Nitrate Leaching from Continuous Corn, Perennial Grasses, and Poplar in the US Midwest

Hussain, Mir Zaman; Bhardwaj, Ajay K.; Basso, Bruno; Robertson, G. Philip; Hamilton, Stephen K.

doi:10.2134/jeq2019.04.0156

Title: Nitrate Leaching from Continuous Corn, Perennial Grasses, and Poplar in the US Midwest

Journal Article · Thu Aug 29 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Journal of Environmental Quality

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2019.04.0156· OSTI ID:1579349

Hussain, Mir Zaman ^[1]; Bhardwaj, Ajay K. ^[2]; Basso, Bruno ^[1]; Robertson, G. Philip ^[1]; Hamilton, Stephen K. ^[3]

Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
Central Soil Salinity Research Inst., Karnal (India)
Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States); Cary Inst. of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY (United States)

Leaching from annual corn (Zea mays L.) crops is a primary source of nitrate (NO₃^-) pollution of ground and surface waters. Here, we compare NO₃^- losses from no-till corn with losses from various alternative perennial cropping systems (switchgrass [Panicum virgatum L.], miscanthus [Miscanthus ×giganteus J.M. Greef & Deuter ex Hodkinson & Renvoiz], a native grass mixture, and restored prairie), as well as hybrid poplar (Populus nigra L. × P. maximowiczii A. Henry ‘NM6’), all grown on a well-drained soil in Michigan. Soil water was sampled from below the root zone using suction cup samplers during nonfrozen periods (March–November) between 2009 and 2016. Leaching was estimated from NO₃^- concentrations in soil water and modeled drainage (percolation) rates. Drainage rates were not significantly different among crops, constituting ~30% of total annual precipitation. Aboveground net primary production (Mg ha^-1 yr^-1) averaged across the 7 yr was highest in poplar (30.8 ± 1.9 [SE]) followed by miscanthus (23.9 ± 2.4) and corn (20.4 ± 0.9). Volume-weighted mean NO₃^- concentrations (mg N L^-1) and NO₃^- leaching (kg ha^-1 yr^-1) averaged across the 7 yr were 9.2 and 34.1, 2.3 and 5.9, and 3.0 and 7.2, respectively, for corn, perennial grasses and poplar. Approximately 10 to 32% of applied N was lost as NO₃^- from these crops, with the highest percent losses from poplar (32%) followed by corn (20%). Perennial cropping systems leached considerably more NO₃^- in first few years after planting, but over 7 yr they lost much less NO₃^- than corn. Perennial crops may therefore help ameliorate NO₃^- pollution in agricultural landscapes even if they receive modest N fertilization.

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Research Organization:: Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), Madison, WI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0018409; FC02- 07ER64494

OSTI ID:: 1579349

Journal Information:: Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol. 48, Issue 6; ISSN 0047-2425

Publisher:: American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of AmericaCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 22 works

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