacing 20-30% chemical fertilizer with organic fertilizer can simultaneously maintain a high yield of spring maize, reduce soil nitrogen loss and increase soil organic carbon storage.

Fig. 1 Simulation values of soil inorganic nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen leaching loss and gaseous nitrogen loss under different fertilization treatments in Gongzhuling and Yushu from 1985 to 2020

Professor Yang Jingmin from the School of Resources and Environment of Jilin Agricultural University is the first author of this article, and Dr. Jiang Rong and Researcher He Ping are the co-corresponding authors. The research was supported by the Science and Technology Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (No.CAAS-ZDRW202202) and the Key Laboratory of Straw Comprehensive Utilization and Black Soil Protection of the Ministry of Education of Jilin Agricultural University.

Paper link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116454