Identify the optimization strategy of nitrogen fertilization level based on trade-off analysis between rice production and greenhouse gas emission. (1st December 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhu, Enyan; Deng, Jinsong; Wang, Hongquan; Wang, Ke; Huang, Lingyan; Zhu, Genjie; Belete, Marye; Shahtahmassebi, AmirReza
• Is Part Of: Journal of cleaner production. Volume 239(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-12-01
• Subjects: Nitrogen fertilization -- DNDC model -- GIS -- Rice yield -- Agricultural GHG emissions -- Trade-off; Factory and trade waste -- Management -- Periodicals; Manufactures -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Déchets industriels -- Gestion -- Périodiques; Usines -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; 628.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118060
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6526

Abstract

Abstract: Application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer increases grain yield and soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, but accompanied by the emission of greenhouse gas (GHG) especially nitrous oxide (N2 O). To spatial-temporally analyze the trade-off between yield and GHG emissions under different N fertilization levels at regional scale, this study integrated geographic information system (GIS) and the DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC, Version 9.5) model to define the impacts of different N fertilization levels on rice production, SOC sequestration, and GHG emission in Fuyang District, a county-scale region in Eastern China. The whole region was divided into 28825 polygon-based modeling units based on heterogeneity of soil property, climate and agricultural management conditions. After validating the DNDC model by field observation data of the year 1979 and 2015, five N fertilization levels (0, 140, 210, 280 and 350 kg N ha −1 ) from the year 2016–2035 were designed for simulating the rice yield, SOC sequestration, N2 O and methane (CH4 ) emissions. Validation results showed a good performance of the refined DNDC model. Simulation results indicated that yield and GHG emission increased with the growth of N fertilization rate, but the SOC sequestration change was not noticeable. Around 210 kg N ha −1 was recommended as optimal N fertilization level in Fuyang District, because its global warming potential intensity (GWPI) was the lowest among all the N fertilization levels. As excessive N input is a common problem across China, our results provide a case for a win-win scenario for both food security and environmental friendliness. Highlights: Increasing N fertilization level makes the growth of yield as well as GHG emission. The reduction of yield can be compensated by the decline of N2 O emission. Yield growth and carbon sequestration potential are influenced by the soil type. 25 percent reduction of N fertilization is suggested in the study area.