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Effect of carbon rate and type amended with ammonium or nitrate on nitrous oxide emissions in a strong ammonia oxidation soil

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

The work aimed to (1) better understand how C rate and type affecting N2O emissions when combined application with different N forms in a strong ammonia oxidation soil, (2) further explore the tradeoff and mechanism of C availability to N transformations, and (3) provide evidence for making targeted N2O mitigation measures in these kinds of agricultural soils.

Materials and methods

The soil was collected from a typical farmer’s field in Quzhou, Hebei province, China, classified as calcareous Cambisols (FAO classification system) and characterized with high pH (7.72), low organic C (9.1 g kg−1), and a strong ammonia oxidation potential. Two microcosm incubations were conducted in laboratory under 20 °C and 70% WFPS (water-filled pore space), and the soils were amended with different glucose rates (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 mg C kg−1) in Exp I, and with different C sources (glucose, pectin, starch, cellulose, lignin, straw) in Exp II, meanwhile with NH4+ or NO3−-based fertilizer addition. 480 g (equivalent to oven-dried weight) of pre-incubated soil was placed in a glass jar (1165 mL volume) and adjusted to a field bulk density of 1.34 g cm−3. All the glass jars were placed randomly and incubated for 15 days under aerobic condition.

Results and discussion

Alone application of NH4+ released more N2O (peak at 16.27 μg N kg−1) than alone NO3− application. However, combined application of glucose with NO3− could emit more N2O than when combined with NH4+, and the highest N2O peak value was found in 0.5 g kg−1of glucose. When pectin is combined with NH4+, resulted in higher accumulated N2O emissions than other C sources, while applying straw and cellulose had negligible effects on N2O emissions but enhanced CO2 emissions under the incubation conditions. Glucose and pectin were identified as two labile C sources, significantly enhanced N2O emissions. As expected, C addition could stimulate mineral N immobilization.

Conclusions

Combined application of C and N enhanced N2O and CO2 emissions albeit to different extents. A higher accumulated N2O emission was found when C/N ratio was lower (12.5). The stimulating effect of glucose and pectin as labile C sources with N addition on N2O production should be considered, especially in soils with high pH, low organic C, and a strong ammonia oxidation potential. Therefore, it may have the potential to mitigate N2O emissions from the field when avoiding applying both N and C especially rich in glucose and pectin together.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41830751, 41807036) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFD0200105).

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  1. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Beijing, 100193, China

    Liuqing Yang, Rui Liu & Xiaotang Ju

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  1. Liuqing Yang
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  2. Rui Liu
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Correspondence to Xiaotang Ju.

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Responsible editor: Zucong Cai

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Yang, L., Liu, R. & Ju, X. Effect of carbon rate and type amended with ammonium or nitrate on nitrous oxide emissions in a strong ammonia oxidation soil. J Soils Sediments 20, 1253–1263 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02524-y

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