Changes in soil mineral nitrogen, nitrogen leached, and surface pH under annual and perennial pasture species
B. S. Dear A D , J. M. Virgona A , G. A. Sandral A , A. D. Swan A B and S. Morris CA E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (NSW Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University), Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, PMB, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia.
B Current address: CSIRO, Plant Industry, GPO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
C Agricultural Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wollongbar, NSW 2477, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: brian.dear@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Crop and Pasture Science 60(10) 975-986 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP09026
Submitted: 22 January 2009 Accepted: 19 June 2009 Published: 18 September 2009
Abstract
Soil mineral nitrogen (N) profiles during the growing season and changes in total soil N and available N after 3–4 years were examined under 9 different pasture swards containing annual legumes, lucerne (Medicago sativa L.), or one of 4 perennial grasses at 2 sites representative of the low and medium rainfall belt of south-eastern Australia. The effect of the presence of phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.) or lucerne on the spatial variation in surface pH was also measured. The 9 pastures were subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.), subterranean clover with annual weeds, yellow serradella (Ornithopus compressus L.), lucerne, phalaris, cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.), lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula (Schrader) Nees), wallaby grass (Austrodanthonia richardsonii (Cashm.) H.P. Linder), and a mixture of lucerne, phalaris, and cocksfoot. All the perennial treatments were sown with subterranean clover. Available mineral N values in the surface 0.10 m of soil following summer rainfall were substantially higher in pure subterranean clover or serradella (Ornithopus compressus L.) swards (24–50 μg N/g) than those containing a mixture of subterranean clover and perennials (9–20 μg N/g). Apparent leaching of soil nitrate down the profile during winter was greatest in annual pasture treatments and least in swards containing perennials. Soil pH(CaCl2) at the 0–0.10 m depth varied with proximity to perennial plants and was significantly higher (+0.2–1.1 pH units) near the base of perennial plants than in gaps between the perennials or in annual-only swards. Available mineral N to 1.0 m before cropping at the end of the pasture phase was highest following subterranean clover (175–344 kg N/ha) and serradella (202–316 kg N/ha) at both sites. Available N was lowest (91–143 kg N/ha) following perennial grass–clover swards at the drier site where the annual legume content was lower, but perennial grass–clover swards produced larger soil N values (147–219 kg N/ha) at the higher rainfall site. Removal of the pasture in August–September compared with November in the year before cropping increased available N at the time of sowing by an average of 44% (51 kg N/ha) at the drier site and 43% (74 kg N/ha) at the wetter site. Incorporating perennial pasture species in swards was found to be advantageous in reducing nitrate leaching and preventing a decline in surface soil pH; however, available soil N to following crops could be lower if the annual legume content of perennial grass-based pastures declined due to competition from the perennial species.
Additional keywords: nitrate leaching, serradella, phalaris, lucerne, lovegrass, danthonia, cocksfoot, subterranean clover, soil acidity.
Acknowledgments
The work was undertaken with financial support from the Grains Research and Development Corporation, project CSP219. The authors thank Mr A. Lehmann, ‘Hillside’, Illabo, and Mr J. Semmler, ‘Hillview’, Kamarah, for providing land for the experiments.
Anderson GC,
Fillery IPR,
Dolling PJ, Asseng S
(1998a) Nitrogen and water flows under pasture-wheat and lupin-wheat rotations in deep sands in western Australia. 1. Nitrogen fixation in legumes, net N mineralisation, and utilisation of soil derived N. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 49, 329–343.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Anderson GC,
Fillery IPR,
Dunin FX,
Dolling PJ, Asseng S
(1998b) Nitrogen and water flows under pasture–wheat and lupin–wheat rotations in deep sands in western Australia. 2. Drainage and nitrate leaching. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 49, 345–361.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Angus JF,
Gault RR,
Peoples MB,
Stapper M, van Herwaarden AF
(2001) Soil water extraction by dryland crops annual pastures and lucerne in south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 182–192.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Crews TE, Peoples MB
(2004) Legume verses fertilizer sources of nitrogen: ecological tradeoffs and human needs. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 102, 279–297.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dear BS, Cocks PS
(1997) Effect of perennial pasture species on surface soil moisture and early growth and survival of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) seedlings. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 48, 683–693.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dear BS,
Cocks PS,
Peoples MB,
Swan AD, Smith AB
(1999) Nitrogen fixation by subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) growing in pure culture and in mixtures with varying densities of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) or phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.). Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 50, 1047–1055.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dear BS,
Cocks PS,
Swan AD,
Wolfe EC, Ayre LM
(2000) Effect of phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.) and lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) density on seed yield and regeneration of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.). Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 51, 267–278.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dear BS,
Cocks PS,
Wolfe EC, Collins DP
(1998) Established perennial grasses reduce the growth of emerging subterranean clover seedlings through competition for water, light and nutrients. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 49, 41–51.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dear BS,
Sandral GA,
Virgona JM, Swan AD
(2004) Yield and grain protein of wheat following phased perennial grass, lucerne and annual pastures. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 55, 775–785.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dear BS,
Sandral GA,
Virgona JM,
Swan AD,
Orchard BA, Cocks PS
(2007b) Lucerne, phalaris and wallaby grass in short-term pasture phases in two eastern Australian wheatbelt environments. 2. Effect of perennial density and species on subterranean clover populations and the relative success of 3 clover cultivars of different maturity. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58, 123–135.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dear BS,
