Quantifying economically and ecologically optimum nitrogen rates for rice production in south-eastern China

► Overuse of fertilizer N has become widespread in China. ► We quantified the optimum N rates for rice production in south-eastern China. ► The estimated optimum N rates ranged from 90 to 285 kg ha −1. ► Cutting one-third of the N use would be feasible in Jiangsu Province. China consumes 32% of the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agriculture, ecosystems & environment ecosystems & environment, 2011-08, Vol.142 (3), p.195-204
Main Authors: Chen, Jing, Huang, Yao, Tang, Yonghua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Biological and medical sciences
case studies
China
cropping systems
cultivars
Cutting
Ecologically optimum
Ecology
Economically optimum
Economics
Environment
environmental impact
Fertilizer nitrogen use
fertilizer rates
Fertilizing
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General agroecology
General agroecology. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development. Rural area planning. Landscaping
General agronomy. Plant production
Generalities. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development
grain yield
Mathematical models
nitrogen
nitrogen fertilizers
Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium fertilizations
Optimization
Oryza sativa
Rice
Rice production
Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments
statistical models
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:► Overuse of fertilizer N has become widespread in China. ► We quantified the optimum N rates for rice production in south-eastern China. ► The estimated optimum N rates ranged from 90 to 285 kg ha −1. ► Cutting one-third of the N use would be feasible in Jiangsu Province. China consumes 32% of the world's total synthetic fertilizer nitrogen (N). Overuse of fertilizer N has become widespread, resulting in severe environmental problems. Based on a set of statistical models, we quantified the optimum N rates for rice production in terms of economic and ecological benefits. Model fitting results suggested that the dependence of rice yield, N uptake and N loss on fertilizer N application rates can be well determined by a quadratic polynomial function, a logistic function and a power function, respectively. Using these functions, the economically optimum and ecologically optimum N rates in south-eastern China were estimated to be 180–285 kg ha −1 and 90–150 kg ha −1, respectively, depending on rice subspecies, varieties and cropping systems. A case study in Jiangsu Province, where single rice with conventional japonica varieties is dominated, suggested that current N rates (∼390 kg ha −1) could be cut by 26% and 61% when the economically and ecologically optimum N rates, respectively, are adopted, saving 189 × 10 3 and 442 × 10 3 metric tons per year, respectively. Cutting one-third of the N use would not reduce rice yield but is expected to mitigate negative environmental impact in this province.
ISSN:0167-8809
1873-2305
DOI:10.1016/j.agee.2011.05.005