AgroNum's NfUE (RUN) paradigm shift
How to increase nitrogen-fertilizer use efficiencies (NfUE) and avoid the “mining” of soil organic matter? Interesting insight from Kirby et al. 2016 – "Inorganic Nutrients Increase Humification Efficiency and C-Sequestration in an Annually Cropped Soil" (https://lnkd.in/e9htqDNd) concerning the so-called “nutrient-use efficiency” paradigm.
Kirby et al. 2016 state in their (slightly paraphrased) conclusion that; “As more N was removed in grain /…/ than the combined amount added as fertilizer and residue, crops must have utilized N mineralized from pre-existing /…/ SOM and/or from decomposing crop residues. By relying on N mineralized from existing organic matter in this way, the system was effectively being “mined” for N. /…/ Even with large inputs of crop residue-carbon, without /…/ additional nutrients the SOM pool will not increase in size, /…/ and may even decrease”.
There’s also lots of talk about nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency (NfUE, kg-N_grain/kg-N_fertilizer) as being the single most important factor in reducing nitrous oxide emissions from cropped agricultural soils. I agree. This said, NfUE increases must not be excessive to the point of draining nitrogen from soil-borne crop residues and hindering their humification into stable soil organic matter (SOM).
Polyor SAS’s AgroNum™ approach to integrated fertilizer management & sustainable agriculture (https://lnkd.in/eBmfT3NM) was expressly designed to avoid such N-depletion of crop residues when increasing, or rather optimizing, NfUEs. AgroNum™’s database was purged of NfUEs too small leading to non-point source nitrate pollution, but also of NfUEs too large conducive to the aforementioned depletion of crop residues & soil mining.
Paradoxically, NfUE increases as means to SOM conservation & build-up can also lead to the mining of SOM. Sustainable agriculture & SOM conservation at the plot & farm level require a delicate balance between allocating nitrogen to the grain, and at the same time not depriving crop residues of the nitrogen required for their humification into stable SOM. This is precisely what is accomplished ergonomically by Polyor SAS’s AgroNum™ yield & corresponding N-fertilizer recommendations (https://lnkd.in/eBmfT3NM).
#sustainableagriculture #soilconservation #carbonfarming #eucarbonremovals #Nitrogen #agriculturedurable #conservationdessols
