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Nitrous Oxide Emission from an Agricultural Soil Fertilized with Liquid Swine Waste or Constituents
Author(s) -
Whalen S. C.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj2000.642781x
Subject(s) - loam , nitrous oxide , human fertilization , zoology , soil water , chemistry , agronomy , field experiment , environmental chemistry , environmental science , biology , soil science , organic chemistry
Large scale swine production facilities that land‐apply liquid waste are rapidly expanding in the southeastern USA. This study evaluated controls on N 2 O emission in a Goldsboro loamy sand (fine‐loamy thermic, aquic Typic Paleudult) receiving field in North Carolina that was planted to winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.). Two experiments were conducted in April–May 1997 where field plots were fertilized with liquid swine waste, individual chemical constituents of waste (NH 4 , available C), NO 3 , or deionized water. Temporal changes in N 2 O efflux and soil physicochemical properties were assessed over 8 and 11 d.. Treatments that included N (75–165 kg ha −1 ) showed N 2 O fluxes exceeding 4000 μg N 2 O–N m −2 h −1 within 1 d of fertilization, but emissions declined to prefertilization values (∼10–25 μg N 2 O–N m −2 h −1 ) within a few days as soils drained. Treatments that did not include N (deionized water, glucose) showed no increase in N 2 O emission over unfertilized controls. Time‐integrated N 2 O emission was significantly lower for plots amended with swine waste (8.5 mg N 2 O–N m −2 ) compared with plots comparably fertilized with NH 4 –N plus glucose‐C (20.8 mg N 2 O–N m −2 ), suggesting that some component of the waste adversely affected the microbial N cycling community. The immediate increase in N 2 O emission following fertilization and accumulation of NO 3 –N without lag indicated that repeated fertilization throughout the growing season maintained active and responsive nitrifying and denitrifying communities. Percentage fertilizer loss to N 2 O to the point where fluxes had returned to prefertilization values was low, <1.0%. However, simulated rainfall gave pulsed N 2 O emission from denitrification of accumulated NO − 3 –N, indicating that further emissions will occur with an increase in soil moisture.