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Nitrous oxide emissions from arable soils in Germany — An evaluation of six long‐term field experiments
Author(s) -
Kaiser ErnstAugust,
Ruser Reiner
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of plant nutrition and soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1522-2624
pISSN - 1436-8730
DOI - 10.1002/1522-2624(200006)163:3<249::aid-jpln249>3.0.co;2-z
Subject(s) - nitrous oxide , arable land , soil water , fertilizer , environmental science , agronomy , human fertilization , long term experiment , yield (engineering) , field experiment , chemistry , soil science , agriculture , ecology , biology , organic chemistry , materials science , metallurgy
In this study emissions of N 2 O from arable soils are summarized using data from long‐term N 2 O monitoring experiments. The field experiments were conducted at six sites in Germany between 1992 and 1997. The annual N‐application rate ranged from 0 to 350 kg N ha —1 . Mineral and organic N‐fertilizer applications were temporarily split adapted to the growth stage of each crop. N‐fertilizer input and N‐yield by the crops were used to calculate the In/Out‐balance. The closed chamber technique was applied to monitor the N 2 O fluxes from soil into the atmosphere. If possible, plants were included in the covers. Annual N 2 O emission values were based on flux rate measurements of an entire year. The annual N 2 O losses ranged from 0.53 to 16.78 kg N 2 O‐N ha —1 with higher N 2 O emissions from organically fertilized plots as compared to minerally fertilized plots. Approximately 50% of the total annual emissions occurred during winter. No significant relationship between annual N 2 O emissions and the respective N‐fertilization rate was found. This was attributed to site‐ and crop‐specific effects on N 2 O emission. The calculation of the N 2 O emission per unit N‐yield from winter cereal plots indicates that the site effect on N 2 O emission is more important than the effect of N‐fertilization. From unfertilized soils at the sites Braunschweig and Timmerlah a N‐yield of 60.0 kg N ha —1 a —1 and N 2 O emissions of 2 kg N ha —1 a —1 were measured. This high background emission was assigned to the amount and turnover of soil organic matter. For a crop rotation at the sites Braunschweig and Timmerlah the N In/Out‐balance over a period of four years was identified as a suitable predictor of N 2 O emissions. This parameter characterizes the efficiency of N‐fertilization for crop production and allows for N‐mineralization from the soil.