Soil N2O emissions in a Mediterranean shrubland disturbed by experimental fires

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Fierro ◽  
Simona Castaldi

In the present work, post-burning soil N2O fluxes and related microbial processes were investigated in a Mediterranean shrubland subjected to experimental fires. Nine plots were selected, of which three were used as controls, three were burned with low-intensity fire and three with higher intensity fire. N2O fluxes, soil humidity and temperature were measured starting 2 days before burning and for 1 year after fire. Potential net nitrification, denitrification enzyme activity, mineral N and organic C were measured from soil samples collected periodically after burning. Cumulative data indicate a doubling of N2O production in burned plots over 1 year. Burned plots showed an increase of frequency of hot spots of N2O production. A slight detrimental effect of fire on the analysed biological activities was detected only immediately after burning. After 3 months, both potential net nitrification and denitrification enzyme activity had mostly recovered and potential net nitrification further increased over control levels in the following months. Fire seemed to induce a change in the main source of N2O, which in control plots was represented by heterotrophic activity (50–75%), whereas in burned plots it was mostly of autotrophic origin, most probably due to the significant increase of soil NH4+ after burning.

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 2989-3002 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Schelde ◽  
P. Cellier ◽  
T. Bertolini ◽  
T. Dalgaard ◽  
T. Weidinger ◽  
...  

Abstract. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agricultural land are variable at the landscape scale due to variability in land use, management, soil type, and topography. A field experiment was carried out in a typical mixed farming landscape in Denmark, to investigate the main drivers of variations in N2O emissions, measured using static chambers. Measurements were made over a period of 20 months, and sampling was intensified during two weeks in spring 2009 when chambers were installed at ten locations or fields to cover different crops and topography and slurry was applied to three of the fields. N2O emissions during spring 2009 were relatively low, with maximum values below 20 ng N m−2 s−1. This applied to all land use types including winter grain crops, grasslands, meadows, and wetlands. Slurry application to wheat fields resulted in short-lived two-fold increases in emissions. The moderate N2O fluxes and their moderate response to slurry application were attributed to dry soil conditions due to the absence of rain during the four previous weeks. Cumulative annual emissions from two arable fields that were both fertilized with mineral fertilizer and manure were large (17 kg N2O-N ha−1 yr−1 and 5.5 kg N2O-N ha−1 yr−1) during the previous year when soil water conditions were favourable for N2O production during the first month following fertilizer application. Our findings confirm the importance of weather conditions as well as nitrogen management on N2O fluxes.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 9333-9342 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kaleem Abbasi ◽  
C. Müller

Abstract. Long-term field observations showed that N2O fluxes observed shortly after N application were not significantly affected by elevated CO2 in the Giessen Free Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment (FACE) study. To further investigate this unexpected result a 15N tracer study was carried out under controlled conditions where in parallel treatments either the NH4+ pool (15NH4NO3) or the NO3− pool (NH415NO3) was enriched with 15N. Fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O as well as the 15N enrichment of the N2O were measured. Denitrifying Enzyme Activity (DEA), total denitrification (N2 + N2O) and N2-to-N2O ratios were quantified in separate experiments. Over the 57 day incubation, N2O fluxes averaged 0.090 ng N2O-N g−1 h−1 under ambient and 0.083 ng N2O-N g−1 h−1 under elevated CO2 (not significantly different). The N2O production processes were identified by a two-source model. Results showed that N2O must have also been produced by a third source – possibly related to organic N transformation – which was stimulated by elevated CO2. Soil CO2 fluxes were approximately 20 % higher under elevated CO2 than soil from ambient but the differences were not significant. CH4 oxidation rates were on average −1.75 ng CH4-C g−1 h−1 in the elevated and −1.17 ng CH4-C g−1 h−1 in the ambient indicating that elevated CO2 increased the CH4 oxidation by 49 % compared to ambient CO2 under controlled conditions. N fertilization increased CH4 oxidation by 3-fold in both CO2 treatments. CO2 did not have any significant effect on DEA while total denitrification and N2-to-N2O ratios increased by 36 and 33 %, respectively. The results indicate that shortly after N application elevated CO2 must have stimulated both the N2O production and reduction to N2 to explain the increased N2-to-N2O ratio and at the same time explain the non-responsiveness of the N2O emissions. Thus, the observed variation of the CO2 effect on N2O emissions throughout the year is possibly governed by the dynamics of the N2O reductase activity.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1787-1797 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. Jeuffroy ◽  
E. Baranger ◽  
B. Carrouée ◽  
E. de Chezelles ◽  
M. Gosme ◽  
...  

