Towards efficient N cycling in intensive maize: role of cover crops and application methods of digestate liquid fraction

Digestate, a by-product of biogas production, is widely recognized as a promising renewable nitrogen (N) source with high potential to replace synthetic fertilizers. Yet, inefficient digestate use can lead to pollutant N losses as ammonia (NH3) volatilization, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and nitrate (NO3-) leaching. Cover crops may reduce some of these N losses and recycle the N back into the soil after incorporation, but the net effect on the N balance depends on the cover crop species. In a one-year field study, we tested the effects of two application methods (i.e., surface broadcasting, BDC; and shallow injection, INJ) of the liquid fraction of separated co-digested cattle slurry (DLF), combined with different winter cover crop options (CCs, i.e., rye, white mustard or bare fallow), as starter fertilizer for maize. Later in the season, side-dressing with urea was required to fulfill maize N-requirements. We tested treatment effects on yield, N-uptake, N-use efficiency parameters, ..., , , # Towards efficient N cycling in intensive maize: role of application method of digestate liquid fraction and cover crops

Author/Principal Investigator Information
Name: Federico Capra
ORCID:0000-0001-5034-0781
Institution: Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
Email:[e-mail]

Author/Associate or Co-investigator Information
Name: Andrea Fiorini
Institution: Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
Email: [e-mail]

SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION

Licenses/restrictions placed on the data:
None

Links to publications that cite or use the data:
Please see the publication associated with these data in GCB Bioenergy (doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.13036)

DATA & FILE OVERVIEW

File List: DATASET

The worksheets
1 WINTER: data from \"winter cover crops monitoring period\" (from 6 October 2018 to 9 April 2019)

* PLOT the elementar plot (from 1 to 27)
* BLOCK the block (from 1 to 3)
* TH thesis (Bare soil, BS; Mustard, M and Rye, R)
* WFPS Water Filled...