Production and reduction of nitrous oxide in agricultural and forest soils

Abstract

Abstract: A soil water slurry experiment was conducted to study the potentials of N₂O production and reduction in denitrification of agricultural and beech forest soils in Denmark. The effects of nitrate and ammonium additions on denitrification were also investigated. The forest soil showed a higher denitrification potential than the agricultural soil. However, N₂O reduction potential of the agricultural soil was higher than the beech forest soil, shown by the ratio of N₂O/N₂ approximately 0.11 and 3.65 in the agricultural and the beech forest soils, respectively. Both nitrate and ammonium additions stimulated the N₂O production in the two soils, but reduced the N₂O reduction rates in the agricultural soil slurries. In contrast to the effect on the agricultural soil, nitrate reduced the N₂O reduction rate in the beech forest soil, while ammonium showed a stimulating effect on the N₂O reduction activity. After one week incubation, all of the N₂O produced was reduced to N₂ in the agricultural soil when nitrate was still present. Nitrous oxide reduction in the beech forest soil occurred only when nitrate almost disappeared. The different nitrate inhibitory effect on the N₂O reduction activity in the two soils was due to the difference in soil pH. Inhibition of nitrate on N₂O reduction was significant under acidic condition. Consequently, soil could serve as a sink of atmospheric N₂O under the conditions of anaerobic, pH near neutral and low nitrate content.

Key words: Denitrification, N₂O reduction, Greenhouse gases, N₂O/N₂ ratio

YU Kewei, CHEN Guanxiong, StenStruwe, Annelise KjФller. Production and reduction of nitrous oxide in agricultural and forest soils[J]. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 2000, (3): 385-389.

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