Korean Journal of Agricultural Science ISSN:2466-2402(Print) 2466-2410(Online) 농업과학연구

Ammonia (NH3) that reacts with nitric or sulfuric acid in the air is the major culprit contributing to the formation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). NH3 volatilization mainly originates from nitrogen fertilizer and livestock manure applied to arable soil. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) of peat moss (PM) and zeolite (ZL) is high enough to adsorb ammonium (NH4+) in soil. Therefore, they might inhibit volatilization of NH3. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of PM and ZL on NH3 volatilization from upland soil. For this, a laboratory experiment was carried out, and NH3 volatilization from the soil was monitored for 12 days. PM and ZL were added at the rate of 0, 1, 2, and 4% (wt wt-1) with 354 N g m-2 of urea. Cumulative NH3-N volatilization decreased with increasing addition rate of both materials. Mean value of cumulative NH3-N volatilization across application rate with PM was lower than that with ZL. CEC increased with increasing addition rate of both materials. While the soil pH increased with ZL, it decreased with PM. Increase in CEC resulted in NH4+ adsorption on the negative charge of the external surface of both materials. In addition, decrease in soil pH hinders the conversion of NH4+ to NH3. Based on the above results, the addition of PM or ZL could be an optimum management to reduce NH3 volatilization from the soil. However, PM was more