This study aimed to clarify the regulatory effects of the reduced nitrogen combined with controlled water, biochar, and the nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide (DCD) on nitrogen losses within a facility soil-tomato system, so as to provide a scientific basis for efficient nitrogen use and sustainable green development in facility vegetable production.
A field plot experiment was conducted using facility tomato as the research object, with two irrigation treatments including traditional drip irrigation (TD) and reduced drip irrigation (CD). Based on this, eight nitrogen treatments were designed, including no nitrogen (TDN0, and CDN0), traditional nitrogen (TDN1, and CDN1), reduced nitrogen (TDN2, and CDN2), and reduced nitrogen combined with biochar and dicyandiamide (DCD) (TDN2+BD, and CDN2+BD). During the topdressing period, soil N2O emission and NH3 volatilization, NO3--N accumulation in the 0-100 cm soil profile, and tomato nitrogen uptake, yield, and fruit quality indicators were systematically monitored to quantitatively evaluate the synergistic regulatory effects of biochar and DCD under reduced nitrogen and controlled water conditions.
Nitrogen application significantly increased soil N2O emissions and NH3 volatilization, with peak fluxes occurring 2-3 days after topdressing. Nitrogen reduction effectively suppressed gaseous nitrogen losses, and the combined application of biochar and the nitrification inhibitor DCD further enhanced the mitigation effect on N2O emissions. Although biochar and DCD posed a potential risk of increasing NH3 volatilization, this adverse effect was substantially alleviated by reduced nitrogen and controlled water conditions. Compared with conventional nitrogen application, nitrogen reduction significantly decreased total gaseous nitrogen losses by 45.7%-56.6% and reduced NO3--N accumulation in the 0-100 cm soil profile by 13.7%-16.2%. When biochar and DCD were applied on the basis of nitrogen reduction, total gaseous nitrogen losses further declined by 49.4%-59.0%, while the reduction in NO3--N accumulation expanded to 27.4%-30.0%, with a clear suppression of deep leaching. Both irrigation methods enhanced the synergistic mitigation effects of water nitrogen regulation. However, controlled drip irrigation demonstrated superior performance compared with conventional drip irrigation. Under controlled irrigation, the CDN2+BD treatment reduced total nitrogen losses by 30.0% compared with CDN1, with decreasing the net nitrogen loss rate from 3.3% to 2.5%. This treatment also significantly inhibited deep NO3--N accumulation and increased NO3--N retention in the 20-40 cm soil layer by 27.1%. In addition, biochar and DCD increased the apparent nitrogen use efficiency under controlled irrigation to 28.9%; TDN2+BD and CDN2+BD improved nitrogen use efficiency by 53.0% and 30.2%, respectively, compared with their corresponding nitrogen-reduction treatments (TDN2 and CDN2) (P<0.05). Furthermore, the controlled irrigation with biochar and DCD (CDN2+BD) achieved the highest tomato yield (115.93 t·hm-2), while significantly enhancing fruit vitamin C content and improving soluble protein, soluble sugar, and total soluble solid levels.
Reduced nitrogen application combined with controlled water, biochar, and the nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide (DCD) significantly decreased gaseous and leaching nitrogen losses, optimized soil nitrogen distribution, and improved nitrogen use efficiency and tomato quality, representing an optimal technical approach for nitrogen reduction and efficiency enhancement in facility vegetable production.
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