Abstract
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from cultivated soils correlate positively with the amount of N-fertilizer applied, but a large proportion of the annual N2O emission occurs outside the cropping season, potentially blurring this correlation. We measured the effect of split-N application (total N addition varying from 0 to 220 kg N ha−1) on N2O emissions in a spring wheat plot trial in SE Norway from the time of split-N application until harvest, and during the following winter and spring thaw period. N2O emissions were largest in the two highest N-levels, whereas yield-scaled emission (N2O intensity) was highest in the 0 N treatment. Nitrogen yield increased by 23% when adding 80 kg N ha−1 compared to adding 40 kg N ha−1 as split application, while corresponding N2O emissions were reduced by 16%. No differences in measured emissions between the N-fertilization levels were observed during the winter period or during spring thaw. Measurements of soil air composition below the snow pack revealed that N2O production continued throughout winter as the concentration in the soil air increased from 0.37 to 30.0 µL L−1 N2O over the 3 months period with continuous snow cover. However, only 7–28% of the N2O emitted during spring thaw could be ascribed to accumulated N2O, indicating de novo production of N2O in the thawing soil. The direct effect of split-N fertilizer rate on N2O emissions in sub-boreal cereal cropping was limited to the first 15–21 days after N-addition.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agrarheute (2018) Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag. https://www.agrarheute.com/. Accessed 10 June 2018
Burton DL, Beauchamp EG (1994) Profile nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide concentrations in a soil subject to freezing. Soil Sci Soc Am J 58:115–122. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1994.03615995005800010016x
Chantigny MH, Prévost D, Angers DA, Simard RR, Chalifour F-P (1998) Nitrous oxide production in soils cropped to corn with varying N fertilization. Can J Soil Sci 78:589–596. https://doi.org/10.4141/s98-009
Christensen S, Tiedje JM (1990) Brief and vigorous N2O production by soil at spring thaw. J Soil Sci 41:1–4. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.1990.tb00039.x
Congreves KA, Wagner-Riddle C, Si BC, Clough TJ (2018) Nitrous oxide emissions and biogeochemical responses to soil freezing–thawing and drying-wetting. Soil Biol Biochem 117:5–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2017.10.040
Cui Z, Wang G, Yue S, Wu L, Zhang W, Zhang F, Chen X (2014) Closing the N-use efficiency gap to achieve food and environmental security. Environ Sci Technol 48:5780–5787. https://doi.org/10.1021/es5007127
Davidson EA, Keller M, Erickson HE, Verchot LV, Veldkamp E (2000) Testing a conceptual model of soil emissions of nitrous and nitric oxides. Bioscience 50:667–680. https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050%5b0667:tacmos%5d2.0.co;2
Dörsch P, Palojarvi A, Mommertz S (2004) Overwinter greenhouse gas fluxes in two contrasting agricultural habitats. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 70:117–133. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:fres.0000048473.11362.63
Egner H, Riehm H, Domingo WR (1960) Untersuchungen uber die chemische Boden-Analyse als Grundlage fur die Beurteilung des Nahrstoffzustandes der Boden. Ann Roy Agr Coll Sweden 26:199–215
Erisman JW, Sutton MA, Galloway J, Klimont Z, Winiwarter W (2008) How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world. Nat Geosci 1:636. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo325
Flessa H, Dorsch P, Beese F (1995) Seasonal-variation of N2O and CH4 fluxes in differently managed arable soils in Southern Germany. J Geophys Res Atmos 100:23115–23124
Gagnon B, Ziadi N, Rochette P, Chantigny MH, Angers DA (2011) Fertilizer source influenced nitrous oxide emissions from a clay soil under corn. Soil Sci Soc Am J 75:595–604. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2010.0212
Giweta M, Dyck MF, Malhi SS (2017) Growing season nitrous oxide emissions from a Gray Luvisol as a function of long-term fertilization history and crop rotation. Can J Soil Sci 97:474–486. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjss-2016-0106
Goodroad LL, Keeney DR (1984) Nitrous oxide emissions from soils during thawing. Can J Soil Sci 64:187–194. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjss84-020
Goossens A, Visscher AD, Boeckx P, Cleemput OV (2001) Two-year field study on the emission of N2O from coarse and middle-textured Belgian soils with different land use. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 60:23–34. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1012695731469
