Improved N management is required to enhance crop productivity, while reducing concomitant losses. Research was conducted for 4-y studying winter cover crops. Three legume species grown alone or with either cereal rye (Secale cereale) or ‘Tillage Radish®’ (Raphanus sativus L.) were used to quantify cover crop biomass and N content plus their effects on corn grain yield and N recovery. The effects of these cropping systems on selected soil health indicators was also determined. Rye bicultures enhanced biomass production, but antagonistically affected corn performance. Radish inclusion resulted in equal or greater cover crop N than rye. In year 3, the addition of radish across legume species increased corn N content (10.6 kg ha-1) and grain yield (1050 kg ha-1). Although cover crops did not affect soil bulk density, both bicultures increased soil C/N. The legume-radish association offers a novel practice towards improving crop performance and soil quality.

To date, there has been little research into the role of microbial community structure in the functioning of the soil ecosystem and on the links between microbial biomass size, microbial activity and key soil processes that drive nutrient availability. The maintenance of structural and functional diversity of the soil microbial community is essential to ensure the sustainability of agricultural production systems. Soils of the same type with similar fertility that had been under long-term organic and conventional crop management in Canterbury, New Zealand, were selected to investigate relationships between microbial community composition, function and potential environmental impacts. The effects of different fertilisation strategies on soil biology and nitrogen (N) dynamics were investigated under field (farm site comparison), semi-controlled (lysimeter study) and controlled (incubation experiments) conditions by determining soil microbial biomass carbon (C) and N, enzyme activities (dehydrogenase, arginine deaminase, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis), microbial community structure (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis following PCR amplification of 16S and 18S rDNA fragments using selected primer sets) and N dynamics (mineralisation and leaching). The farm site comparison revealed distinct differences between the soils in microbial community structure, microbial biomass C (conventional > organic) and arginine deaminase activity (organic > conventional). In the lysimeter study, the soils were subjected to the same crop rotation (barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), maize (Zea mays L.), rape (Brassica napus L. ssp. oleifera (Moench)) plus a lupin green manure (Lupinus angustifolius L.) and two fertiliser regimes (following common organic and conventional practice). Soil biological properties, microbial community structure and mineral N leaching losses were determined over 2½ years. Differences in mineral leaching losses were not significant between treatments (total organic management: 24.2 kg N per ha; conventional management: 28.6 kg N per ha). Crop rotation and plant type had a larger influence on the microbial biomass, activity and community structure than fertilisation. Initial differences between soils decreased over time for most biological soil properties, while they persisted for the enzyme activities (e.g. dehydrogenase activity: 4.0 and 2.9 µg per g and h for organic and conventional management history, respectively). A lack of consistent positive links between enzyme activities and microbial biomass size indicated that similarly sized and structured microbial communities can express varying rates of activity. In two successive incubation experiments, the soils were amended with different rates of a lupin green manure (4 or 8t dry matter per ha), and different forms of N at 100 kg per ha (urea and lupin) and incubated for 3 months. Samples were taken periodically, and in addition to soil biological properties and community structure, gross N mineralisation was determined. The form of N had a strong effect on microbial soil properties. Organic amendment resulted in a 2 to 5-fold increase in microbial biomass and enzyme activities, while microbial community structure was influenced by the addition or lack of C or N substrate. Correlation analyses suggested treatment-related differences in nutrient availability, microbial structural diversity (species richness or evenness) and physiological properties of the microbial community. The findings of this thesis showed that using green manures and crop rotations improved soil biology in both production systems, that no relationships existed between microbial structure, enzyme activities and N mineralisation, and that enzyme activities and microbial community structure are more closely associated with inherent soil and environmental factors, which makes them less useful as early indicators of changes in soil quality.