Abstract. Approximately 65% of anthropogenic emissions of N2O, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), originate from soils at a global scale, and particularly after N fertilisation of the main crops in Europe. Thanks to their capacity to fix atmospheric N2 through biological fixation, legumes can reduce N fertilizer use, and possibly N2O emissions. Nevertheless, the decomposition of crop organic matter during the crop cycle and residue decomposition, and possibly the N fixation process itself, could lead to N2O emissions. The objective of this study was to quantify N2O emissions from a dry pea crop (Pisum sativum, harvested at maturity) and from the subsequent crops in comparison with N2O emissions from wheat and oilseed rape crops, fertilized or not, in various rotations. A field experiment was conducted over 4 consecutive years to compare the emissions during the pea crop, in comparison with those during the wheat (fertilized or not) or oilseed rape crops, and after the pea crop, in comparison with other preceding crops. N2O fluxes were measured using static chambers. In spite of low N2O fluxes, mainly due to the site's soil characteristics, fluxes during the crop were significantly lower for pea and unfertilized wheat than for fertilized wheat and oilseed rape. The effect of the preceding crop was not significant, while soil mineral N at harvest was higher after the pea crop. These results should be confirmed over a wider range of soil types. Nevertheless, they demonstrate the absence of N2O emissions linked to the symbiotic N fixation process, and allow us to estimate the decrease in N2O emissions by 20–25% through including one pea crop in a three-year rotation. On a larger scale, this reduction of GHG emissions at field level has to be added to the decrease due to the reduced production and transport of the N fertilizer not applied to the pea crop.


Soil Research ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ram C. Dalal ◽  
Weijin Wang ◽  
G. Philip Robertson ◽  
William J. Parton

