1st Edition

Quantifying and Understanding Plant Nitrogen Uptake for Systems Modeling

Edited By Liwang Ma, Lajpat R. Ahuja, Tom Bruulsema Copyright 2009
    320 Pages
    by CRC Press

    326 Pages
    by CRC Press

    Discusses New Advancements to Improve Existing Simulations of Plant Nitrogen





    Written by research pioneers and leading scientists in the area of agricultural systems, Quantifying and Understanding Plant Nitrogen Uptake for Systems Modeling comprehensively covers plant N uptake in agricultural system models, especially for building soil-plant system models.





    The text illustrates how to minimize the transportation of nitrogen fertilizers in crop production to surface and ground waters, as even moderate errors in uptake estimations lead to a dramatic increase in the amount of nitrogen leached into groundwater. It also highlights the knowledge gaps preventing correct simulation of this process and explains what to look for when using a system model and interpreting simulation results.



    Applies to a Variety of Crops, Including Oilseed, Wheat, Potatoes, and Maize





    Addressing quantification and synthesis in the context of system modeling, this text introduces cutting-edge and original information regarding N uptake not previously offered by other research texts in the field. This, in turn, benefits scientists, professors, system modelers, and model users in interpreting modeling results for enhancing nitrogen management and developing decision support tools.





    This volume documents, with complex, detailed models, plant N uptake based on absorption kinetics of transporters across the root cell membranes, mass flow, and diffusion to the root surface of single or composite roots. It also provides simpler models used in N uptake simulations at the field and watershed scales.



    Discusses All Areas of the Complex Process





    In addition to the important processes of nitrogen translocation, remobilization, and grain protein formation, the book documents various philosophies, mechanisms, and scales in simul

    Current Status and Future Needs in Modeling Plant Nitrogen Uptake: A Preface. Modeling Nitrogen Fixation and Its Relationship to Nitrogen Uptake in the CROPGRO Model. Modeling Nitrate Uptake and Nitrogen Dynamics in Winter Oilseed Rape (Brassuca napus L.). Control of Plant Nitrogen Uptake in Native Ecosystems by Rhizospheric Processes. Dissolved Organic Nitrogen and Mechanisms of Its Uptake by Plants in Agricultural Systems, Water and Nitrogen Uptake and Responses in Models of Wheat, Potatoes, and Maize, Modeling Grain Protein Formation in Relation to Nitrogen Uptake and Remobilization in Rice, Modeling Water and Nitrogen Uptake Using a Single-Root Concept: Exemplified by the Use in the Daisy Model. Modeling Plant Nitrogen Uptake Using Three-Dimensional and One-Dimensional Root Architecture. Simulation of Nitrogen Demand and Uptake in Potato Using a Carbon-Assimilation Approach. Roots Below One-Meter Depth Are Important for Uptake of Nitrate by Annual Crops. Nitrogen-Uptake Effects on Nitrogen Loss in Tile Drainage as Estimated by RZWQM. Simulated Soil Water Content Effect on Plant Nitrogen Uptake and Export for Watershed Management.

    Biography

    Liwang Ma is a soil scientist with the USDA-ARS, Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colorado. Dr. Ma received his B.S. and M.S. in agricultural biophysics from Beijing Agricultural University (now China Agricultural University) in 1984 and 1987, respectively, and his Ph.D. in soil science from Louisiana State University in 1993. He has authored and coauthored 70 journal papers and 50 other published works (books, book chapters, and proceedings). His research interests center on agricultural systems modeling and include pesticide fates, plant growth, soil carbon/nitrogen dynamics, plant water and nitrogen uptake, and soil water and nutrient movement. He is the principal scientist responsible for developing, enhancing, and maintaining the USDA-ARS Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2). He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and has served as an associate editor of the Journal of the Soil Science Society of America (2001–2007). He is now serving as associate editor of the Agronomy Journal and the Journal of Environmental Quality. Lajpat (Laj) R. Ahuja is a supervisory soil scientist and research leader of the USDAARS, Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colorado. He has made original and pioneering research contributions in several areas of agricultural systems, including infiltration and water flow in soils, estimation and scaling of hydraulic properties, transport of agrochemicals to runoff and to groundwater through soil matrix and macropores, quantification of the effects of tillage and other management practices on relevant properties and processes, and modeling of entire agricultural systems and application of system models in field research and technology transfer. Dr. Ahuja has authored or coauthored 270 publications and served as associate editor (1987–1992) and technical editor (1994–1996) of the Journal of the Soil Science Society of America. He is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), the Ameri