Publications

Cao X., Reichel R., Wissel H., Brüggemann N. (2023). Improving nitrogen retention of cattle slurry with oxidized biochar: An incubation study with three different soils. Journal of Environmental Quality, 52(1), 1-12. doi:10.1002/jeq2.20424

The application of livestock slurry in soils can lead to nitrogen (N) losses through ammonia (NH3) emission or nitrate (NO3−) leaching. Oxidized biochar has great potential to mitigate N losses due to its strong adsorption capacity; however, the effects of oxidized biochar in different soils treated…

Chen H., Rosinger C., Blagodatsky S., Reichel R., Li B., Kumar A., Rothardt S., Luo J., Brüggemann N., Kage H., Bonkowski M. (2023). Straw amendment and nitrification inhibitor controlling N losses and immobilization in a soil cooling-warming experiment. Science of The Total Environment, 870(), 162007. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162007

It is common practice in agriculture to apply high‑carbon amendments, e.g. straw, or nitrification inhibitors (NI) to reduce soil nitrogen (N) losses. However, little is known on the combined effects of straw and NI and how seasonal soil temperature variations further affect N immobilization. We con…

Kumar A., Kuznetsova O., Gschwendtner S., Chen H., Alonso‐Crespo I., 1 M., Schulz S., Bonkowski M., Schloter M., Temperton V. (2023). Implications of domestication syndrome in barley for above- and belowground plant traits and microbial interactions. Authorea, (), . doi:10.22541/au.168900509.92979735/v1

Domestication and intensive management practices have significantly shaped characteristics of modern crops. However, our understanding of domestication’s impact had mainly focused on aboveground plant traits, neglecting root and rhizospheric traits, as well as trait-trait interactions and root-micro…

Kurth J., Albrecht M., Glaser K., Karsten U., Vestergaard G., Armbruster M., Kublik S., Schmid C., Schloter M., Schulz S. (2023). Biological soil crusts on agricultural soils of mesic regions promote microbial cross-kingdom co-occurrences and nutrient retention. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14(), . doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1169958

IntroductionBiological soil crusts (biocrusts) are known as biological hotspots on undisturbed, nutrient-poor bare soil surfaces and until now, are mostly observed in (semi-) arid regions but are currently poorly understood in agricultural systems. This is a crucial knowledge gap because managed sit…

Ntinyari W., Reichel R., Gweyi‐Onyango J., Giweta M., Wissel H., Masso C., Bol R., Brüggemann N. (2023). Nitrogen fertilization and liming increased CO₂ and N₂O emissions from tropical ferralsols, but not from a vertisol. Soil Use and Management, 39(3), 1125-1139. doi:10.1111/sum.12927

The application of nitrogen (N) fertilizers and liming (CaCO3) to improve soil quality and crop productivity are regarded as effective and important agricultural practices. However, they may increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There is limited information on the GHG emissions of tropical soils,…

Rothardt S., Kage H. (2023). Model-based assessment of biomass incorporation to mitigate nitrogen losses from arable fields in Central Europe. Frontiers in Agronomy, 5(), . doi:10.3389/fagro.2023.1155187

Nitrogen (N) loss by leaching is a major concern in common crop rotations in Central Europe due to high post-harvest soil mineral N, low N uptake in autumn/winter, and percolation. This can lead to eutrophication of water bodies and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. One potential solution is to con…

Wei J., Knicker H., Zhou Z., Eckhardt K., Leinweber P., Wissel H., Yuan W., Brüggemann N. (2023). Nitrogen immobilization caused by chemical formation of black- and amide-N in soil. Geoderma, 429(), 116274. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2022.116274

Nitrogen (N) immobilization controls the N availability in soil, however, mechanisms involved in the chemical N fixation into soil organic N (SON) through reactions of reactive N compounds with soil organic matter (SOM) is not clear. Knowledge about the composition and stability of chemically produc…

Zhou R., Liu Y., Dungait J., Kumar A., Wang J., Tiemann L., Zhang F., Kuzyakov Y., Tian J. (2023). Microbial necromass in cropland soils: A global meta‐analysis of management effects. Global Change Biology, 29(7), 1998-2014. doi:10.1111/gcb.16613

Microbial necromass is a large and persistent component of soil organic carbon (SOC), especially under croplands. The effects of cropland management on microbial necromass accumulation and its contribution to SOC have been measured in individual studies but have not yet been summarized on the global…

Cao X., Reichel R., Brüggemann N. (2022). Fenton oxidation of biochar improves retention of cattle slurry nitrogen. Journal of Environmental Quality, 51(6), 1319-1326. doi:10.1002/jeq2.20419

Nitrogen (N) losses during fertilization with livestock slurry, mainly in the form of ammonia (NH3), can cause environmental problems and reduce fertilizer efficiency. Leonardite, which is characterized by oxygen-rich functional groups and low pH, has been found to decrease losses of slurry N. Howev…

Cao X., Reichel R., Wissel H., Kummer S., Brüggemann N. (2022). High Carbon Amendments Increase Nitrogen Retention in Soil After Slurry Application—an Incubation Study with Silty Loam Soil. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 22(2), 1277-1289. doi:10.1007/s42729-021-00730-7

AbstractExcess nitrogen (N) after animal slurry application is a persistent problem of intensive agriculture, with consequences such as environmental pollution by ammonia (NH3) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and nitrate (NO3−) leaching. High-carbon organic soil amendments (HCAs) with a large C:N …