Nitrous Oxide Emissions from a Long-Term Integrated Crop–Livestock System with Two Levels of P and K Fertilization

Arminda Moreira de Carvalho (), Divina Clea Resende dos Santos, Maria Lucrecia Gerosa Ramos, Robélio Leandro Marchão, Lourival Vilela, Thais Rodrigues de Sousa, Juacy Vitória Malaquias, Adriano Dicesar Martins de Araujo Gonçalves, Thais Rodrigues Coser and Alexsandra Duarte de Oliveira
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Arminda Moreira de Carvalho: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 70910970, Brazil
Divina Clea Resende dos Santos: Faculdade de Agronomia e Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília 70910970, Brazil
Maria Lucrecia Gerosa Ramos: Faculdade de Agronomia e Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília 70910970, Brazil
Robélio Leandro Marchão: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 70910970, Brazil
Lourival Vilela: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 70910970, Brazil
Thais Rodrigues de Sousa: Faculdade de Agronomia e Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília 70910970, Brazil
Juacy Vitória Malaquias: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 70910970, Brazil
Adriano Dicesar Martins de Araujo Gonçalves: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 70910970, Brazil
Thais Rodrigues Coser: Faculdade de Agronomia e Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília 70910970, Brazil
Alexsandra Duarte de Oliveira: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 70910970, Brazil

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions resulting from nitrogen (N) fertilization have been documented. However, no data on the effects of other nutrients, such as phosphate (P) and potassium (K), on N 2 O emissions in integrated crop–livestock systems are available so far. In the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 growing seasons, we measured N 2 O emissions from a long-term system, established in 1991 in the Cerrado biome (a tropical savanna ecoregion in Brazil), fertilized with two P and K levels. The studied no-tillage farming systems consisted of continuous crops fertilized with half of the recommended P and K rates (CC-F1), continuous crops at the recommended P and K rates (CC-F2), an integrated crop–livestock system with half of the recommended P and K rates (ICL-F1), and an integrated crop–livestock at the recommended P and K rates (ICL-F2). The cumulative N 2 O emissions (603 days) and soil chemical properties were analyzed as a 2 × 2 factorial design (long-term agricultural systems x fertilization). The cumulative N 2 O emissions from CC-F2 and ICL-F1 were 2.74 and 1.12 kg N ha −1 , respectively. The yield-scaled N 2 O emissions from soybean were 55.5% lower from ICL-F1 than from CC-F2 in the 2015/2016 growing season. For off-season sorghum, the mean yield-scaled N 2 O emissions were 216 mg N 2 O m −2 kg −1 (in a range from 79.83 to 363.52 mg N 2 O m −2 kg −1 , for ICL-F2 and CC-F1, respectively). The absence of pasture and the presence of soybean and sorghum promoted the highest cumulative N 2 O emissions, favored by the recommended rate in relation to half of the P and K. In the total evaluation period (603 days), the presence of grazed land in the years prior to this study and land fertilized with half the recommended P and K rates in an integrated crop–livestock system reduced the resulting cumulative N 2 O emissions by 59%. Thus, we conclude that crop–livestock systems can be beneficial in reducing P and K applications and also in mitigating N 2 O emissions in comparison with continuous cropping systems fertilized with the full recommended P and K rates. In view of the global fertilizer crisis, this aspect is extremely relevant for agriculture in Brazil and around the world.

Keywords: sustainable agriculture; greenhouse gas emissions; low carbon agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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