Increases in the concentrations of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and halocarbons in the atmosphere due to human activities are associated with global climate change. The concentration of N2O has increased by 16% since 1750. Although atmospheric concentration of N2O is much smaller (314 ppb in 1998) than of CO2 (365 ppm), its global warming potential (cumulative radiative forcing) is 296 times that of the latter in a 100-year time horizon. Currently, it contributes about 6% of the overall global warming effect but its contribution from the agricultural sector is about 16%. Of that, almost 80% of N2O is emitted from Australian agricultural lands, originating from N fertilisers (32%), soil disturbance (38%), and animal waste (30%). Nitrous oxide is primarily produced in soil by the activities of microorganisms during nitrification, and denitrification processes. The ratio of N2O to N2 production depends on oxygen supply or water-filled pore space, decomposable organic carbon, N substrate supply, temperature, and pH and salinity. N2O production from soil is sporadic both in time and space, and therefore, it is a challenge to scale up the measurements of N2O emission from a given location and time to regional and national levels.Estimates of N2O emissions from various agricultural systems vary widely. For example, in flooded rice in the Riverina Plains, N2O emissions ranged from 0.02% to 1.4% of fertiliser N applied, whereas in irrigated sugarcane crops, 15.4% of fertiliser was lost over a 4-day period. Nitrous oxide emissions from fertilised dairy pasture soils in Victoria range from 6 to 11 kg N2O-N/ha, whereas in arable cereal cropping, N2O emissions range from <0.01% to 9.9% of N fertiliser applications. Nitrous oxide emissions from soil nitrite and nitrates resulting from residual fertiliser and legumes are rarely studied but probably exceed those from fertilisers, due to frequent wetting and drying cycles over a longer period and larger area. In ley cropping systems, significant N2O losses could occur, from the accumulation of mainly nitrate-N, following mineralisation of organic N from legume-based pastures. Extensive grazed pastures and rangelands contribute annually about 0.2 kg N/ha as N2O (93 kg/ha per year CO2-equivalent). Tropical savannas probably contribute an order of magnitude more, including that from frequent fires. Unfertilised forestry systems may emit less but the fertilised plantations emit more N2O than the extensive grazed pastures. However, currently there are limited data to quantify N2O losses in systems under ley cropping, tropical savannas, and forestry in Australia. Overall, there is a need to examine the emission factors used in estimating national N2O emissions; for example, 1.25% of fertiliser or animal-excreted N appearing as N2O (IPCC 1996). The primary consideration for mitigating N2O emissions from agricultural lands is to match the supply of mineral N (from fertiliser applications, legume-fixed N, organic matter, or manures) to its spatial and temporal needs by crops/pastures/trees. Thus, when appropriate, mineral N supply should be regulated through slow-release (urease and/or nitrification inhibitors, physical coatings, or high C/N ratio materials) or split fertiliser application. Also, N use could be maximised by balancing other nutrient supplies to plants. Moreover, non-legume cover crops could be used to take up residual mineral N following N-fertilised main crops or mineral N accumulated following legume leys. For manure management, the most effective practice is the early application and immediate incorporation of manure into soil to reduce direct N2O emissions as well as secondary emissions from deposition of ammonia volatilised from manure and urine.Current models such as DNDC and DAYCENT can be used to simulate N2O production from soil after parameterisation with the local data, and appropriate modification and verification against the measured N2O emissions under different management practices.In summary, improved estimates of N2O emission from agricultural lands and mitigation options can be achieved by a directed national research program that is of considerable duration, covers sampling season and climate, and combines different techniques (chamber and micrometeorological) using high precision analytical instruments and simulation modelling, under a range of strategic activities in the agriculture sector.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 11941-11978 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Schelde ◽  
P. Cellier ◽  
T. Bertolini ◽  
T. Dalgaard ◽  
T. Weidinger ◽  
...  

Abstract. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agricultural land are variable at the landscape scale due to variability in land use, management, soil type, and topography. A field experiment was carried out in a typical mixed farming landscape in Denmark, to investigate the main drivers of variations in N2O emissions, measured using static chambers. Measurements were done over a period of 20 months, and sampling was intensified during two weeks in spring 2009 when chambers were installed at ten locations or fields to cover different crops and topography and slurry was applied to three of the fields. N2O emissions during the spring 2009 period were relatively low, with maximum values below 20 ng N m−2 s−1. This applied to all land use types including winter grain crops, grassland, meadow, and wetland. Slurry application to wheat fields resulted in short-lived two-fold increases in emissions. The moderate N2O fluxes and their moderate response to slurry application were attributed to dry soil moisture conditions due to the absence of rain during the four previous weeks. Measured cumulated annual emissions from two arable fields that were both fertilized with mineral fertilizer and manure were large (17 kg N2O-N ha−1 yr−1 and 5.5 kg N2O-N ha−1 yr−1, respectively) during the previous year when soil water conditions were favourable for N2O production during the first month following fertilizer application, confirming the importance of the climatic regime on N2O fluxes.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhong ◽  
Shiping Wang ◽  
Xingliang Xu ◽  
Yanfen Wang ◽  
Yichao Rui ◽  
...  

