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Abstract
Leaf dew is an important input in farmland ecosystems, but information regarding the nutrients from leaf dew deposition in paddy fields is scarce. Leaf dew samples were monitored and collected in situ from the Sanjiang Plain paddy experimental station during the rice growing periods in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The pH and essential nutrients [ammonium nitrogen (), nitrate nitrogen (
), and phosphorus (P)] in paddy leaf dew were investigated, the nutrients in guttation and condensed dew were distinguished. In addition, the nutrient contributions of foliar fertilizer to Oryza sativa L (rice) were compared with those of leaf dew. The results indicate that the mean pH of leaf dew on rice is 6.3 (n=56), lower than the pH of rain and surface water. Condensed dew contributes about 97.7% of the nitrogen (N) and 95.7% of the phosphorus (P) in paddy leaf dew. Guttation provides a minor part of the N and P in leaf dew. The amount of leaf dewfall is much larger than the volume of foliar fertilization, with the amount of
,
, and P deposition from leaf dew almost 100 higher than from foliar fertilization. Compared with foliar fertilizer, leaf dew is a natural and potential fertilizer. Leaf dew is an important pathway for nutrient transfer within paddies.
Acknowledgements
Funding support is gratefully acknowledged from the Special S&T Project on Treatment and Control of Water Pollution (2012ZX07201004) and National Nature Science Foundation of China (41101470). We express our gratitude to the Sanjiang Mire Wetland Experimental Station of Chinese Academy of Sciences for providing meteorological data. The authors also thank Liu Jinhui for her help during dew collection. We are indebted to the seniors in our team for their critical reading, kind remarks, and relevant suggestions.