Potential impacts of climate change on nitrogen transformations and greenhouse gas fluxes in forests: a soil transfer study

Relatively little research has been conducted on how climate change may affect the structure and function of arid to semiarid ecosystems of the American Southwest. Along the slopes of the San Francisco Peaks of Arizona, USA, I transferred intact soil cores from a spruce‐fir to a ponderosa pine forest 730 m lower in elevation to assess the potential impacts of climate change on soil N cycling and trace gas fluxes. The low‐elevation site has a mean annual soil temperature about 2.5°C higher than the high‐elevation site. Net rates of N transformations and trace gas fluxes were measured in high‐elevation soil cores incubated in situ and soil cores transferred to the low‐elevation site. Over a 13‐month period, volumetric soil water content was similar in transferred soil cores relative to soil cores incubated in situ. Net N mineralization and nitrification increased over 80% in transferred soil cores compared with in situ soil cores. Soil transfer significantly increased net CO₂ efflux (120%) and net CH₄ consumption (90%) relative to fluxes of these gases from soil cores incubated in situ. Soil net N₂O fluxes were relatively low and were not generally altered by soil transfer. Although the soil microbial biomass as a whole decreased in transferred soil cores compared with in situ soil cores after the incubation period, active bacterial biomass increased. Transferring soil cores from the low‐elevation to the high‐elevation site (i.e. simulated global cooling) commonly, but not consistently, resulted in the opposite effects on soil pools and processes. In general, soil containment (root trenching) did not significantly affect soil measurements. My results suggest that small increases in mean annual temperature can have large impacts on soil N cycling, soil–atmosphere trace gas exchanges, and soil microbial communities even in ecosystems where water availability is a major limiting resource.     

Region-specific assessment of greenhouse gas mitigation with different manure management strategies in four agroecological zones

Livestock farming systems are major sources of trace gases contributing to emissions of the greenhouse gases (GHG) nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄), i.e. N₂O accounts for 10% and CH₄ for 30% of the anthropogenic contributions to net global warming. This paper presents scenario assessments of whole-system effects of technologies for reducing GHG emissions from livestock model farms using slurry-based manure management. Changes in housing and storage practice, mechanical separation, and incineration of the solid fraction derived from separation were evaluated in scenarios for Sweden, Denmark, France, and Italy. The results demonstrated that changes in manure management can induce significant changes in CH₄ and N₂O emissions and carbon sequestration, and that the effect of introducing environmental technologies may vary significantly with livestock farming practice and interact with climatic conditions. Shortening the in-house manure storage time reduced GHG emissions by 0–40%. The largest GHG reductions of 49 to, in one case, 82% were obtained with a combination of slurry separation and incineration, the latter process contributing to a positive GHG balance of the system by substituting fossil fuels. The amount and composition of volatile solids (VS) and nitrogen pools were main drivers in the calculations performed, and requirements to improve the assessment of VS composition and turnover during storage and in the field were identified. Nevertheless, the results clearly showed that GHG emission estimates will be unrealistic, if the assumed manure management or climatic conditions do not properly represent a given country or region. The results also showed that the mitigation potential of specific manure management strategies and technologies varied depending on current management and climatic conditions.     

Greenhouse gas dynamics in boreal, littoral sediments under raised CO2 and nitrogen supply

SUMMARY 1. The effects of increasing CO₂ and nitrogen loading and of a change in water table and temperature on littoral CH₄, N₂O and CO₂ fluxes were studied in a glasshouse experiment with intact sediment cores including vegetation (mainly sedges), taken from a boreal eutrophic lake in Finland. Sediments with the water table held at a level of 0 or at ?15 cm were incubated in an atmosphere of 360 or 720 p.p.m. CO₂ for 18 weeks. The experiment included fertilisation with NO₃^– and NH₄⁺ (to a total 3 g N m^?2). 2. Changes in the water table and temperature strongly regulated sediment CH₄ and cCO₂ fluxes (community CO₂ release), but did not affect N₂O emissions. Increase in the water table increased CH₄ emissions but reduced cCO₂ release, while increase in temperature increased emissions of both CO₂ and CH₄. 3. The raised CO₂ increased carbon turnover in the sediments, such that cCO₂ release was increased by 16–26%. However, CH₄ fluxes were not significantly affected by raised CO₂, although CH₄ production potential (at 22 °C) of the sediments incubated at high CO₂ was increased. In the boreal region, littoral CH₄ production is more likely to be limited by temperature than by the availability of carbon. Raised CO₂ did not affect N₂O production by denitrification, indicating that this process was not carbon limited. 4. A low availability of NO₃^– did severely limit N₂O production. The NO₃^– addition caused up to a 100‐fold increase in the fluxes of N₂O. The NH₄⁺ addition did not increase N₂O fluxes, indicating low nitrification capacity in the sediments.     

