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Develo** a country specific method for estimating nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils in Canada

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Abstract

Accurate estimates of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agricultural soils and management factors that influence emissions are necessary to capture the impact of mitigation measures and carry out life cycle analyses aimed at identifying best practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We propose improvements to a country specific method for estimating N2O emissions from agricultural soils in Canada based on a compilation of soil N2O flux data from recent published literature. We provide a framework for the development of empirical models that could be applied in regions where similar data and information on N2O emissions are available. The method considers spatial elements such as soil texture, topography and climate based on a quantitative empirical relationship between synthetic N-induced soil N2O emission factor (EF) and growing season precipitation (P) {N2OEF = e(0.00558P−7.7)}. Emission factors vary from less than 0.0025 kg N2O-N kg N−1 in semi-arid regions of Canada to greater than 0.025 kg N2O-N kg N−1 in humid regions. This approach differentiates soil N2O EFs based on management factors. Specifically, empirical ratio factors are applied for sources of N of 1.0, 0.84, and 0.28 for synthetic N, animal manure N and crop residue N, respectively. Crop type ratio factors where soil N2O EFs from applied manure- and synthetic-N on perennial crops are approximately 19% of those on annual crops. This proposed approach improves the accuracy of the dominant factors that modulate N2O emissions from N application to soils.

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Notes

  1. Mottles are the product of intermittent oxidation/reduction cycles of iron present in the soil profile. Prevalence, size and colour of mottles are indicative of the soil materials being intermittently saturated for significant periods of time.

Abbreviations

N2O:

Nitrous oxide

EF:

Emission factor

NS:

Sources of N

ON:

Organic N

CRN:

Crop residual N

Per:

Perennial crops

Ann:

Annual crops

RF:

Ratio factor

SOC:

Soil organic carbon

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Central Experimental Farm, K.W. Neatby, 960 Carling Ave., Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada

    Chang Liang & Raymond Desjardins

  2. Pollutant Inventories and Reporting Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, PVM, 7th Floor, 351 St-Joseph Blvd., Gatineau, QC, K1A 0H3, Canada

    Chang Liang, Douglas MacDonald, Arumugam Thiagarajan & Corey Flemming

  3. Saskatoon Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 107 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X2, Canada

    Darrel Cerkowniak

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  1. Chang Liang
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  2. Douglas MacDonald
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  3. Arumugam Thiagarajan
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  6. Raymond Desjardins
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Correspondence to Chang Liang.

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Liang, C., MacDonald, D., Thiagarajan, A. et al. Develo** a country specific method for estimating nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils in Canada. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 117, 145–167 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-020-10058-w

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