Ammonium Fertilizer Reduces Nitrous Oxide Emission Compared to Nitrate Fertilizer While Yielding Equally in a Temperate Grassland

Niharika Rahman and Patrick J. Forrestal
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Niharika Rahman: Crops, Environment and Land Use Programme, Soils, Land Use and Environment Department, Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, Y35 TC97 Co. Wexford, Ireland
Patrick J. Forrestal: Crops, Environment and Land Use Programme, Soils, Land Use and Environment Department, Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, Y35 TC97 Co. Wexford, Ireland

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-12

Abstract: Emissions of nitrous oxide (N 2 O), a potent greenhouse gas, are a challenge associated with application of nitrogen (N) fertilizers to soil. However, N source selection can play a role in reducing these emissions. Nitrous oxide emissions were measured from ammonium (ammonium sulfate) and nitrate (calcium nitrate) fertilizers over one year in temperate grassland using the closed static chamber method. Nitrogen was applied at a system representative rate of 220 kg ha −1 y −1 in six split applications. Cumulative annual N 2 O-N emissions were 0.29 kg ha −1 for the control, 1.07 kg ha −1 for the ammonium fertilizer and significantly higher at 2.54 kg ha −1 for the nitrate fertilizer. The annual emission factor (EF) for the ammonium fertilizer was 0.35% vs 1.02% for the nitrate fertilizer, a 66% reduction in the EF for ammonium vs nitrate and a 2.9 times higher EF for nitrate compared with ammonium. No difference in grass yield or N uptake was detected between fertilizers. This study shows that an ammonium fertilizer produces the same yield and N efficiency as a nitrate fertilizer with lower N 2 O emissions. The results also demonstrate that the nitrate portion of fertilizers is a key factor in N 2 O emissions in temperate grassland. This work is the first of its kind detailing the annual EF of both a solely ammonium-N and a solely nitrate-N fertilizer we could find.

Keywords: nitrogen fertilizer; ammonium sulfate; calcium nitrate; emission factor; yield (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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