SpringerLink
Log in

Soil N2O and CO2 emissions from cotton in Australia under varying irrigation management

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Irrigation is known to stimulate soil microbial carbon and nitrogen turnover and potentially the emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2). We conducted a study to evaluate the effect of three different irrigation intensities on soil N2O and CO2 fluxes and to determine if irrigation management can be used to mitigate N2O emissions from irrigated cotton on black vertisols in South-Eastern Queensland, Australia. Fluxes were measured over the entire 2009/2010 cotton growing season with a fully automated chamber system that measured emissions on a sub-daily basis. Irrigation intensity had a significant effect on CO2 emission. More frequent irrigation stimulated soil respiration and seasonal CO2 fluxes ranged from 2.7 to 4.1 Mg-C ha−1 for the treatments with the lowest and highest irrigation frequency, respectively. N2O emission happened episodic with highest emissions when heavy rainfall or irrigation coincided with elevated soil mineral N levels and seasonal emissions ranged from 0.80 to 1.07 kg N2O-N ha−1 for the different treatments. Emission factors (EF = proportion of N fertilizer emitted as N2O) over the cotton crop** season, uncorrected for background emissions, ranged from 0.40 to 0.53 % of total N applied for the different treatments. There was no significant effect of the different irrigation treatments on soil N2O fluxes because highest emission happened in all treatments following heavy rainfall caused by a series of summer thunderstorms which overrode the effect of the irrigation treatment. However, higher irrigation intensity increased the cotton yield and therefore reduced the N2O intensity (N2O emission per lint yield) of this crop** system. Our data suggest that there is only limited scope to reduce absolute N2O emissions by different irrigation intensities in irrigated cotton systems with summer dominated rainfall. However, the significant impact of the irrigation treatments on the N2O intensity clearly shows that irrigation can easily be used to optimize the N2O intensity of such a system.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Germany)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Almagro M, López J, Querejeta JI, Martínez-Mena M (2009) Temperature dependence of soil CO2 efflux is strongly modulated by seasonal patterns of moisture availability in a Mediterranean ecosystem. Soil Biol Biochem 41(3):594–605. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.12.021

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • ANGA (2010) Australian National Greenhouse Accounts National Inventory Report 2008, vol 1. Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

  • Barton L, Kiese R, Gatter D, Butterbach-Bahl K, Buck R, Hinz C, Murphy DV (2008) Nitrous oxide emissions from a cropped soil in a semi-arid climate. Glob Change Biol 14(1):177–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouwman AF, Boumans LJM, Batjes NH (2002) Modeling global annual N2O and NO emissions from fertilized fields. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 16(4). doi:10.1029/2001gb001812

  • Breuer L, Papen H, Butterbach-Bahl K (2000) N2O emission from tropical forest soils of Australia. J Geophys Res Atmos 105(D21):26353–26367

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bryan B, Marvanek S (2004) Quantifying and valuing land use change for integrated catchment management evaluation in the Murray-Darling Basin 1996/97–2000/01. CSIRO Land and Water, Adelaide

    Google Scholar 

  • Denmead OT, Macdonald BCT, Bryant G, Naylor T, Wilson S, Griffith DWT, Wang WJ, Salter B, White I, Moody PW (2010) Emissions of methane and nitrous oxide from Australian sugarcane soils. Agric For Meteorol 150(6):748–756. doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2009.06.018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dobbie KE, McTaggart IP, Smith KA (1999) Nitrous oxide emissions from intensive agricultural systems: variations between crops and seasons, key driving variables, and mean emission factors. J Geophys Res Atmos 104(21):26891–26899. doi:10.1029/1999jd900378

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (1996) Rome declaration on world food security and worldfood summit plan of action. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (1998) World reference base for soil resources. World soil resources, vol 84. Rome

  • Galbally I, Meyer M, Bentley S, Weeks I, Leuning R, Kelly K, Phillips F, Barker-Reid F, Gates W, Baigent R, Eckard R, Grace P (2005) A study of environmental and management drivers of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions in Australian agro-ecosystems. Environ Sci 2(2–3):133–142. doi:10.1080/15693430500395396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han G, Zhou G, Xu Z, Yang Y, Liu J, Shi K (2007) Biotic and abiotic factors controlling the spatial and temporal variation of soil respiration in an agricultural ecosystem. Soil Biol Biochem 39(2):418–425. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2006.08.009

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Högberg P, Nordgren A, Ågren G (2002) Carbon allocation between tree root growth and root respiration in boreal pine forest. Oecologia 132(4):579–581. doi:10.1007/s00442-002-0983-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPPC (2006) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, prepared by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme. IGES, Japan

  • Jenerette GD, Scott RL, Huxman TE (2008) Whole ecosystem metabolic pulses following precipitation events. Funct Ecol 22(5):924–930. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01450.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiese R, Butterbach-Bahl K (2002) N2O and CO2 emissions from three different tropical forest sites in the wet tropics of Queensland, Australia. Soil Biol Biochem 34:975–987

