• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.424-429
• /
• 2010

To solve the problems with excessive accumulation of soil inorganic N and resulting saline soils from overuse of nitrogen fertilizer, the effect of sucrose application on decrease of soil inorganic N content and electrical conductivity (EC) was studied. Sucrose treatment greatly reduced ${NH_4}^+$-N content in soil. The amount of reduction was greater as the amount of sucrose treatment was increased. When ${NH_4}^+$-N content was reached the lowest point (about 10 mg $kg^{-1}$or lower), the C/N ratio, which determines the amount of sucrose treatment, was around 10 regardless of initial ${NH_4}^+$-N content. For the rate of ${NH_4}^+$-N reduction 15~36 hours was required to reduce the initial ${NH_4}^+$-N content to half, and 36~69 hours to lower ${NH_4}^+$-N content to the lowest point (about 10 mg $kg^{-1}$or lower). In addition, sucrose treatment greatly lowered ${NO_3}^-$-N content. In case of C/N ratio above 10, initial ${NO_3}^-$-N content of 348 mg $kg^{-1}$ was reduced to the lowest of 14~21 mg $kg^{-1}$. As for the rate of ${NO_3}^-$-N reduction by sucrose treatment, it took 36~60 hours for ${NO_3}^-$-N content to reach the lowest point for C/N ratio of 10 or higher, and it took 3 weeks, comparably longer time, for C/N ratio of 5. Lowering soil EC from sucrose treatment showed the same trend as ${NO_3}^-$-N content. As an important energy and carbon source for humankind, sugar should not be wasted and must be carefully applied to soil. In principle, the best way of preventing salt accumulation in soil is to optimize the fertilizer input. However, when over-fertilization should be dealt with, the sucrose treatment would be a possible and effective counter-measure to reduce overdosed nitrogen sources in soil.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.251-256
• /
• 2010

Objective of this research was to investigate the influence of $NH_4^+$ and $NO_3^-$ ratios in liquid feeding on the growth of snapdragon 'Potomac Red' and changes in medium chemical properties. The seeds were sown into 200 plug trays and fertigated once a week with nutrient solution containing various ratios of $NH_4^+$ and $NO_3^-$ such as 0 : 100, 27 : 73, 50 : 50, 73 : 27, and 100 : 0. The total N concentrations were adjusted to 50, 100 and $150\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ in plug stages of 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Determination of seedling growth and analysis of plant tissue and root medum were conducted at 56 days after sowing. The treatment of 27 : 73 ($NH_4^+:NO_3^-$) had the greatest plant height, fresh weight, and dry weight. The N and P contents in 27 : 73 ($NH_4^+:NO_3^-$) treatment based on the above ground plant tissues were 2.39 and 0.39%, respectively, which were the greatest among treatments. The elevation of $NH_4^+$ ratio in fertigation solution decreased tissue Ca and Mg contents, but that did not influence tissue K content. The variations in $NH_4^+:NO_3^-$ ratios impacted the soil solution pH and the difference among treatments had been severe since three weeks after sowing. Elevation of $NH_4^+$ ratios in fertigation solution increased electrical conductivity and concentrations of K, Ca, and Mg in soil solution of root medum. The $NH_4^+$ and $NO_3^-$ concentrations in the soil solution were high in weeks 2, 3, and 4, then decreased gradually as the biomass of seedlings increased. Medium P concentration decreased gradually as seedlings grew, but statistical differences were not observed among treatments.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.18 no.9
• /
• pp.1343-1347
• /
• 2005