Virgona JM,
Sandral GA,
Swan AD, Orchard B
(2001b) Effect of companion perennial grasses and lucerne on seed yield and regeneration of subterranean clover in two wheatbelt environments. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 973–983.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dear BS,
Virgona JM,
Sandral GA,
Swan AD, Orchard PA
(2007a) Lucerne, phalaris and wallaby grass in short-term pasture phases in two eastern Australian wheatbelt environments. 1. Importance of initial perennial density on their persistence and recruitment, and on the presence of weeds. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58, 113–121.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dolling PJ
(2001) Water use and drainage under phalaris, annual pasture, and crops on a duplex soil in Western Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 305–316.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fillery IRP
(2001) The fate of biologically fixed nitrogen in legume-based dryland farming systems: a review. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 41, 361–381.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Heng LK,
White RE,
Helyar KR,
Fisher R, Chen D
(2001) Seasonal differences in the soil water balance under perennial and annual pastures on an acid Sodosol in southeastern Australia. European Journal of Soil Science 52, 227–236.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hirth JR,
Haines PJ,
Ridley AM, Wilson KF
(2001) Lucerne in crop rotations in the Riverine plains 2. Biomass and grain yields, water use efficiency, soil nitrogen, and profitability. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 279–293.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Holford ICR, Doyle AD
(1978) The effect of grazed lucerne on the moisture status of wheat growing soils. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 18, 112–117.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hook PB,
Lauenroth WK, Burke IC
(1994) Spatial patterns of roots in a semiarid grassland: abundance of canopy openings and regeneration gaps. Journal of Ecology 82, 485–494.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McCallum MH,
Connor DJ, O’Leary GJ
(2001) Water use by lucerne and effect on crops in the Victorian Wimmera. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 193–201.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Peoples MB,
Gault RR,
Scammell GJ,
Dear BS,
Virgona JM,
Sandral GA,
Paul J,
Wolfe EC, Angus JF
(1998) Effect of pasture management on the contributions of fixed N to the N economy of ley-farming systems. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 49, 459–474.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ridley AM,
Christy B,
Dunin FX,
Haines PJ,
Wilson KF, Ellington A
(2001a) Lucerne in crop rotations on the Riverine plains, 1. The soil water balance. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 263–277.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ridley AM,
Mele PM, Beverly CR
(2004) Legume-based farming in Southern Australia: developing sustainable systems to meet environmental challenges. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 36, 1213–1221.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ridley AM, Simpson RJ
(1994) Seasonal development of roots under perennial and annual grass pastures. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 45, 1077–1087.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ridley AM,
Simpson RJ, White RE
(1999) Nitrate leaching under phalaris, cocksfoot, and annual ryegrass pastures and implications for soil acidification. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 50, 55–63.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ridley AM,
Slatery WJ,
Helyar KR, Cowling A
(1990) Acidification under grazed annual and perennial grass based pastures. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 30, 539–544.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ridley AM,
White RE,
Helyar KR,
Morrison GR,
Heng LK, Fisher R
(2001b) Nitrate leaching loss under annual and perennial pastures with and without lime on a duplex (texture contrast) soil in humid southeastern Australia. European Journal of Soil Science 52, 237–252.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ridley AM,
White RE,
Simpson RJ, Callinan L
(1997) Water use and drainage under phalaris, cocksfoot and annual ryegrass pastures. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 48, 1011–1023.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Sandral GA,
Dear BS,
Virgona JM,
Swan AD, Orchard B
(2006) Changes in soil water content under annual- and perennial-based pasture systems in the wheatbelt of southern New South Wales. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 57, 321–333.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Simpson JR
(1962) Mineral nitrogen fluctuations in soils under improved pasture in southern New South Wales. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 13, 1059–1072.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Singh DK,
Bird PR, Saul GR
(2003) Maximising the use of soil water by herbaceous species in the high rainfall zone of southern Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 54, 677–691.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Slattery WJ,
Ridley AM, Windsor SM
(1991) Ash alkalinity of animal and plant products. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 31, 321–324.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Stork PR, Jerie PH
(2003) Initial studies of the growth, nitrogen sequestering, and de-watering potential of perennial grass selections for use as nitrogen catch crops in orchards. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 54, 27–37.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Storrier RR
(1965) The leaching of nitrogen and its uptake by wheat in a soil from southern New South Wales. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 5, 323–328.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Verbyla AP,
Cullis BR,
Kenward MG, Welham SJ
(1999) The analysis of designed experiments and longitudinal data by using smoothing splines (with discussion). Applied Statistics 48, 269–311.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Volaire F, Norton M
(2006) Summer dormancy in perennial temperate grasses. Annals of Botany 98, 927–933.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |
Ward PR,
Dunin FX, Micin SF
(2001) Water balance of annual and perennial pastures on a duplex soil in a Mediterranean environment. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 203–210.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Xu ZH,
Amato M,
Ladd JN, Elliott DE
(1996) Soil nitrogen availability in the cereal zone of South Australia. II. Buffer-extractable nitrogen, mineralisable nitrogen, and mineral nitrogen in soil profile under different land uses. Australian Journal of Soil Research 34, 949–965.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
