Nitrogen stabilizers mitigate reactive N and greenhouse gas emissions from an arable soil in North China Plain: Field and laboratory investigation

Summary

This 2020 study evaluated nitrogen stabilisers as a chemical mitigation strategy in intensive cereal production on the North China Plain, combining field and laboratory experiments to characterise how these additives reduce reactive nitrogen pollution and soil-derived greenhouse gas emissions. The research suggests that nitrogen stabilisers may offer a technically compatible approach for reducing environmental burden in high-input arable systems without requiring major agronomic redesign. Findings are most relevant to intensive cereal-growing regions with similar soil and climatic conditions.

UK applicability

The findings may have limited direct applicability to UK cereal systems, which typically operate under different soil temperatures, moisture regimes, and nitrogen input intensities than the North China Plain. However, the mechanistic insights into nitrogen stabiliser performance could inform mitigation strategy selection in UK high-input arable regions, subject to field validation under temperate conditions.

Key measures

Reactive nitrogen species (ammonia volatilisation, nitrous oxide emissions), greenhouse gas emissions, soil nitrogen dynamics, mitigation efficiency of nitrogen stabiliser additives

Outcomes reported

The study measured the effects of nitrogen stabilisers on reactive nitrogen losses (ammonia volatilisation and nitrous oxide emissions) and greenhouse gas emissions from an intensive arable soil in the North China Plain. Both field and laboratory experiments were conducted to characterise mitigation mechanisms under high-input cereal production conditions.

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