Real-time in situ sensing of soil nitrogen status to promote enhanced nitrogen use efficiency in agricultural systems

实时原位传感土壤氮状况，促进提高农业系统氮利用效率

• 批准号: BB/P004539/1
• 负责人: Davey Jones
• 金额: $ 40.34万
• 依托单位: Bangor University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2017 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FP004539%2F1
• 关键词: Real; time; situ; sensing; soil

Nitrogen (N) is vital for crop productivity, however, typically half of the N we add to agricultural land is usually lost to the environment. This wastes the resource and produces threats to air, water, soil, human health and biodiversity, and generates harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These environmental problems largely result from our inability to accurately match fertiliser inputs to crop demand in both space and time in the field. If these problems are to be overcome, we need a radical step change in current N management techniques in both arable and grassland production systems. One potential solution to this is the use of technologies that can 'sense' the amount of plant-available N present in the soil combined with sensors that can report on the N status of the crop canopy. On their own, these sensors can provide useful information on soil/crop N status to the farmer. However, they need refining if they are then to be used to inform fertiliser management decisions. This is because climate variables (e.g., temperature, rainfall, sunlight hours) and soil factors (e.g., texture, organic matter content) can have a major influence on soil processes and plant growth, independent of soil N status. These sensors therefore need to be combined with other data and improved soil-crop growth models to provide a more accurate report of how soil N relates to crop N demand at any given point in time. In this project, we are demonstrating how adoption of precision agriculture techniques (in the form of soil nitrate sensors) can be used to improve N use efficiency in both arable (wheat, oilseed rape) and grassland systems. While we are focusing on soil nitrate, as it arguably represents the key form of soil N associated with productivity and the environment, the approaches we are taking are also readily applicable to other nutrients for which sensors are currently being developed (e.g., ammonium, phosphate, potassium).We have designed our research programme in accordance with the strategic objectives of the BBSRC-SARIC programme and those recently produced by HM Government to facilitate delivery of sustainable intensification strategies. To maximise the potential for technology development, commercialisation and adoption we are working closely with a range of industry partners throughout the programme. Overall, we aim to (i) demonstrate the use of novel N sensors for the real-time measurement of soil N status; (ii) use geo-statistical methods to optimise the deployment of these in situ sensors; (iii) produce new mechanistic mathematical models which allow accurate prediction of crop N demand; (iv) validate the benefits of these sensors and models in representative grassland and arable systems from a N use and economic standpoint; and (v) explore how these new technologies can improve current fertiliser management and guidelines through enhanced industry-focused decision support tools.Ultimately, this technology shift could result in substantial savings to the farmer by both reducing costs, maximising yields and minimising damage to the environment. For example, if our technology improves N use efficiency by 10% in agricultural land where fertiliser is applied in the UK (8.2 million hectares of grassland and tilled crops), we estimate it would save 100 thousand tons of N fertiliser (equivalent to a saving of £69 million per annum to farmers). When the direct and indirect costs of nitrate pollution are considered (e.g., removing nitrate from drinking water is estimated to cost UK water companies >£20 million annually), and the reduction in direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from manufacture and use of 100 thousand tons of N fertiliser are accounted for, the benefits of adopting a validated precision agriculture approach are clear.