生物质炭化还田对稻田温室气体排放及土壤理化性质的影响

通过水稻种植田间试验,研究了水稻秸秆直接还田、水稻秸秆与生活垃圾炭化后还田对稻田温室气体CH4、CO2和N2O排放及土壤理化性质和水稻产量的影响.结果表明:与直接还田相比,秸秆炭化后还田可显著降低稻田CH4和N2O的累积排放量,降幅分别为64.2%～78.5%和16.3%～18.4%.与不添加生物炭相比,无论种植水稻与否,添加秸秆炭和垃圾炭均显著降低了稻田N2O的累积排放量;不种植水稻情况下,添加垃圾炭显著降低了稻田CO2的累积排放量,降幅为25.3%.秸秆炭对提高稻田土壤pH和速效钾含量的作用优于垃圾炭.两种生物炭均能显著提高稻田土壤有机碳含量,但对土壤容重、全氮、有效磷、阳离子交换量及水稻籽粒产量均未产生显著影响.与秸秆直接还田相比,秸秆炭化后还田对水稻增产的效果更佳.     

Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from rice paddy fields as affected by nitrogen fertilisers and water management

Methane and N₂O emissions affected by nitrogen fertilisers were measured simultaneously in rice paddy fields under intermittent irrigation in 1994. Ammonium sulphate and urea were applied at rates of 0 (control), 100 and 300 kg N ha^-1. The results showed that CH₄ emission, on the average, decreased by 42 and 60% in the ammonium sulphate treatments and 7 and 14% in the urea treatments at rates of 100 and 300 kg N ha^-1, respectively, compared to the control. N₂O emission increased significantly with the increase in the nitrogen application rate. N₂O emission was higher from ammonium sulphate treatments than from the urea treatments at the same application rate. A trade-off effect between CH₄ and N₂O emission was clearly observed. The N₂O flux was very small when the rice paddy plots were flooded, but peaked at the beginning of the disappearance of floodwater. In contrast, the CH₄ flux peaked during flooding and was significantly depressed by mid-season aeration (MSA). The results suggest that it is important to evaluate the integrative effects of water management and fertiliser application for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in order to attenuate the greenhouse effect contributed by rice paddy fields.     

Soil–atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases in a Eucalyptus marginata woodland, a clover-grass pasture, and Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus globulus plantations

Soils provide the largest terrestrial carbon store, the largest atmospheric CO₂ source, the largest terrestrial N₂O source and the largest terrestrial CH₄ sink, as mediated through root and soil microbial processes. A change in land use or management can alter these soil processes such that net greenhouse gas exchange may increase or decrease. We measured soil–atmosphere exchange of CO₂, N₂O and CH₄ in four adjacent land‐use systems (native eucalypt woodland, clover‐grass pasture, Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus globulus plantation) for short, but continuous, periods between October 2005 and June 2006 using an automated trace gas measurement system near Albany in southwest Western Australia. Mean N₂O emission in the pasture was 26.6 μg N m⁻² h⁻¹, significantly greater than in the natural and managed forests (< 2.0 μg N m⁻² h⁻¹). N₂O emission from pasture soil increased after rainfall events (up to 100 μg N m⁻² h⁻¹) and as soil water content increased into winter, whereas no soil water response was detected in the forest systems. Gross nitrification through ¹⁵N isotope dilution in all land‐use systems was small at water holding capacity < 30%, and under optimum soil water conditions gross nitrification ranged between < 0.1 and 1.0 mg N kg⁻¹ h⁻¹, being least in the native woodland/eucalypt plantation < pine plantation < pasture. Forest soils were a constant CH₄ sink, up to −20 μg C m⁻² h⁻¹ in the native woodland. Pasture soil was an occasional CH₄ source, but weak CH₄ sink overall (−3 μg C m⁻² h⁻¹). There were no strong correlations (R < 0.4) between CH₄ flux and soil moisture or temperature. Soil CO₂ emissions (35–55 mg C m⁻² h⁻¹) correlated with soil water content (R < 0.5) in all but the E. globulus plantation. Soil N₂O emissions from improved pastures can be considerable and comparable with intensively managed, irrigated and fertilised dairy pastures. In all land uses, soil N₂O emissions exceeded soil CH₄ uptake on a carbon dioxide equivalent basis. Overall, afforestation of improved pastures (i) decreases soil N₂O emissions and (ii) increases soil CH₄ uptake.     

