The influence of mineral fertilization and legumes cultivation on the N2O soil emissions

Abstract

The research aimed at the assessment of the influence of mineral nitrogen (CaNPK) fertilization and lupine cropping on the N2O emissions from agricultural soil. Observations were collected from CaNPK and Ca fertilization systems (further referred to as NIL due to the absence of nitrogen (N) fertilizers) in two consecutive years (2012 and 2013) on a long-term (since 1923) field experiment in Skierniewice in Central Poland. N2O emissions from the soil were measured in situ by the means of infrared spectroscopy using a portable FTIR spectrometer Alpha (Bruker). N2O fluxes from soils treated under CaNPK and NIL treatments were similar. No significant influence of the current treatment or cropping on the N2O emissions was noted in the CaNPK treated soil. N2O emissions in 2012 (barley, ammonium nitrate application) and 2013 (lupine, no mineral nitrogen application) were similar (0.17-23.04 g N2O-N/ha/day, median 4.29 and 0.09-19.46 g N2O-N/ha/day, median 4.45, respectively). During the growing period of 2012 (barley, ammonium nitrate application), the N2O-N emissions from the CaNPK treated soil (uncorrected for NIL) represented 1.02% of the applied N dose. In the growing period of 2013 (lupine, no mineral nitrogen application), the yield-scaled N2O-N emissions from CaNPK and NIL treatments equaled respectively to 4.4 g and 5.4 g N2O-N per 1 kg of nitrogen accumulated by lupine.

Keywords

• greenhouse gas emissions
• nitrification
• nutient cycling
• long-term experiment