Rockwool-Based Fertigation Enhances Tea Plant Growth While Mitigating Soil N₂O Emissions

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Environmental Science
• Soil Science

Background:

• Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from agricultural soils are a major contributor to climate change.
• Tea plantations are significant sources of N₂O, necessitating mitigation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of rockwool-based fertigation (RF) in reducing N₂O emissions from tea plantations.
• To assess the impact of RF on tea plant growth, yield, quality, and soil biogeochemical properties.

Main Methods:

• A 17-month field experiment comparing RF with conventional surface fertilization (CK).
• Measurements included tea plant biomass, yield, quality indices, soil N₂O fluxes, physicochemical properties, and N-cycling functional genes.
• Random forest analysis was used to identify drivers of N₂O mitigation.

Main Results:

• RF significantly increased tea plant aboveground pruning biomass.
• RF treatment resulted in lower N₂O fluxes and cumulative N₂O emissions compared to CK.
• RF induced vertical redistribution of soil nutrients and N-cycling functional genes.

Conclusions:

• Rockwool-based fertigation is an effective strategy for mitigating N₂O emissions in tea plantations.
• RF enhances tea plant productivity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Reshaping soil biogeochemical processes and their spatial distribution is key to RF's dual benefits.