Intensive measurement of nitrous oxide emissions from a corn–soybean–wheat rotation under two contrasting management systems over 5 years

No‐tillage (NT), a practice that has been shown to increase carbon sequestration in soils, has resulted in contradictory effects on nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions. Moreover, it is not clear how mitigation practices for N₂O emission reduction, such as applying nitrogen (N) fertilizer according to soil N reserves and matching the time of application to crop uptake, interact with NT practices. N₂O fluxes from two management systems [conventional (CP), and best management practices: NT + reduced fertilizer (BMP)] applied to a corn (Zea mays L.), soybean (Glycine max L.), winter‐wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotation in Ontario, Canada, were measured from January 2000 to April 2005, using a micrometeorological method. The superimposition of interannual variability of weather and management resulted in mean monthly N₂O fluxes ranging from − 1.9 to 61.3 g N ha⁻¹ day⁻¹. Mean annual N₂O emissions over the 5‐year period decreased significantly by 0.79 from 2.19 kg N ha⁻¹ for CP to 1.41 kg N ha⁻¹ for BMP. Growing season (May–October) N₂O emissions were reduced on average by 0.16 kg N ha⁻¹ (20% of total reduction), and this decrease only occurred in the corn year of the rotation. Nongrowing season (November–April) emissions, comprised between 30% and 90% of the annual emissions, mostly due to increased N₂O fluxes during soil thawing. These emissions were well correlated (r²= 0.90) to the accumulated degree‐hours below 0 °C at 5 cm depth, a measure of duration and intensity of soil freezing. Soil management in BMP (NT) significantly reduced N₂O emissions during thaw (80% of total reduction) by reducing soil freezing due to the insulating effects of the larger snow cover plus corn and wheat residue during winter. In conclusion, significant reductions in net greenhouse gas emissions can be obtained when NT is combined with a strategy that matches N application rate and timing to crop needs.     

Effect of stand age on greenhouse gas fluxes from a Sitka spruce [Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.] chronosequence on a peaty gley soil

The influence of forest stand age in a Picea sitchensis plantation on (1) soil fluxes of three greenhouse gases (GHGs – CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O) and (2) overall net ecosystem global warming potential (GWP), was investigated in a 2‐year study. The objective was to isolate the effect of forest stand age on soil edaphic characteristics (temperature, water table and volumetric moisture) and the consequent influence of these characteristics on the GHG fluxes. Fluxes were measured in a chronosequence in Harwood, England, with sites comprising 30‐ and 20‐year‐old second rotation forest and a site clearfelled (CF) some 18 months before measurement. Adjoining unforested grassland (UN) acted as a control. Comparisons were made between flux data, soil temperature and moisture data and, at the 30‐year‐old and CF sites, eddy covariance data for net ecosystem carbon (C) exchange (NEE). The main findings were: firstly, integrated CO₂ efflux was the dominant influence on the GHG budget, contributing 93–94% of the total GHG flux across the chronosequence compared with 6–7% from CH₄ and N₂O combined. Secondly, there were clear links between the trends in edaphic factors as the forest matured, or after clearfelling, and the emission of GHGs. In the chronosequence sites, annual fluxes of CO₂ were lower at the 20‐year‐old (20y) site than at the 30‐year‐old (30y) and CF sites, with soil temperature the dominant control. CH₄ efflux was highest at the CF site, with peak flux 491±54.5 μg m⁻² h⁻¹ and maximum annual flux 18.0±1.1 kg CH₄ ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. No consistent uptake of CH₄ was noted at any site. A linear relationship was found between log CH₄ flux and the closeness of the water table to the soil surface across all sites. N₂O efflux was highest in the 30y site, reaching 108±38.3 μg N₂O‐N m⁻² h⁻¹ (171 μg N₂O m⁻² h⁻¹) in midsummer and a maximum annual flux of 4.7±1.2 kg N₂O ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in 2001. Automatic chamber data showed a positive exponential relationship between N₂O flux and soil temperature at this site. The relationship between N₂O emission and soil volumetric moisture indicated an optimum moisture content for N₂O flux of 40–50% by volume. The relationship between C : N ratio data and integrated N₂O flux was consistent with a pattern previously noted across temperate and boreal forest soils.     

