Bok-Rye Lee, Sang-Hyun Park, Muchamad Muchlas, Tae-Hwan Kim
Ammonia (NH3) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emitted from the pig slurry (PS)-applied soil lead not only to the risk of environmental pollution, but also to the loss of plant nutritional nitrogen (N). This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of zeolite and rice husk biochar (RHB) in mitigating the N losses via NH₃ and N2O emissions from PS-amended soils, and N use efficiency (NUE) for vegetative growth of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). Both zeolite and RHB application significantly reduced NH3 and N2O emissions from the PS-applied soil and improved the NUE for the vegetative growth. When compared the effectiveness of two materials, RHB application has more positive effectiveness in soil pH buffering, urease activity, organic acid content and NH4+ content in soil throughout the experimental period, resulting in a higher mitigation of NH3 and N2O emissions as well as NUE for dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) production. The enhanced NH4+ content in soil closely related to the reduction of NH3 and N2O emissions, and with improved NUE for DM and CP production. A superior performance of RHB relative to zeolite is attributed mainly to a stronger capacity of NH4+ adsorption by higher oxygen-containing functional groups on its surface, and in part to the supply of bioavailable carbon derived from RHB leading to an increase in urease activity and soil organic acid content. Therefore, RHB can be considered a more promising amendment than zeolite for simultaneously mitigating gaseous N losses and enhancing NUE in oilseed rape cultivation. © The Author(s) 2025.
Grassland Science Lab, Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture & Life Science, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, South Korea; Institute of Environmentally-Friendly Agriculture, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, South Korea; Faculty of Animal Science, University of Brawijaya, Veteran Street, East Java, Malang, 65145, Indonesia
