Abstract
Sand bluestem (Andropogon hallii Hack.) is one of the most productive native grasses on sandy soils in the Great Plains, making it a good candidate for a multispecies approach to biomass production. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the biomass yield, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and apparent N fertilizer recovery of sand bluestem grown in a monoculture. Plots were fertilized annually with N at the rates of 0, 40, 80, and 120 kg ha−1. Biomass yield varied with N rate × year interactions (P < 0.01). Averaged over 6 years, which included 2 drought years, biomass yield ranged from 3.0 to 8.3 ± 0.3 Mg ha−1. Nitrogen use efficiency and crop N recovery efficiency varied with year and N rate (P < 0.01). Nitrogen use efficiency was 69, 88, and 154 kg kg−1 of applied N for the 120, 80, and 40 kg N ha−1 rate, respectively. Apparent fertilizer N recovery varied from 0.27 to 0.40 kg kg−1 of applied N among fertilization treatments with the greatest recovery from the 40 kg N ha−1 rate. Under certain environmental conditions, monocultures of sand bluestem can produce biomass yields in excess of 10 Mg ha−1 when fertilized at rates ≥ 80 kg N ha−1. To consistently produce these yields, supplemental irrigation would need to be used; however, the economics of irrigation still needs to be researched to determine the optimum irrigation schedules and amounts of water to apply as well as nutrient management with irrigation.
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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request through a material transfer agreement.
Abbreviations
- USDA:
-
United States Department of Agriculture
- SOC:
-
Soil organic carbon
- N:
-
Nitrogen
- P:
-
Phosphorus
- K:
-
Potassium
- NUE:
-
Nitrogen use efficiency
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Springer, T.L. Effect of Nitrogen Fertilization on Biomass Yield of Sand Bluestem (Andropogon hallii Hack.). Bioenerg. Res. 14, 1118–1125 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-020-10220-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-020-10220-w