Inhibition of nitrification of ammonia nitrogen (N) from pig slurry in soil after application can mitigate N losses by denitrification and leaching of nitrate (NO3-), with economic and environmental benefits. However, this strategy has not yet been evaluated by Brazilian research, which motivated the present work. The objective was to evaluate the efficiency of the product AGROTAIN Plus, which contains 81% of the inhibitor dicyandiamide (DCD), in slowing the nitrification of ammonium N applied to soil with pig slurry. For this, two incubations were performed under controlled humidity (80% cc) and temperature (25ºC), where nitrification was assessed by the accumulation of NO3 - in soil. In the first incubation conducted for 72 days, doses of 3.5, 7.0 and 14 kg ha-1 of AGROTAIN Plus were compared, applied to the soil at the time of the manure addition (29.4 m3 ha-1). The dicyandiamide (DCD) inhibited the nitrification of N ammonia from manure, and the size and duration of this inhibition was dependent on the dose of AGROTAIN Plus applied. At a dose of 14 kg ha-1 (11.3 kg DCD ha-1) nitrification was completely inhibited in the first 12 days. During the first month after the manure application, where nitrification was more intense, increasing the dose of AGROTAIN Plus in 1 kg ha-1 (0.81 kg DCD ha-1) reduced the N-NO3 - accumulation in 3,8 kg ha-1. In the second incubation, evaluated for 60 days, was studied the effect of these same three doses of AGROTAIN Plus on soil microbial activity. Besides that, was evaluated the effect of the 7.0 kg ha-1 dose of product in inhibiting nitrification of N ammonia from pig slurry (34 m3 ha-1) and the mineralization of pig slurry C and N. The effect of the nitrification inhibitor was similar to that observed in the first incubation, while the manure N mineralization and soil microbial activity were not affected by the AGROTAIN Plus addition. The findings suggest that dicianodiamida (DCD), by delaying the onset of N-NO3 - in soil after application of pig slurry, reduces the N losses and the polluting potential of slurry. / A inibição da nitrificação do nitrogênio (N) amoniacal dos dejetos de suínos, após sua aplicação no solo, poderá mitigar as perdas de N por desnitrificação e lixiviação de nitrato (NO3 -), com benefícios econômicos e ambientais. Todavia, essa estratégia ainda não foi avaliada pela pesquisa brasileira, o que motivou a realização do presente trabalho. O objetivo foi o de avaliar a eficiência do produto Agrotain Plus, que contém 81% do inibidor dicianodiamida (DCD), em retardar a nitrificação do N amoniacal aplicado ao solo com dejetos líquidos de suínos. Para isso, foram realizadas duas incubações sob condições controladas de umidade (80% cc) e de temperatura (25ºC), onde a nitrificação foi avaliada através do acúmulo de NO3 - no solo. Na primeira incubação, conduzida durante 72 dias, foram comparadas as doses de 3,5, 7,0 e 14 kg de Agrotain Plus ha-1, aplicadas ao solo no momento da adição dos dejetos (29,4 m3 ha-1). A dicianodiamida (DCD) inibiu a nitrificação do N amoniacal dos dejetos, sendo que a magnitude e a duração da inibição foram dependentes da dose de Agrotain Plus aplicada. Na dose de 14 kg ha-1 (11,3 kg de DCD ha-1) a nitrificação foi completamente inibida nos primeiros 12 dias. Durante o primeiro mês após a aplicação dos dejetos, onde a nitrificação foi mais intensa, o aumento na dose de Agrotain Plus em 1 kg ha-1 (0,81 kg de DCD ha-1) reduziu o acúmulo de N-NO3 - em 3,8 kg ha-1. Na segunda incubação foi avaliado, durante 60 dias, o efeito dessas mesmas três doses de Agrotain Plus sobre a atividade microbiana do solo. Além disso, avaliou-se o efeito da dose de 7,0 kg ha-1 do produto na inibição da nitrificação do N amoniacal dos dejetos (34 m3 ha-1) e na mineralização do C e do N dos mesmos. O efeito do inibidor de nitrificação foi semelhante ao observado na primeira incubação, enquanto a mineralização do N dos dejetos e a atividade microbiana do solo não foram afetadas pela adição do produto Agrotain Plus. Os resultados desse trabalho sugerem que a diacianodiamida (DCD), ao retardar o aparecimento de N-NO3 - no solo após a aplicação dos dejetos de suínos, reduz as perdas de N e o potencial poluidor dos dejetos.

To date, there has been little research into the role of microbial community structure in the functioning of the soil ecosystem and on the links between microbial biomass size, microbial activity and key soil processes that drive nutrient availability. The maintenance of structural and functional diversity of the soil microbial community is essential to ensure the sustainability of agricultural production systems. Soils of the same type with similar fertility that had been under long-term organic and conventional crop management in Canterbury, New Zealand, were selected to investigate relationships between microbial community composition, function and potential environmental impacts. The effects of different fertilisation strategies on soil biology and nitrogen (N) dynamics were investigated under field (farm site comparison), semi-controlled (lysimeter study) and controlled (incubation experiments) conditions by determining soil microbial biomass carbon (C) and N, enzyme activities (dehydrogenase, arginine deaminase, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis), microbial community structure (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis following PCR amplification of 16S and 18S rDNA fragments using selected primer sets) and N dynamics (mineralisation and leaching). The farm site comparison revealed distinct differences between the soils in microbial community structure, microbial biomass C (conventional>organic) and arginine deaminase activity (organic>conventional). In the lysimeter study, the soils were subjected to the same crop rotation (barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), maize (Zea mais L.), rape (Brassica napus L. ssp. oleifera (Moench)) plus a lupin green manure (Lupinus angustifolius L.) and two fertiliser regimes (following common organic and conventional practice). Soil biological properties, microbial community structure and mineral N leaching losses were determined over 2½ years. Differences in mineral leaching losses were not significant between treatments (total organic management: 24.2 kg N ha⁻¹; conventional management: 28.6 kg N ha⁻¹). Crop rotation and plant type had a larger influence on the microbial biomass, activity and community structure than fertilisation. Initial differences between soils decreased over time for most biological soil properties, while they persisted for the enzyme activities (e.g. dehydrogenase activity: 4.0 and 2.9 µg g⁻¹ h⁻¹ for organic and conventional management history, respectively). A lack of consistent positive links between enzyme activities and microbial biomass size indicated that similarly sized and structured microbial communities can express varying rates of activity. In two successive incubation experiments, the soils were amended with different rates of a lupin green manure (4 or 8t dry matter ha⁻¹), and different forms of N at 100 kg ha⁻¹ (urea and lupin) and incubated for 3 months. Samples were taken periodically, and in addition to soil biological properties and community structure, gross N mineralisation was determined. The form of N had a strong effect on microbial soil properties. Organic amendment resulted in a 2 to 5-fold increase in microbial biomass and enzyme activities, while microbial community structure was influenced by the addition or lack of C or N substrate. Correlation analyses suggested treatment-related differences in nutrient availability, microbial structural diversity (species richness or evenness) and physiological properties of the microbial community. The findings of this thesis showed that using green manures and crop rotations improved soil biology in both production systems, that no relationships existed between microbial structure, enzyme activities and N mineralisation, and that enzyme activities and microbial community structure are more closely associated with inherent soil and environmental factors, which makes them less useful as early indicators of changes in soil quality.

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