Nitrogen fertilizer use and climate interactions: Implications for maize yields in Kansas

作者：Na Huang, Xiaomao Lin, Fei Lun, Ruiyun Zeng, Gretchen F. Sassenrath, Zhihua Pan · 发表于：Agricultural Systems · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104079 · 被引用次数：14 · 研究领域：Climate change impacts on agriculture、Crop Yield and Soil Fertility、Plant responses to elevated CO2

While climate change threatens maize growth and production, appropriate N fertilizer use (N) can help mitigate this threat and stabilize or improve maize yields. Accurate application of N fertilizer is of increasing interest as an adaptation measure for climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing economic returns. The objectives of this study are to: 1) clarify how maize yields respond to N fertilizer use under changes in temperature and precipitation, and 2) explore the effects of various climate conditions on N fertilizer use efficiency. We used a long-term and county-level maize N fertilizer use and climate dataset from 1981 to 2019 in Kansas to determine the impact of N fertilizer use on maize yield. We developed a panel data model with fixed effects, incorporating explanatory variables, including the interaction of growing-degree-days (GDD) with N fertilizer use (GDDit*Nit), extreme-degree-days (EDD) with N fertilizer use (EDDit*Nit), and precipitation (Precip) with N fertilizer use (Precipit*Nit), along with a non-linear N-fertilizer use term. Then, the adaptive effects of N fertilizer use on climatic risks for maize were examined and the county-level results were aggregated into the nine crop reporting districts, as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Our results show that: 1) an increase in N fertilizer use magnified the negative effects of higher EDD on maize yield but enhanced the positive ...