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lesschen JP, Velthof GL, de Vries W, Kros J (2011) Differentiation of nitrous oxide emission factors for agricultural soils. Environ Pollut 159(11):3215–3222. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2011.04.001

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Linn DM, Doran JW (1984) Effect of water-filled pore space on carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide production in tilled and nontilled soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 48:1264–1272

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu CY, Zheng XH, Zhou ZX, Han SH, Wang YH, Wang K, Liang WG, Li M, Chen DL, Yang ZP (2010) Nitrous oxide and nitric oxide emissions from an irrigated cotton field in Northern China. Plant Soil 332(1–2):123–134. doi:10.1007/s11104-009-0278-5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmood T, Ali R, Iqbal J, Robab U (2008) Nitrous oxide emission from an irrigated cotton field under semiarid subtropical conditions. Biol Fertil Soils 44(5):773–781. doi:10.1007/s00374-008-0276-4

    Google Scholar 

  • Mu Z, Huang A, Kimura SD, ** T, Wei S, Hatano R (2009) Linking N(2)O emission to soil mineral N as estimated by CO(2) emission and soil C/N ratio. Soil Biol Biochem 41(12):2593–2597. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.09.013

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parkin TB, Kaspar TC (2003) Temperature controls on diurnal carbon dioxide flux: implications for estimating soil carbon loss. Soil Sci Soc Am J 67(6):1762–1772

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raich JW, Schlesinger WH (1992) The global carbon-dioxide flux in soil respiration and its relationship to vegetation and climate. Tellus B Chem Phys Meteorol 44(2):81–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rochester IJ (2003) Estimating nitrous oxide emissions from flood-irrigated alkaline grey clays. Aust J Soil Res 41:197–206

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scheer C, Wassmann R, Klenzler K, Lbragimov N, Eschanov R (2008) Nitrous oxide emissions from fertilized irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in the Aral Sea Basin, Uzbekistan: influence of nitrogen applications and irrigation practices. Soil Biol Biochem 40(2):290–301. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2007.08.007

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scheer C, Grace PR, Rowlings DW, Payero J (2012) Nitrous oxide emissions from irrigated wheat in Australia: impact of irrigation management. Plant Soil 359(1–2):351–362. doi:10.1007/s11104-012-1197-4

    Google Scholar 

  • Skiba UM, Sheppard LJ, MacDonald J, Fowler D (1998) Some key environmental variables controlling nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural and semi-natural soils in Scotland. Atmos Environ 32(19):3311–3320. doi:10.1016/s1352-2310(97)00364-6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith P, Martino D, Cai Z, Gwary D, Janzen H, Kumar P, McCarl B, Ogle S, O’Mara F, Rice C, Scholes B, Sirotenko O (2007) Agriculture. In: Metz B, Davidson OR, Bosch PR, Dave R, Meyer LA (eds) Climate change 2007: mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Stehfest E, Bouwman L (2006) N2O and NO emission from agricultural fields and soils under natural vegetation: summarizing available measurement data and modeling of global annual emissions. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 74(3):207–228. doi:10.1007/s10705-006-9000-7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • US-EPA (2006) Global anthropogenic non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions: 1990–2020. United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 430-R-06-003, Washington, DC

  • Wang H, McConkey B, Curtin D, Cutforth H (2010) Estimation of daily soil CO2 flux using a single-time-point measurement. Can J Soil Sci 90(3):517–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werner C, Zheng XH, Tang JW, **e BH, Liu CY, Kiese R, Butterbach-Bahl K (2006) N2O, CH4 and CO2 emissions from seasonal tropical rainforests and a rubber plantation in Southwest China. Plant Soil 289(1–2):335–353. doi:10.1007/s11104-006-9143-y

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng X, Wang M, Wang Y, Shen R, Gou J, Li J, ** J, Li L (2000) Impacts of soil moisture on nitrous oxide emission from croplands: a case study on the rice-based agro-ecosystem in Southeast China. Chemos Glob Change Sci 2(2):207–224. doi:10.1016/s1465-9972(99)00056-2

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Geoff Robinson for his valuable help in the field measuring campaign. The Department of Employment, Economic Development & Innovation (DEEDI) for providing the study site and the farm staff for planting and harvesting the experimental plots. This research was undertaken as part of the national Nitrous Oxide Research Program (NORP) funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Department of Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry (DAFF).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Sustainable Resources, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia

    Clemens Scheer, Peter R. Grace & David W. Rowlings

  2. Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Jose Payero

Authors
  1. Clemens Scheer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Peter R. Grace
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David W. Rowlings
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jose Payero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Clemens Scheer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Scheer, C., Grace, P.R., Rowlings, D.W. et al. Soil N2O and CO2 emissions from cotton in Australia under varying irrigation management. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 95, 43–56 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-012-9547-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-012-9547-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation