INFLUENCE OF GROWN CULTURE ON N2O FORMATION

Abstract

Crop cultivation is beneficial for reducing soil erosion and nutrient loss, but there is conflicting information on how crop cultivation affects emissions of nitrogen dioxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas. Judicious selection of the cultivated crop in a plant succession is considered an effective approach to maintaining crop productivity. In this paper, we investigated the effects of cultivated crops on soil N2O emissions. Eight crops were used in this study: barley, buckwheat, clover, oats, potatoes, spring wheat, winter wheat and canola. Samples were collected in 32 experimental plots as well as a control plot. The samples are thus weighed in 3 l buckets, each 1.8 kg in total. Two samples were weighed from each plot to allow for different moisture regimes. Moistening is designed for wet aerobic and wet anaerobic soil conditions. Information on changes in soil weight after soil wetting was also collected. Measurements of N2O isotopes were performed using the Picarro G5131-i equipment in laboratory conditions. The obtained data were collected and analyzed. It was concluded that not all the obtained differences in N2O isotope data dispersion can be directly related to the cultivated crop, the physical properties of the soil, the use of fertilizers and the influence of the microorganism population cannot be excluded. The maximum value of ?15NSP value is 18.58 and the minimum value is -53.41. On the other hand, the maximum value of ?15Nbulk values is 26.76, and the minimum value is -56.97. In the conclusions, we get that both nitrification and denitrification dominate among cultures.