An integrated model WHCNS (soil Water Heat Carbon Nitrogen Simulator) was developed to assess water and nitrogen (N) management in North China. It included five main modules: soil water, soil temperature, soil carbon (C), soil N, and crop growth. The model integrated some features of several widely used crop and soil models, and some modifications were made in order to apply the WHCNS model und...

balance among different fractions of a carbon sources is of paramount importance in maintenance of very important in soil quality and environmental health. on the other hand, rapid growth of world population, degradation of agricultural soils, along with release of greenhouse gasses are some of the main challenges of the 21st century. the aim of this study was to investigate the extent of chang...

Our increasing dependence on a small number of agricultural crops, such as corn, is leading to reductions in agricultural biodiversity. Reductions in the number of crops in rotation or the replacement of rotations by monocultures are responsible for this loss of biodiversity. The belowground implications of simplifying agricultural plant communities remain unresolved; however, agroecosystem sus...

Increased plant productivity and decreased microbial respiratory C loss can potentially mitigate increasing atmospheric CO₂, but we currently lack effective means to achieve these goals. Soil microbes may play critical roles in mediating plant productivity and soil C/N dynamics under future climate scenarios of elevated CO₂ (eCO₂) through optimizing functioning of the root-soil interface. By us...

Aims Land use management affects plant carbon (C) supply and soil environments and hence alters soil nitrogen (N) dynamics, with consequent feedbacks to terrestrial ecosystem productivity. The objective of this study was to better identify mechanisms by which land-use management (clipping and shading) regulates soil N in a tallgrass prairie, OK, USA. Methods We conducted 1-year clipping and sha...

* Greater fine-root production under elevated [CO2] may increase the input of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) to the soil profile because fine root populations turn over quickly in forested ecosystems. * Here, the effect of elevated [CO)] was assessed on root biomass and N inputs at several soil depths by combining a long-term minirhizotron dataset with continuous, root-specific measurements of roo...

Compost has been shown to have a range of positive impacts on soil quality and can provide an important source of nutrients for plants. While these benefits have been documented for many finished composts, there is presently little understanding of the impact of composting process conditions and the extent of compost decomposition on soil C and N mineralization after compost incorporation. This...

Better understanding of process controls over nitrous oxide (N2O) production in urine-impacted 'hot spots' and fertilizer bands is needed to improve mitigation strategies and emission models. Following amendment with bovine (Bos taurus) urine (Bu) or urea (Ur), we measured inorganic N, pH, N2O, and genes associated with nitrification in two soils ('L' and 'W') having similar texture, pH, C, and...

Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration can increase biomass production and alter tissue composition. Shifts in both quantity and quality of crop residue may alter carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics and management considerations in future CO2-enriched agroecosystems. This study was conducted to determine decomposition rates of the legume soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and nonlegume grain sor...

Meat and bone meal (MBM) is obtained from the wastes produced during slaughtering operations. Its high concentration of N and P makes it interesting as an organic fertiliser but its use in soil has been barely studied previously. In this work four laboratory experiments were performed to study the influence of different variables (MBM composition, rate of application, temperature of incubation ...