Abstract. Lack of understanding of the effects of warming and winter grazing on soil fungal contribution to nitrous oxide (N2O) production has limited our ability to predict N2O fluxes under changes in climate and land use management, because soil fungi play an important role in driving terrestrial N cycling. Here, we examined the effects of 10 years' warming and winter grazing on soil N2O emissions potential in an alpine meadow. Our results showed that soil bacteria and fungi contributed 46 % and 54 % to nitrification, and 37 % and 63 % to denitrification, respectively. Neither warming nor winter grazing affected the activity of enzymes responsible for overall nitrification and denitrification. However, warming significantly increased the enzyme activity of bacterial nitrification and denitrification to 53 % and 55 %, respectively. Warming significantly decreased enzyme activity of fungal nitrification and denitrification to 47 % and 45 %, respectively, while winter grazing had no such effect. We conclude that soil fungi could be the main source for N2O production potential in the Tibetan alpine grasslands. Warming and winter grazing may not affect the potential for soil N2O production potential, but climate warming can alter biotic pathways responsible for N2O production. These findings indicate that characterizing how fungal nitrification/denitrification contributes to N2O production, as well as how it responds to environmental and land use changes, can advance our understanding of N cycling. Therefore, our results provide some new insights about ecological controls on N2O production and lead to refine greenhouse gas flux models.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (21) ◽  
pp. 5377-5397
Author(s):  
Najeeb Al-Amin Iddris ◽  
Marife D. Corre ◽  
Martin Yemefack ◽  
Oliver van Straaten ◽  
Edzo Veldkamp

Abstract. Although tree stems act as conduits for greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced in the soil, the magnitudes of tree contributions to total (soil + stem) nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from tropical rainforests on heavily weathered soils remain unknown. Moreover, soil GHG fluxes are largely understudied in African rainforests, and the effects of land-use change on these gases are identified as an important research gap in the global GHG budget. In this study, we quantified the changes in stem and soil N2O fluxes with forest conversion to cacao agroforestry. Stem and soil N2O fluxes were measured monthly for a year (2017–2018) in four replicate plots per land use at three sites across central and southern Cameroon. Tree stems consistently emitted N2O throughout the measurement period and were positively correlated with soil N2O fluxes. 15N-isotope tracing from soil mineral N to stem-emitted 15N2O and correlations between temporal patterns of stem N2O emissions, soil–air N2O concentration, soil N2O emissions and vapour pressure deficit suggest that N2O emitted by the stems originated predominantly from N2O produced in the soil. Forest conversion to extensively managed, mature (>20 years old) cacao agroforestry had no effect on stem and soil N2O fluxes. The annual total N2O emissions were 1.55 ± 0.20 kg N ha−1 yr−1 from the forest and 1.15 ± 0.10 kg N ha−1 yr−1 from cacao agroforestry, with tree N2O emissions contributing 11 % to 38 % for forests and 8 % to 15 % for cacao agroforestry. These substantial contributions of tree stems to total N2O emissions highlight the importance of including tree-mediated fluxes in ecosystem GHG budgets. Taking into account that our study sites' biophysical characteristics represented two-thirds of the humid rainforests in the Congo Basin, we estimated a total N2O source strength for this region of 0.18 ± 0.05 Tg N2O-N yr−1.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 3253-3287 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Stolk ◽  
R. F. A. Hendriks ◽  
C. M. J. Jacobs ◽  
E. J. Moors ◽  
P. Kabat

Abstract. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are highly variable in time, with high peak emissions lasting as couple of days to weeks and low background emissions. This temporal variability is poorly understood which hampers the simulation of daily N2O emissions. In structured soils, like clay and peat, aggregates hamper the diffusion of oxygen, which leads to anaerobic microsites in the soil, favourable for denitrification. In this paper we studied the effect of aggregates in soils on the N2O emissions from denitrification. We presented a parameterization to simulate the effects of aggregates on N2O, following the mobile-immobile model concept. This parameterization was implemented in a field-scale hydrological-biogeochemical model combination. We compared the simulated fluxes with observed fluxes from a fertilized and drained peat soil with grass. The results of this study showed that aggregates strongly affect N2O emissions: peak emissions are lower, whereas the background emissions are slightly higher. Implementation of the effect of aggregates caused a decrease in the simulated annual emissions of more than 40%. The new parameterization also significantly improved the model performance to simulate observed N2O fluxes. Aggregates have more impact on the reduction of N2O than on the production of N2O. Reduction of N2O is more sensitive to changes in the drivers than production of N2O and is in that sense the key process to understand N2O emissions from denitrification. The effects of changing conditions on reduction of N2O relative to N2O production is dependent on the NO3 content of the soil. It is expected that in soils with a low NO3 content the influence of aggregates on the NO3 concentration is not negligible. This study showed that the current knowledge of the hydrological, biogeochemical and physical processes is sufficient to understand the observed N2O fluxes from a fertilized peatland. Further research is needed to test how aggregates affect the N2O fluxes in areas or periods with little NO3 in the soil.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 9289-9314 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. Jeuffroy ◽  
E. Baranger ◽  
B. Carrouée ◽  
E. de Chezelles ◽  
M. Gosme ◽  
...  

