Quantifying and Understanding Plant Nitrogen Uptake for Systems Modeling

Liwang Ma is a soil scientist with the USDA-ARS, Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colorado. Dr. Ma received his B.S. and M.S. in agricultural biophysics from Beijing Agricultural University (now China Agricultural University) in 1984 and 1987, respectively, and his Ph.D. in soil science from Louisiana State University in 1993. He has authored and coauthored 70 journal papers and 50 other published works (books, book chapters, and proceedings). His research interests center on agricultural systems modeling and include pesticide fates, plant growth, soil carbon/nitrogen dynamics, plant water and nitrogen uptake, and soil water and nutrient movement. He is the principal scientist responsible for developing, enhancing, and maintaining the USDA-ARS Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2). He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and has served as an associate editor of the Journal of the Soil Science Society of America (2001–2007). He is now serving as associate editor of the Agronomy Journal and the Journal of Environmental Quality. Lajpat (Laj) R. Ahuja is a supervisory soil scientist and research leader of the USDAARS, Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colorado. He has made original and pioneering research contributions in several areas of agricultural systems, including infiltration and water flow in soils, estimation and scaling of hydraulic properties, transport of agrochemicals to runoff and to groundwater through soil matrix and macropores, quantification of the effects of tillage and other management practices on relevant properties and processes, and modeling of entire agricultural systems and application of system models in field research and technology transfer. Dr. Ahuja has authored or coauthored 270 publications and served as associate editor (1987–1992) and technical editor (1994–1996) of the Journal of the Soil Science Society of America. He is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), the Ameri

• Current Status and Future Needs in Modeling Plant Nitrogen Uptake: A Preface. Modeling Nitrogen Fixation and Its Relationship to Nitrogen Uptake in the CROPGRO Model. Modeling Nitrate Uptake and Nitrogen Dynamics in Winter Oilseed Rape (Brassuca napus L.). Control of Plant Nitrogen Uptake in Native Ecosystems by Rhizospheric Processes. Dissolved Organic Nitrogen and Mechanisms of Its Uptake by Plants in Agricultural Systems, Water and Nitrogen Uptake and Responses in Models of Wheat, Potatoes, and Maize, Modeling Grain Protein Formation in Relation to Nitrogen Uptake and Remobilization in Rice, Modeling Water and Nitrogen Uptake Using a Single-Root Concept: Exemplified by the Use in the Daisy Model. Modeling Plant Nitrogen Uptake Using Three-Dimensional and One-Dimensional Root Architecture. Simulation of Nitrogen Demand and Uptake in Potato Using a Carbon-Assimilation Approach. Roots Below One-Meter Depth Are Important for Uptake of Nitrate by Annual Crops. Nitrogen-Uptake Effects on Nitrogen Loss in Tile Drainage as Estimated by RZWQM. Simulated Soil Water Content Effect on Plant Nitrogen Uptake and Export for Watershed Management.

Ma et al have compiled tile latest developments in modeling plant nitrogen uptake. Through 13 chapters the contributing authors cover topics from the rhizosphere and roots to mycorrluzae and Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Each chapter is straight to the point and focuses on a different model and crop, which is useful as an introduction to each model as well as insightful into specific crop behaviour. A good overview of model structure is provided for each model, and most are tested against data...this should be the first source to go to for a solid overview of quantifying and understanding plant nitrogen uptake for systems modeling. --CAMBRIDGE JOURNALS, 2010