Optimizing nitrogen fertilization rate to achieve high yield and high soil quality in paddy ecosystems with straw incorporation.

Plastic film mulching is a potentially water-saving cultivation strategy, while straw return coupled with nitrogen (N) fertilization can ensure sustainable soil productivity and increased soil organic matter (SOM) sequestration. Nevertheless, a comprehensive understanding of how soil quality and agronomic productivity respond to long-term N fertilization and straw incorporation practices under non-flooded conditions with plastic film mulching remains elusive. Herein, a 15-year field experiment with straw incorporation practices (straw return and no straw return) under various N fertilization rates (N0, N1, N2, N3, and N4: 0, 45, 90, 135, and 180 kg N ha, respectively) was conducted to explore their long-term effects.

Vital roles of soil microbes in driving terrestrial nitrogen immobilization.

Nitrogen immobilization usually leads to nitrogen retention in soil and, thus, influences soil nitrogen supply for plant growth. Understanding soil nitrogen immobilization is important for predicting soil nitrogen cycling under anthropogenic activities and climate changes. However, the global patterns and drivers of soil nitrogen immobilization remain unclear.

Effects of different fertilizers on the abundance and community structure of ammonia oxidizers in a yellow clay soil.

Yellow clay paddy soil (Oxisols) is a typical soil with low productivity in southern China. Nitrification inhibitors and slow release fertilizers have been used to improve nitrogen fertilizer utilization and reduce environmental impaction of the paddy soil. However, their effects on ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in paddy soil have rarely been investigated.

Light intensity affects the uptake and metabolism of glycine by pakchoi (Brassica chinensis L.).

The uptake of glycine by pakchoi (Brassica chinensis L.), when supplied as single N-source or in a mixture of glycine and inorganic N, was studied at different light intensities under sterile conditions. At the optimal intensity (414 μmol m(-2) s(-1)) for plant growth, glycine, nitrate, and ammonium contributed 29.