氮(N)对作物生产力至关重要，然而，我们添加到农业用地上的氮通常有一半流失到环境中。这浪费了资源，对空气、水、土壤、人类健康和生物多样性造成威胁，并产生有害的温室气体（GHG）排放。这些环境问题很大程度上是由于我们无法在空间和时间上准确地将肥料投入与作物需求相匹配。如果要克服这些问题，我们需要对目前的耕地和草地生产系统的氮素管理技术进行彻底的改革。一个潜在的解决方案是使用能够“感知”土壤中存在的植物可利用氮量的技术，并结合可以报告作物冠层氮状况的传感器。就其本身而言，这些传感器可以为农民提供有关土壤/作物氮状态的有用信息。然而，如果要将它们用于肥料管理决策，就需要对它们进行提炼。这是因为气候变量（如温度、降雨、日照时数）和土壤因子（如质地、有机质含量）可以对土壤过程和植物生长产生重大影响，而不依赖于土壤N状态。因此，这些传感器需要与其他数据和改进的土壤-作物生长模型相结合，以提供更准确的报告，说明在任何给定时间点土壤N与作物N需求之间的关系。在这个项目中，我们正在展示如何采用精准农业技术（以土壤硝酸盐传感器的形式）来提高耕地（小麦、油菜）和草地系统的氮利用效率。虽然我们关注的是土壤硝酸盐，因为它可以说是与生产力和环境相关的土壤氮的关键形式，但我们采取的方法也很容易适用于目前正在开发传感器的其他营养物质（例如，铵、磷酸盐、钾）。我们根据BBSRC-SARIC计划的战略目标和英国政府最近制定的战略目标设计了我们的研究计划，以促进可持续强化战略的实施。为了最大限度地发挥技术开发、商业化和采用的潜力，我们在整个项目中与一系列行业合作伙伴密切合作。总的来说，我们的目标是(i)展示使用新型氮传感器实时测量土壤氮状态；（ii）使用地质统计方法优化这些原位传感器的部署；（iii）建立新的机械数学模型，以便准确预测作物氮需求；（iv）从氮利用和经济角度验证这些传感器和模型在代表性草地和耕地系统中的效益；(v)探索这些新技术如何通过增强的以行业为重点的决策支持工具来改善当前的肥料管理和指导方针。最终，这项技术的转变可以通过降低成本、最大限度地提高产量和减少对环境的破坏，为农民节省大量资金。例如，如果我们的技术将英国使用肥料的农业用地（820万公顷草地和耕作作物）的氮利用效率提高10%，我们估计它将节省10万吨氮肥（相当于每年为农民节省6900万英镑）。考虑到硝酸盐污染的直接和间接成本（例如，从饮用水中去除硝酸盐估计要花费英国水务公司每年2000万英镑），并考虑到生产和使用10万吨氮肥所减少的直接和间接温室气体排放，采用经过验证的精准农业方法的好处是显而易见的。

项目成果

15N-amino sugar stable isotope probing (15N-SIP) to trace the assimilation of fertiliser-N by soil bacterial and fungal communities

• DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.107599
• 发表时间: 2019-11
• 期刊: Soil Biology and Biochemistry
• 影响因子: 9.7
• 作者: M. Reay;A. Charteris;Davey L. Jones;R. Evershed

Precipitation-optimised targeting of nitrogen fertilisers in a model maize cropping system

模型玉米种植系统中氮肥的降水优化目标

• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144051
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Science of The Total Environment
• 影响因子: 9.8
• 作者: McKay Fletcher D

Assessing the benefits and wider costs of different N fertilisers for grassland agriculture

• DOI: 10.1080/03650340.2018.1519251
• 发表时间: 2019-04-16
• 期刊: ARCHIVES OF AGRONOMY AND SOIL SCIENCE
• 影响因子: 2.4
• 作者: Carswell, Alison;Shaw, Rory;Misselbrook, Tom H.
• 通讯作者: Misselbrook, Tom H.

Interaction of straw amendment and soil NO3− content controls fungal denitrification and denitrification product stoichiometry in a sandy soil

• DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.09.005
• 发表时间: 2018-11
• 期刊: Soil Biology and Biochemistry
• 影响因子: 9.7
• 作者: M. Senbayram;R. Well;R. Bol;D. Chadwick;David L. Jones;Di Wu

Projected Increases in Precipitation Are Expected To Reduce Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Alter Optimal Fertilization Timings in Agriculture in the South East of England.

• DOI: 10.1021/acsestengg.1c00492
• 发表时间: 2022-08-12
• 期刊: ACS ES&T ENGINEERING
• 影响因子: 7.1
• 作者: McKay Fletcher, Dan;Ruiz, Siul;Williams, Katherine;Petroselli, Chiara;Walker, Nancy;Chadwick, David;Jones, Davey L;Roose, Tiina
• 通讯作者: Roose, Tiina