A total of 108 pigs (including 36 starters, 36 growers, and 36 finishers) were randomly allocated to six treatments, which involved a 2 (Crude Protein (CP): 100 and 80% of control diet)${\times}$3 (Ca, P, Salt (CPS): 100, 80 and 60% of control diet) factorial design to evaluate the effectiveness of reducing CP and CPS in reducing wastewater EC in different stages. Another 72 starters were adopted to examine the effect of the six treatment diets (as mentioned above) on the growth performance of pigs. Activated carbon and Reverse Osmosis System (RO) were adopted to examine the reducing efficiency of wastewater EC, and ion analysis was also applied to compare with the wastewater EC in different stages of the metabolism trial. The results of wastewater EC of the six treatment diets in different stages of metabolism trial demonstrated that diminishing dietary CP or CPS decreased wastewater EC. The largest decrease of EC was approximately 30%, and was achieved with 20 and 40% reduced dietary CP and CPS, respectively. Pig growth performance deteriorated somewhat when dietary CP or CPS was diminished. Wastewater ion concentration was not always consistent with dietary CP or CPS content, except for $NO_2^{-}$, $NH_4^{+}$ and $K^{+}$, which were positively correlated with dietary CP or CPS in different stages. Activated carbon is not effective for reducing wastewater EC, while, RO system is effective (90% elimination rate) in reducing wastewater EC, but the EC of concentrated (excreted) water is around 10% higher than that of intact wastewater, representing an additional problem besides the high cost of RO system treatment.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.65-71
• /
• 2013

This research was conducted to evaluate the influence of $NO_3{^-}:NH_4{^+}$ ratios in fertilizer solution on the vegetative growth and fruit yield of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) through pot cultivation. The Hoaglad's solution was modified to contain various $NO_3{^-}:NH_4{^+}$ ratios such as 100:0 (A), 73:37 (B), 50:50 (C), 27:73 (D), 0:100 (E), and no nitrogen (F). Plants were transplanted into root substrates and the modified solutions were applied as plant needed in plastic house. There were no statistical significances among the treatments from A through D in the fresh and dry weights, and number of leaves 31 days after transplanting, but elevation of $NH_4{^+}$ ratios in the solution decreased the fresh fruit weight 62 days after transplanting with statistical differences. In the results of inorganic element analysis based on the dry weight of fully expanded mature leaves, N and P contents as well as micro cations such as Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu increased as $NH_4{^+}$ ratios were elevated 62 days after transplanting. However, those of macro cations such as K, Ca, and Mg resulted in decreasing tendency. The elevation of $NH_4{^+}$ ratios in fertilizer solution resulted in the increase of EC and total N concentrations ($NO_3{^-}+NH_4{^+}$), but this decreased the pH as well as Ca and Mg concentrations in soil solution 62 days after transplanting. The K concentration in soil solution was the highest in the treatments of C and followed by D, B, E, and A. The above results indicate that the proper $NO_3{^-}:NH_4{^+}$ ratio in the nutrient solution is 73:27 (B) or 100:0 (A) and the B solution is proper for the vegetative growth and that of A is proper for reproductive growth stage.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.195-201
• /
• 1998

This study was carried out to investigate characteristic of ions in rainwater by throughfall, stemflow and rainfall at air polluted area(Kure city industrial city) and non-air polluted area (Higashihiroshima city non industrial city). pH of rainwater in air polluted area were all low as compared with those in non-air polluted area. EC of rainwater in ir polluted area were high in throughfall and stemflow, but there was no difference between both areas in rainfall. The concentration of major ions in rainwater were generally high at air polluted area, especially of $Mg^{2+}$, $Ca^{2+}$, $Cl^{-}$ and $SO_4^{2-}$ in stemflow. But there was little difference in $NH_4^{+}$, and there was also cases had a high concentration in non-air polluted area. By comparison with forest type, in stemflow concentration of ions in coniferous forest were higher than those in broad-leaved, but in throughfall they were higher in mixed forest rather than coniferous forest. There was no correlation between the amount of rainwater and pH, and also EC. $NO_4^{-}$ and $SO_{4}^{2-}$ had high correlations between major ions besides $Na^{+}$ and $NH_{4}^{+}$ in air poluted area.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.40 no.3
• /
• pp.161-168
• /
• 2021

