Extended Abstract (140K)J3.3
Field evaluation of methods for reduction of N2O emissions
Nicole L. McLaughlin, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada; and C. Wagner-Riddle
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the greenhouse gases playing a major role in climate change. Globally, the agricultural sector is the leading contributor of anthropogenic nitrous oxide emissions. Possible mitigation strategies for reduction of N2O emissions need to be investigated. This three year corn/ soybean/ wheat rotation study investigates the effect of two contrasting agricultural management systems on N2O fluxes. The two systems include best management and conventional treatments. The conventional treatment involves tillage and N fertilizer application at the recommended rate at planting. The best management treatment employs a no-till strategy and soil samples to determine N fertilization rates. N2O emissions were measured using micrometeorological methods and a tunable diode laser trace gas analyzer. The study was conducted at the Elora Research Station (43o9'N 80 o 25'W, 376 m elev.), Ontario, Canada. The four plots monitored were of 1.5 ha in size in which a corn crop was established in 1999. In April 2000, the plots were seeded in corn. The following spring, soybean was planted. To determine the N2O concentration gradient, the air was sampled at 20 second intervals from two heights above the crop and these data were averaged each hour. The fluxes were then calculated using the flux gradient approach. Data collected from the first two years of the study will be presented and discussed.
Joint Session 3, Plant/atmosphere chemical interactions: sources and sinks of chemical species (Joint with the Fourth Symp. Urban Environment, 12th Joint Conf. on the Applications of Air Pollution Meteorology with A&WMA, and 25th Conf. Agricultural & Forest Meterology; Cosponsored by the AMS STAC Committee on Atmospheric Chemistry)
Thursday, 23 May 2002, 8:15 AM-10:15 AM
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