Considering belowground nitrogen of crops grown in prairie agroecosystems
Date
2011-03-15
Authors
Arcand, M.M.
Farrell, R.E.
Knight, J.D.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
Type
Presentation
Degree Level
Abstract
Grain legumes can improve the yield of succeeding cereal crops through nitrogen and non-nitrogen benefits. Included among these is the input of symbiotically-fixed N from the remaining legume residues following grain harvest. However, the contribution of fixed-N to the soil system can be underestimated due to inadequate physical recovery of roots and unaccounted N released from living legume roots (rhizodeposition) during crop growth. This paper reports on N partitioning in pea and canola plants using 15N stable isotope methods to track N from the plant into the soil. Results illustrate the importance of accounting for below-ground N, particularly rhizodeposit N, as it accounted for more of the total N that remained in the residues compared to
the above-ground residues including straw and chaff. Preliminary results also indicate different allocation of plant N between canola and pea with potential implications for N cycling between these two crops.
Description
Keywords
nitrogen balance, rhizodeposition, roots, pea, canola, 15N isotope techniques
Citation
Degree
Department
Program
Advisor
Committee
Citation
Part Of
Soils and Crops Workshop