Abstract. Approximately 65% of anthropogenic emissions of N2O, a potent greenhouse gas, originate from soils at global scale, and particularly after N fertilisation of the main crops in Europe. Thanks to their capacity to fix atmospheric N2 through biological fixation, legumes allow to reduce N fertilizer use, and possibly N2O emission. Nevertheless, the decomposition of crop organic matter during the crop cycle and during the residue decomposition, and possibly the N fixation process itself, could lead to N2O emissions. The objective of this study was to quantify N2O emissions from a dry pea crop (Pisum sativum, harvested at maturity) and from the subsequent crops in comparison with N2O emissions from wheat and oilseed-rape crops, fertilized or not, in various rotations. A field experiment was conducted during 4 consecutive years, aiming at comparing the emissions during the pea crop, in comparison with those during the wheat (fertilized or not) or oilseed rape crops, and after the pea crop, in comparison with other preceding crops. N2O fluxes were measured using static chambers. In spite of low N2O fluxes, mainly linked with the site soil characteristics, fluxes during the crop were significantly lower for pea and unfertilized wheat than for fertilized wheat and oilseed rape. The effect of the preceding crop was not significant, while soil mineral N at harvest was higher after pea. These results, combined with the emission reduction allowed by the production and transport of the N fertiliser not applied on the pea crop, should be confirmed in a larger range of soil types. Nevertheless, they demonstrate the absence of N2O emission linked to the symbiotic N fixation process, and allow us to estimate the decrease of N2O emissions to 20–25% by including one pea crop in a three-year rotation. At a larger scale, this reduction of GHG emissions at field level has to be cumulated with the reduction of GHG emissions linked with the lower level of production and transport of the N fertiliser not applied on the pea crop.


Soil Research ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 439 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Clough ◽  
R. R. Sherlock ◽  
F. M. Kelliher

Soil pH affects N2O production mechanisms. The ratio of N2O to N2 may decrease with increasing soil pH during denitrification. Two laboratory experiments were performed to examine the effect of liming on N2O emissions following synthetic urine applications over 42 and 60 days. A silt loam soil at field capacity (water-filled pore space of 57% after treatment application) was adjusted with Ca(OH)2 to produce soils ranging from pH 4.7 to 7.7. The first experiment employed 4 treatments: a control, KNO3 (500 kg N/ha), and synthetic urine at 500 kg N/ha and 1000 kg N/ha. A second experiment used 15N labelled urea in synthetic urine at 500 kg N/ha. The main effect of lime was to promote nitrification, which markedly affected N2O fluxes. After 60 days, the 500 kg N/ha synthetic urine treatment limed to pH 6.1 produced more N2O (0.82% of N applied) than any other soil pH. No optimum soil pH was found for the synthetic urine treatment at 1000 kg N/ha with nitrification incomplete after 60 days. N2O production via nitrifiers dominated the N2O production pathway with large residual NO3– pools. Denitrification was not enhanced since no 15N labelled N2 was detected. However, before any final conclusions can be drawn about the efficacy of liming as a mitigation tool it is vital that the effect of liming on possible denitrification mechanisms and products also be assessed, following nitrification and formation of a nitrate pool. Application of synthetic urine also initiated a priming effect with more carbon evolved as CO2 than was applied.


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