Net annual global warming potential and greenhouse gas intensity in Chinese double rice‐cropping systems: a 3‐year field measurement in long‐term fertilizer experiments

The impact of agricultural management on global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) is not well documented. A long‐term fertilizer experiment in Chinese double rice‐cropping systems initiated in 1990 was used in this study to gain an insight into a complete greenhouse gas accounting of GWP and GHGI. The six fertilizer treatments included inorganic fertilizer [nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer (NP), nitrogen and potassium fertilizer (NK), and balanced inorganic fertilizer (NPK)], combined inorganic/organic fertilizers at full and reduced rate (FOM and ROM), and no fertilizer application as a control. Methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) fluxes were measured using static chamber method from November 2006 through October 2009, and the net ecosystem carbon balance was estimated by the changes in topsoil (0–20 cm) organic carbon (SOC) density over the 10‐year period 1999–2009. Long‐term fertilizer application significantly increased grain yields, except for no difference between the NK and control plots. Annual topsoil SOC sequestration rate was estimated to be 0.96 t C ha^?1 yr^?1 for the control and 1.01–1.43 t C ha^?1 yr^?1 for the fertilizer plots. Long‐term inorganic fertilizer application tended to increase CH₄ emissions during the flooded rice season and significantly increased N₂O emissions from drained soils during the nonrice season. Annual mean CH₄ emissions ranged from 621 kg CH₄ ha^?1 for the control to 1175 kg CH₄ ha^?1 for the FOM plots, 63–83% of which derived from the late‐rice season. Annual N₂O emission averaged 1.15–4.11 kg N₂O–N ha^?1 in the double rice‐cropping systems. Compared with the control, inorganic fertilizer application slightly increased the net annual GWPs, while they were remarkably increased by combined inorganic/organic fertilizer application. The GHGI was lowest for the NP and NPK plots and highest for the FOM and ROM plots. The results of this study suggest that agricultural economic viability and GHGs mitigation can be simultaneously achieved by balanced fertilizer application.     

Nitrogen-regulated effects of free-air CO2 enrichment on methane emissions from paddy rice fields

Using the free‐air CO₂ enrichment (FACE) techniques, we carried out a 3‐year mono‐factorial experiment in temperate paddy rice fields of Japan (1998–2000) and a 3‐year multifactorial experiment in subtropical paddy rice fields in the Yangtze River delta in China (2001–2003), to investigate the methane (CH₄) emissions in response to an elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration (200±40 mmol mol^?1 higher than that in the ambient atmosphere). No significant effect of the elevated CO₂ upon seasonal accumulative CH₄ emissions was observed in the first rice season, but significant stimulatory effects (CH₄ increase ranging from 38% to 188%, with a mean of 88%) were observed in the second and third rice seasons in the fields with or without organic matter addition. The stimulatory effects of the elevated CO₂ upon seasonal accumulative CH₄ emissions were negatively correlated with the addition rates of decomposable organic carbon (P<0.05), but positively with the rates of nitrogen fertilizers applied in either the current rice season (P<0.05) or the whole year (P<0.01). Six mechanisms were proposed to explain collectively the observations. Soil nitrogen availability was identified as an important regulator. The effect of soil nitrogen availability on the observed relation between elevated CO₂ and CH₄ emission can be explained by (a) modifying the C/N ratio of the plant residues formed in the previous growing season(s); (b) changing the inhibitory effect of high C/N ratio on plant residue decomposition in the current growing season; and (c) altering the stimulatory effects of CO₂ enrichment upon plant growth, as well as nitrogen uptake in the current growing season. This study implies that the concurrent enrichment of reactive nitrogen in the global ecosystems may accelerate the increase of atmospheric methane by initiating a stimulatory effect of the ongoing dramatic atmospheric CO₂ enrichment upon methane emissions from nitrogen‐poor paddy rice ecosystems and further amplifying the existing stimulatory effect in nitrogen‐rich paddy rice ecosystems.     

