A Short‐term Study to Compare Field Strategies for Ammonia Emission Mitigation

Abatement of NH 3 emissions is crucial in calcareous soils under semiarid Mediterranean climates. The aim of the study was to compare NH 3 emissions using different slurry application methods. An experiment was performed on a clay loam soil to evaluate NH 3 emissions before sowing and at winter cereal tillering. Pig slurry was applied using two methods, one that applied slurry by splashing it over a plate (SP), and another that applied slurry in strips using trail hoses (TH). Emissions were measured using semi‐static chambers at variable intervals for 12 to 13 d (315.5 h for sowing and 287 h for tillering). Maximum NH 3 flux emissions were always observed during the earliest period of measurements after slurry spreading (3.5–5 h). Before sowing, regardless of the method, accumulated NH 3 losses (during 315.5 h) ranged between 2 and 3 kg NH 3 –N ha −1 because of the low dry matter content of the slurry (<2%), which enhanced infiltration. Losses represented about 2 to 3% of the total N applied. At cereal tillering, average accumulated losses of NH 3 (during 287 h) were 1.7 kg N ha −1 using TH (1.1% of total N applied) and were as high as 5.4 kg N ha −1 (3.2% of total N applied) using SP. Because N topdressing is recommended as a measure to increase its efficiency, TH is recommended over SP. Thus, this short‐term study concludes that TH may reduce NH 3 emissions in semiarid environments. Further study of these strategies is recommended under different climate and soil conditions. Core Ideas NH 3 emissions from slurry splash plate (SP) spreading can be <4% of the NH 4 + applied. Trail hoses (TH) reduce NH 3 emissions from slurries versus SP at cereal tillering. At sowing, low slurry dry matter bridges the gap in NH 3 emissions between TH and SP.