Abstract:
Excessive nitrogen fertilization not only inhibits crop growth but also induces N
2O emissions and NH
3 volatilization, contributing to environmental pollution. Biochar and biochar-based fertilizers show potential in soil improvement and emission reduction. This study investigated the impacts of different straw-derived biochar application methods combined with chemical fertilizer reduction on N
2O emissions and NH
3 volatilization in a red soil vegetable greenhouse in Changsha, Hunan Province. Four treatments were established: no fertilization (CK), conventional fertilization (CON), 20% nitrogen reduction + biochar-based fertilizer (BF), and 20% nitrogen reduction + biochar (BC). N
2O emissions were monitored via gas chromatography, NH
3 was collected using the closed chamber method, and soil nitrogen content and crop yield were measured. Results demonstrated that BF and BC treatments significantly reduced N
2O emissions by 27.80% and 12.27%, respectively, with BF exhibiting a 17.70% greater reduction than BC. The N
2O emission factor of BF decreased by 33.56% compared to CON, outperforming BC by 33.10%. NH
3 volatilization under BF and BC declined by 20.47% and 14.26%, respectively, with BF reducing the NH
3 volatilization emission factor by 25.40%, 16.81% lower than BC. BF increased nitrogen use efficiency by 50.91%. Soil NH
4+-N decreased by 18.03% and 11.40% under BF and BC, respectively, while NO
3--N showed no significant variation. Random forest analysis identified soil NH
4+-N, NO
3--N, and temperature as key drivers of N
2O and NH
3 emissions. Fresh weight yields remained consistent across treatments. BF reduced N
2O emissions per unit yield by 28.12%. In conclusion, nitrogen reduction combined with biochar or biochar-based fertilizer effectively mitigates N
2O emissions and NH
3 volatilization in greenhouse vegetable systems, with biochar-based fertilizer demonstrating superior performance.