林龄对红松和落叶松人工林土壤温室气体通量的影响

探讨人工林发育过程中土壤温室气体排放及其机制,可为森林温室气体通量估算提供理论依据.采用室内培养方法研究了黑龙江省帽儿山地区不同林龄(15、30和50年生)红松(Pinus koraiensis)和落叶松(Larix gmelinii)人工林土壤温室气体排放/吸收速率及其调控因素.结果 表明:30年生红松和落叶松人工林...     

Progress in the studies on the greenhouse gas emissions from reservoirs

The green credentials of hydroelectricity in terms of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions have been tarnished with the finding of the researches on GHG emissions from hydroelectric reservoirs in the last two decades. Substantial amounts of GHGs release from the tropical reservoirs, especially methane (CH₄) from Brazil’s Amazonian areas. CH₄ contributes strongly to climate change because it has a global warming potential (GWP) 24 times higher than carbon dioxide (CO₂) on a per molecule basis over a 100-year time horizon. GHGs may emit from reservoirs through four different pathways to the atmosphere: (1) diffusive flux at the reservoir surface, (2) gas bubble flux in the shallow zones of a reservoir, (3) water degassing flux at the outlet of the powerhouse downstream of turbines and spillways, and (4) flux across the air–water interface in the rivers downstream of the dams. This paper reviewed the productions and emissions of CH₄, CO₂, and N₂O in reservoirs, and the environmental variables influencing CH₄ and CO₂ emissions were also summarized. Moreover, the paper combined with the progress of GHG emissions from Three Gorges Reservoir and proposed three crucial problems to be resolved on GHG emissions from reservoirs at present, which would be benefit to estimate the total GHG emissions from Three Gorges Reservoir accurately.     

Role of the aquatic pathway in the carbon and greenhouse gas budgets of a peatland catchment

Peatland streams have repeatedly been shown to be highly supersaturated in both CO₂ and CH₄ with respect to the atmosphere, and in combination with dissolved (DOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) represent a potentially important pathway for catchment greenhouse gas (GHG) and carbon (C) losses. The aim of this study was to create a complete C and GHG (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O) budget for Auchencorth Moss, an ombrotrophic peatland in southern Scotland, by combining flux tower, static chamber and aquatic flux measurements from 2 consecutive years. The sink/source strength of the catchment in terms of both C and GHGs was compared to assess the relative importance of the aquatic pathway. During the study period (2007–2008) the catchment functioned as a net sink for GHGs (352 g CO₂‐Eq m^?2 yr^?1) and C (69.5 g C m^?2 yr^?1). The greatest flux in both the GHG and C budget was net ecosystem exchange (NEE). Terrestrial emissions of CH₄ and N₂O combined returned only 4% of CO₂ equivalents captured by NEE to the atmosphere, whereas evasion of GHGs from the stream surface returned 12%. DOC represented a loss of 24% of NEE C uptake, which if processed and evaded downstream, outside of the catchment, may lead to a significant underestimation of the actual catchment‐derived GHG losses. The budgets clearly show the importance of aquatic fluxes at Auchencorth Moss and highlight the need to consider both the C and GHG budgets simultaneously.     

Effect of nitrogen fertilizers and moisture content on CH4 and N2O fluxes in a humisol: Measurements in the field and intact soil cores

Field and laboratory studies were conducted to determine effects of nitrogen fertilizers and soil water content on N₂O and CH₄ fluxes in a humisol located on the Central Experimental Farm of Agriculture Canada, Ottawa. Addition of 100 kg N ha^–1 as either urea or NaNO₃ had no significant effect on soil CH₄ flux measured using chambers. Fertilization with NaNO₃ resulted in a significant but transitory stimulation of N₂O production. Inorganic soil N profiles and the potential nitrification rate suggested that much of the NH ₄ ⁺ from urea hydrolysis was rapidly nitrified. CH₄ fluxes measured using capped soil cores agreed well with fluxes measured using field chambers, and with fluxes calculated from soil gas concentration gradients using Fick's diffusion law. This humisol presents an ideal, unstructured, vertically homogeneous system in which to study gas diffusion, and the influence of gas-filled porosity on CH₄ uptake. In soil cores gradually saturated with H₂O, the relationship of CH₄ flux to gas-filled porosity was an exponential rise to a maximum. Steepening CH₄ concentration gradients partially compensated for the decreasing diffusion coefficient of CH₄ in soil matrix air as water content increased, and diffusion limitation of CH₄ oxidation occurred only at water contents > 130% (dry weight), or gas-filled porosities < 0.2.Corresponding author     

The greenhouse gas value of ecosystems

As society faces the urgent need to mitigate climate change, it is critical to understand how various ecosystems contribute to the climate, and to express these contributions in terms that are meaningful to policymakers, economists, land managers, and other nonscience interest holders. Efforts to mitigate climate change call for quantification of the full greenhouse gas (GHG) effects of land use decisions, yet we lack an appropriate metric of the full GHG implications of maintaining a given ecosystem over a multiple year time frame. Here, we propose the concept of greenhouse gas value (GHGV) of ecosystems, which accounts for potential GHG release upon clearing of stored organic matter, annual GHG flux, and probable GHG exchanges resulting from disturbance. It treats these ecosystem–atmosphere exchanges in a time‐sensitive manner, thereby providing an appropriate framework for computing of the GHG consequences of any land use decision. To illustrate this concept, we provide estimates of the GHGV of various biome types (based on data compiled from the literature), disturbance regimes, and decisions on the treatment of time. We show that natural ecosystems generally have high GHGV's, whereas managed ecosystems generally have lower or negative GHGV's; that GHGV decreases with increasing probability of disturbance, and that decisions on the treatment of time can be important, affecting some ecosystem types more strongly than others. In addition, we show how GHGV may be used to quantify the full GHG effects of land‐use or land‐cover change in a thorough and rigorous manner. Finally, we provide comparisons of GHGV to other major paradigms for valuing the GHG contributions of ecosystems, showing that – for many purposes –GHGV is the most appropriate method of quantifying the GHG services of ecosystems.     

Estimation of nitrous oxide, nitric oxide and ammonia emissions from croplands in East, Southeast and South Asia

Agricultural activities have greatly altered the global nitrogen (N) cycle and produced nitrogenous gases of environmental significance. More than half of all chemical N fertilizer produced globally is used in crop production in East, Southeast and South Asia, where rice is central to nutrition. Emissions of nitrous oxide (N₂O), nitric oxide (NO) and ammonia (NH₃) from croplands in this region were estimated by considering background emission and emissions resulting from N added to croplands, including chemical N, animal manure, biologically fixed N and N in crop residues returned to fields. Background emission fluxes of N₂O and NO from croplands were estimated to be 1.22 and 0.57 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1, respectively. Separate fertilizer‐induced emission factors were estimated for upland fields and rice fields. Total N₂O emission from croplands in the study region was estimated to be 1.19 Tg N yr^?1, with 43% contributed by background emissions. The average fertilizer‐induced N₂O emission, however, accounts for only 0.93% of the applied N, which is less than the default IPCC value of 1.25%, because of the low emission factor from paddy fields. Total NO emission was 591 Gg N yr^?1 in the study region, with 40% from background emissions. The average fertilizer‐induced NO emission factor was 0.48%. Total NH₃ emission was estimated to be 11.8 Tg N yr^?1. The use of urea and ammonium bicarbonate and the cultivation of rice led to a high average NH₃ loss rate from chemical N fertilizer in the study region. Emissions were displayed at a 0.5° × 0.5° resolution with the use of a global landuse database.     

Ecosystem–atmosphere exchange of CH4 and N2O and ecosystem respiration in wetlands in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeastern China

Natural wetlands are critically important to global change because of their role in modulating atmospheric concentrations of CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O. One 4‐year continuous observation was conducted to examine the exchanges of CH₄ and N₂O between three wetland ecosystems and the atmosphere as well as the ecosystem respiration in the Sanjiang Plain in Northeastern China. From 2002 to 2005, the mean annual budgets of CH₄ and N₂O, and ecosystem respiration were 39.40 ± 6.99 g C m^?2 yr^?1, 0.124 ± 0.05 g N m^?2 yr^?1, and 513.55 ± 8.58 g C m^?2 yr^?1 for permanently inundated wetland; 4.36 ± 1.79 g C m^?2 yr^?1, 0.11 ± 0.12 g N m^?2 yr^?1, and 880.50 ± 71.72 g C m^?2 yr^?1 for seasonally inundated wetland; and 0.21 ± 0.1 g C m^?2 yr^?1, 0.28 ± 0.11 g N m^?2 yr^?1, and 1212.83 ± 191.98 g C m^?2 yr^?1 for shrub swamp. The substantial interannual variation of gas fluxes was due to the significant climatic variability which underscores the importance of long‐term continuous observations. The apparent seasonal pattern of gas emissions associated with a significant relationship of gas fluxes to air temperature implied the potential effect of global warming on greenhouse gas emissions from natural wetlands. The budgets of CH₄ and N₂O fluxes and ecosystem respiration were highly variable among three wetland types, which suggest the uncertainties in previous studies in which all kinds of natural wetlands were treated as one or two functional types. New classification of global natural wetlands in more detailed level is highly expected.     

Nonlinear nitrous oxide (N2O) response to nitrogen fertilizer in on‐farm corn crops of the US Midwest

Row‐crop agriculture is a major source of nitrous oxide (N₂O) globally, and results from recent field experiments suggest that significant decreases in N₂O emissions may be possible by decreasing nitrogen (N) fertilizer inputs without affecting economic return from grain yield. We tested this hypothesis on five commercially farmed fields in Michigan, USA planted with corn in 2007 and 2008. Six rates of N fertilizer (0–225 kg N ha^?1) were broadcast and incorporated before planting, as per local practice. Across all sites and years, increases in N₂O flux were best described by a nonlinear, exponentially increasing response to increasing N rate. N₂O emission factors per unit of N applied ranged from 0.6% to 1.5% and increased with increasing N application across all sites and years, especially at N rates above those required for maximum crop yield. At the two N fertilizer rates above those recommended for maximum economic return (135 kg N ha^?1), average N₂O fluxes were 43% (18 g N₂O–N ha^?1 day^?1) and 115% (26 g N₂O–N ha^?1 day^?1) higher than were fluxes at the recommended rate, respectively. The maximum return to nitrogen rate of 154 kg N ha^?1 yielded an average 8.3 Mg grain ha^?1. Our study shows the potential to lower agricultural N₂O fluxes within a range of N fertilization that does not affect economic return from grain yield.     

Effect of experimental nitrogen load on methane and nitrous oxide fluxes on ombrotrophic boreal peatland

Methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) dynamics were studied in a boreal Sphagnum fuscum pine bog receiving annually (from 1991 to 1996) 30 or 100 kg NH₄NO₃-N ha^–1. The gas emissions were measured during the last three growing seasons of the experiment. Nitrogen treatment did not affect the CH₄ fluxes in the microsites where S. fuscum and S. angustifolium dominated. However, addition of 100 kg NH₄NO₃-N ha^–1 yr^–1 increased the CH₄ emission from those microsites dominated by S. fuscum. This increase was associated with the increase in coverage of cotton grass (Eriophorum vaginatum) induced by the nitrogen treatment. The differences in the CH₄ emissions were not related to the CH₄ oxidation and production potentials in the peat profiles. The N₂O fluxes were negligible from all microsites. Only minor short-term increases occurred after the nitrogen addition.