Huang T, Yang H, Huang C, Ju X (2017) Effect of fertilizer N rates and straw management on yield-scaled nitrous oxide emissions in a maize–wheat double cropping system. Field Crop Res 204:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2017.01.004
IPCC (2007) Intergovernmental panel on climate change fourth assessment report: climate change 2007. Synthesis report
Kaiser EA, Ruser R (2000) Nitrous oxide emissions from arable soils in Germany—an evaluation of six long-term field experiments. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 163:249–259. https://doi.org/10.1002/1522-2624(200006)163:3%3c249:AID-JPLN249%3e3.0.CO;2-Z
Kim Y, Tanaka N (2002) Winter N2O emission rate and its production rate in soil underlying the snowpack in a subboreal region, Japan. J Geophys Res Atmos 107:ACH 14-11–ACH 14-13. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001jd000833
Korsaeth A, Riley H (2006) Estimation of economic and environmental potentials of variable rate versus uniform N fertilizer application to spring barley on morainic soils in SE Norway. Precis Agric 7:265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-006-9013-x
Korsaeth A, Henriksen TM, Bakken LR (2002) Temporal changes in mineralization and immobilization of N during degradation of plant material: implications for the plant N supply and nitrogen losses. Soil Biol Biochem 34:789–799. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(02)00008-1
Lancashire PD, Bleiholder H, van den Boom T, Langelüddeke P, Staus R, Weber E, Witzenberger A (2008) A uniform decimal code for growth stages of crops and weeds. Ann Appl Biol 119:561–601
Lebender U, Senbayram M, Lammel J, Kuhlmann H (2014) Impact of mineral N fertilizer application rates on N2O emissions from arable soils under winter wheat. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 100:111–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-014-9630-0
Liu C, Wang K, Zheng X (2012) Responses of N2O and CH4 fluxes to fertilizer nitrogen addition rates in an irrigated wheat–maize cropping system in northern China. Biogeosciences 9:839–850. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-839-2012
Maljanen M, Kohonen AR, Virkajarvi P, Martikainen PJ (2007) Fluxes and production of N2O, CO2 and CH4 in boreal agricultural soil during winter as affected by snow cover. Tellus B Chem Phys Meteorol 59:853–859. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0889.2007.00304.x
McSwiney CP, Robertson GP (2005) Nonlinear response of N2O flux to incremental fertilizer addition in a continuous maize (Zea mays L.) cropping system. Glob Change Biol 11:1712–1719. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2005.01040.x
Mosier AR, Halvorson AD, Reule CA, Liu XJJ (2006) Net global warming potential and greenhouse gas intensity in irrigated cropping systems in northeastern Colorado. J Environ Qual 35:1584–1598. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2005.0232
Müller C, Martin M, Stevens RJ, Laughlin RJ, Kammann C, Ottow JCG, Jäger HJ (2002) Processes leading to N2O emissions in grassland soil during freezing and thawing. Soil Biol Biochem 34:1325–1331. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(02)00076-7
Nadeem S, Hansen S, Bleken MA, Dörsch P (2012) N2O emission from organic barley cultivation as affected by green manure management. Biogeosci Discuss 9:2307–2341
Németh DD, Wagner-Riddle C, Dunfield KE (2014) Abundance and gene expression in nitrifier and denitrifier communities associated with a field scale spring thaw N2O flux event. Soil Biol Biochem 73:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2014.02.007
Neubauer SC, Megonigal JP (2015) Moving beyond global warming potentials to quantify the climatic role of ecosystems. Ecosystems 18:1000–1013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-015-9879-4
Öquist MG, Nilsson M, Sörensson F, Kasimir-Klemedtsson Å, Persson T, Weslien P, Klemedtsson L (2004) Nitrous oxide production in a forest soil at low temperatures—processes and environmental controls. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 49:371–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.femsec.2004.04.006
Ravishankara AR, Daniel JS, Portmann RW (2009) Nitrous oxide (N2O): the dominant ozone-depleting substance emitted in the 21st century. Science 326:123–125. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1176985
Riley H (1996) Estimation of physical properties of cultivated soils in southeast Norway from readily available soil information. Nor J Agric Sci 25:5–55
