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Title: Residual effects of fertilization history increase nitrous oxide emissions from zero-N controls:Implications for estimating fertilizer-induced emission factors

Author
item LAHUE, GABIEL - University Of California
item VAN KESSEL, CHRIS - University Of California
item LINQUIST, BRUCE - University Of California
item Adviento-Borbe, Arlene
item FONTE, STEVEN - Colorado State University

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/16/2016
Publication Date: 5/31/2016
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/63167
Citation: Lahue, G.T., Van Kessel, C., Linquist, B.A., Adviento-Borbe, A.A., Fonte, S.J. 2016. Residual effects of fertilization history increase nitrous oxide emissions from zero-N controls:Implications for estimating fertilizer-induced emission factors. Journal of Environmental Quality. doi:10.2134/JEQ.2015-0409.

Interpretive Summary: Application of N fertilizer to cropped fields is the major source of global anthropogenic emissions of N2O. Estimates of fertilizer-induced N2O emission are calculated based on the amount N applied and a zero-N control plot. According to the International Panel in Climate Change scientists, the fertilizer-induced emission factor for N2O has been suggested at 1% but there are large uncertainties in estimates of N2O emissions from agriculture. This study demonstrates that the long-term applications of fertilizer N in zero-N control plots have significant influence on fertilizer-induced N2O emissions because of residual impact of N inputs independent of the current N applied in the field. In calculating IPCC fertilizer-induced emission factor and the contributions of fertilizer N to agricultural N2O emissions, the past N fertilization should be considered.

Technical Abstract: Agricultural N fertilization is the dominant driver of increasing atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations over the past half century, yet there is considerable uncertainty in estimates of N2O emissions from agriculture. Such estimates are typically based on the amount of N applied and a fertilizer-induced emission factor (EF), which is calculated as the difference in emissions between a fertilized plot and a zero-N control plot divided by the amount of N applied. A fertilizer-induced EF of 1% is currently recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) based on several studies analyzing published field measurements of N2O emissions. Although many zero-N control plots used in these measurements received historical N applications, the potential for a residual impact of these inputs on N2O emissions has been largely ignored and remains poorly understood. To address this issue, we compared N2O emissions under laboratory conditions from soils sampled within zero-N control plots that had historically received N inputs versus soils from plots that had no N inputs for 20 yr. Historical N fertilization of zero-Ncontrol plots increased initial N2O emissions by roughly one order of magnitude on average relative to historically unfertilized control plots. Higher N2O emissions were positively correlated with extractable N and potentially mineralizable N. This finding suggests that accounting for fertilization history may help reduce the uncertainty associated with the IPCC fertilizer-induced EF and more accurately estimate the contribution of fertilizer N to agricultural N2O emissions, although further research to demonstrate this relationship in the field is needed.