The Effects of Land-Use Change from Grassland to Miscanthus x giganteus on Soil N 2 O Emissions

Brendan Roth, Michael Jones, James Burke and Michael Williams
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Brendan Roth: Department of Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
Michael Jones: Department of Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
James Burke: Crops Environment and Land Use Programme, Teagasc Crop Research Centre, Oak Park, Carlow, Ireland
Michael Williams: Department of Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

Land, 2013, vol. 2, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: A one year field trial was carried out on three adjacent unfertilised plots; an 18 year old grassland, a 14 year old established Miscanthus crop, and a 7 month old newly planted Miscanthus crop. Measurements of N 2 O, soil temperature, water filled pore space (WFPS), and inorganic nitrogen concentrations, were made every one to two weeks. Soil temperature, WFPS and NO 3 − and NH 4 + concentrations were all found to be significantly affected by land use. Temporal crop effects were also observed in soil inorganic nitrogen dynamics, due in part to C 4 litter incorporation into the soil under Miscanthus . Nonetheless, soil N 2 O fluxes were not significantly affected by land use. Cumulative yearly N 2 O fluxes were relatively low, 216 ± 163, 613 ± 294, and 377 ± 132 g·N·ha −1 ·yr −1 from the grassland, newly planted Miscanthus , and established Miscanthus plots respectively, and fell within the range commonly observed for unfertilised grasslands dominated by perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne ). Higher mean cumulative fluxes were measured in the newly planted Miscanthus , which may be linked to a possible unobserved increase immediately after establishment. However, these differences were not statistically significant. Based on the results of this experiment, land-use change from grassland to Miscanthus will have a neutral impact on medium to long-term N 2 O emissions.

Keywords: land-use change; N 2 O; bioenergy crops; Miscanthus (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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