Riley H, Eltun R (1994) The Apelsvoll cropping system experiment II. Soil characteristics. Nor J Agric Sci 8:317–333
Riley H, Hoel BO, Kristoffersen AO (2012) Economic and environmental optimization of nitrogen fertilizer recommendations for cereals in Norway. Acta Agric Scand Sect B Soil Plant Sci 62:387–400. https://doi.org/10.1080/09064710.2011.629620
Risk N, Snider D, Wagner-Riddle C (2013) Mechanisms leading to enhanced soil nitrous oxide fluxes induced by freeze–thaw cycles. Can J Soil Sci 93:401–414. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjss2012-071
Risk N, Wagner-Riddle C, Furon A, Warland J, Blodau C (2014) Comparison of simultaneous soil profile N2O concentration and surface N2O flux measurements overwinter and at spring thaw in an agricultural soil. Soil Sci Soc Am J 78:180–193. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2013.06.0221
Rochette P, Bertrand N (2008) Soil-surface gas emissions. In: Carter MR, Gregorich EG (eds) Soil sampling and methods of analysis. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 851–863
Röver M, Heinemeyer O, Kaiser E-A (1998) Microbial induced nitrous oxide emissions from an arable soil during winter. Soil Biol Biochem 30:1859–1865. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(98)00080-7
Russenes AL, Korsaeth A, Bakken LR, Dörsch P (2016) Spatial variation in soil pH controls off-season N2O emission in an agricultural soil. Soil Biol Biochem 99:36–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.04.019
Smith J, Wagner-Riddle C, Dunfield K (2010) Season and management related changes in the diversity of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria over winter and spring. Appl Soil Ecol 44:138–146
Stewart WM, Dibb DW, Johnston AE, Smyth TJ (2005) The contribution of commercial fertilizer nutrients to food production. Agron J 97:1–6. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2005.0001
Tilman D, Balzer C, Hill J, Befort BL (2011) Global food demand and the sustainable intensification of agriculture. Proc Natl Acad Sci 108:20260–20264. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1116437108
United Nations (2017) World population prospects: the 2017 revision, volume II: demographic profiles. ST/ESA/SER.A/400
Van Groenigen JW, Velthof GL, Oenema O, Van Groenigen KJ, Van Kessel C (2010) Towards an agronomic assessment of N2O emissions: a case study for arable crops European. J Soil Sci 61:903–913. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2009.01217.x
Wagner-Riddle C, Thurtell GW (1998) Nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural fields during winter and spring thaw as affected by management practices. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 52:151–163. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1009788411566
Wagner-Riddle C, Hu QC, van Bochove E, Jayasundara S (2008) Linking nitrous oxide flux during spring thaw to nitrate denitrification in the soil profile. Soil Sci Soc Am J 72:908–916. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2007.0353
Wieser H, Seilmeier W (1998) The influence of nitrogen fertilisation on quantities and proportions of different protein types in wheat flour. J Sci Food Agric 76:49–55. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0010(199801)76:1%3c49:AID-JSFA950%3e3.0.CO;2-2
Zebarth BJ, Botha EJ, Rees H (2007) Rate and time of fertilizer nitrogen application on yield, protein and apparent efficiency of fertilizer nitrogen use of spring wheat. Can J Plant Sci 87:709–718. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjps06001
Zebarth B, Rochette P, Burton D, Price M (2008) Effect of fertilizer nitrogen management on N2O emissions in commercial corn fields. Can J Soil Sci 88:189–195
Acknowledgements
This research was funded through the Norwegian Research Council Project “MULTISENS—Multi-sensory precision agriculture—improving yields and reducing environmental impact” (NFR 207829); P.D. was supported by the NRC Project “AGROPRO—Agronomy for increased food production in Norway—challenges and solutions” (NFR 2255330/E40). We are grateful to Torkel Gaardløs, Jan Tangsveen and Hans Gunnar Espelien (NIBIO) and Trygve Fredriksen (NMBU) for technical assistance and Dr. Hugh Riley for valuable soil data and interpretations.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Russenes, A.L., Korsaeth, A., Bakken, L.R. et al. Effects of nitrogen split application on seasonal N2O emissions in southeast Norway. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 115, 41–56 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-019-10009-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-019-10009-0