BACKGROUND: Biochar has ability to reduce N loss, increase crop yield, and sequestrate carbon in the soil However, there is still limited study concerning the interactive effects of various biochars on NH₃ loss and plant growth. This study, therefore, was conducted to investigate the NH₄⁺ adsorption characteristics of biochar derived from rice and maize residues. METHODS AND RESULTS: By-products were pyrolyzed under oxygen-limited conditions at 300-700℃ for 1 hour and used for experiment of NH₄⁺ adsorption in aqueous solution. The adsorption characteristics of biochar were studied using Langmuir isotherm. Biochar yield and hydrogen content decreased with increasing pyrolysis temperatures, whereas pH, EC, and total carbon content increased. The biochar pyrolyzed at lower temperatures was more efficient at NH₄⁺ adsorption than those produced at higher temperatures. In addition, the R_L values, indicating equilibrium coefficient were between 0 and 1, confirming that the result was suitable for Langmuir isotherm. CONCLUSION: The maize stalk biochar pyrolyzed at 300℃ was the most efficient to adsorb NH₄⁺ from the aqueous solution. Furthermore, the adsorption results of this experiment were lower than those of other prior studies, which were ascribed to different experimental conditions such as ingredients, and pyrolysis conditions.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.382-393
• /
• 2000

The principal indicators contributing to water qualities was screened by factor analyses, based on the monitored chemical parameters of water quality for various water resources from 1995 to 1999 in the small agricultural catchments of the Han River Basin. Water samples of streams, groundwaters, and reservoirs were taken four times a year from upper (Daegwanryong), middle (Dunnae and Chunchon) and lower (Guri) reaches of Han River Basin. In these areas, the respective type of farming practiced was alpine agriculture and livestocks raising, typical upland and paddy cultivation, and intensive cropping in the plastic film house. Water quality was monitored for twenty-one water quality parameters, including pH, EC, SS, T-N, T-P, COD, cations, anions, and heavy metals. pH, EC and COD of the stream waters were suitable for the Korea irrigation water quality guidelines. However, T-N and T-P concentrations of water samples in four catchments far exceeded the irrigation water guideline. Concentrations of canons and heavy metals in Wangsuk stream in Guri area were higher than those in streams in other areas. Factor analysis revealed that significant correlation was observed for 81 pairs out of 231 water quality indicators of stream water among the $21\;{\times}\;21$ cross correlation matrix of stream water quality indicators. The first factor accounted for 27.01% of the total variation in stream water quality indicators, and high positive factor loadings were shown on EC, K, Na, $NH_4\;^+-N$, $PO_4\;^{3-}$, $SO_4\;^{2-}$, and COD. Fifty-three water quality indicator pairs were significant out of 190 ground water quality parameters. The first factor accounted for 28.54% of the total variation in ground water quality indicators, and high loadings were revealed on EC, Ca, Mg, K, Na, $NH_4\;^+-N$, and $SO_4$. Twenty-nine pairs of reservoir water quality indicators were significant out of 66 pairs. The first factor accounted for 37.06% of the total variation in reservoir water quality indicators, and high loadings were shown on EC, Mg, K, Na, SS, T-P, Cl, and COD. These results demonstrate that EC was the first factor contributing to water quality.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.20-26
• /
• 2010

Water soluble organic and inorganic species are important components in atmospheric aerosol particles and may act as cloud condensation nuclei to indirectly affect the climate. To characterize organic and elemental carbon(OC and EC), water-soluble organic carbon(WSOC) and inorganic ionic species contents, daily $PM_{2.5}$ measurements were made during the wintertime at an urban site of Gwangju. Average concentrations of WSOC, $NO_3^-$, $SO_4^{2-}$ and $NH_4^+$, which are major components in the water-soluble fraction in PM2.5, are 2.11, 5.73, 3.51 and $3.31{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively, representing 12.0(2.9~23.9%), 21.0(12.9~37.6%), 11.6(2.5~25.9%) and 11.7%(3.8~18.6%) of the $PM_{2.5}$, respectively. Abundance of water soluble organic compounds ranged from 5.4 to 35.9% of total water soluble organic and inorganic components with a mean of 17.6%. Even though the sampling was performed during the winter, the average contributions of secondary OC and WSOC, as deduced from primary OC/EC(or WSOC/EC) ratio, were relatively high, accounting for 17.9%(0~44.4%) of the total OC and 11.2%(0.0~51.4%) of the total WSOC, respectively. During the sampling period, low $SO_4^{2-}/(SO_4^{2-}+SO_2$) ratio of 0.14(0.03~0.32) and relative humidity condition in the winter time suggest an possibility of impact of long-range transport and/or aqueous transformation processes such as metal catalyzed oxidation of sulfur, in-cloud processes, etc.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.199-204
• /
• 2014

We conducted a short-term incubation experiment in order to understand the effect of the salinity of reclaimed coastal soils on nitrogen mineralization of livestock manure compost (LMC). Two soils with the same soil texture but different EC levels were collected from the same field. These samples were treated with 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3% of LMC by weight basis and incubated at $25^{\circ}C$ to observe changes in inorganic N contents, pH, and dehydrogenase activity with respect to time. As a result, regardless of the soil EC level, as the LMC increased, the total content of the inorganic N ($NH_4{^+}+NO_3{^-}$) increased. Difference in the soil EC level did not affect N mineralization of LMC greatly. The soil EC had negligible effect on the dehydrgenase activity as with the case of inorganic nitrogen. The $NH_4{^+}$ contents remained very low throughout the experimental period starting from the first week of incubation. We believe this is due to the high pH level (pH 7.9 and pH 8.3) of the original soils leading to ammonia volatilization. On the other hand the $NO_3{^-}$ content maintained high level as the LMC treatment level increased and reached maximum at the third week. The pH of the soil during incubation period decreased as the $NO_3{^-}$ contents increased and increased slightly after three weeks. The rise of pH level is believed to be from the $NO_3{^-}$ absorption for immobilization by microbes. In conclusion, the high soil $EC_{1:5}$ level of $12dS\;m^{-1}$ conducted in this experiment did not affect the growth in terms of soil microbes involved in N mineralization of LMC.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.79-95
• /
• 2017

A number of field studies have provided evidence that biomass burning is one of the major global sources of atmospheric particles. In this study, we have collected $PM_{2.5}$ emitted from biomass burning combusted at open burning and laboratory chamber situations. The open burning experiment was conducted with the cooperation of 9 farmers in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, while the chamber experiment was designed to evaluate the characteristics of chemical components among 14 different plant species. The analyzed categories were $PM_{2.5}$ mass concentration, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), ionic components ($Na^+$, ${NH_4}^+$, $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, $K^+$, $Cl^-$, ${NO_3}^-$ and ${SO_4}^{2-}$), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), water-insoluble inorganic carbon (WIOC), char-EC and soot-EC. OC was the dominant chemical component, accounting for the major fraction of primary $PM_{2.5}$ derived from biomass burning, followed by EC. Ionic components contributed a small portion of $PM_{2.5}$, as well as that of $K^+$. In some cases, $K^+$ is used as biomass burning tracer; however, the observations obtained in this study suggest that $K^+$ may not always be suitable as a tracer for biomass burning emissions. Also, the results of all the samples tested indicate relatively low values of char-EC compared to soot-EC. From our results, careful consideration should be given to the usage of $K^+$ and char-EC as indicators of biomass burning. The calculated ratios of WSOC/OC and WIOC/OC were 55.7% and 44.3% on average for all samples, which showed no large difference between them. The organic materials to OC ratio, which is often used for chemical mass closure model, was roughly estimated by two independent methods, resulting in a factor of 1.7 for biomass burning emissions.