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Received 4 February 2016 Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from the Chilean agricultural sector are primarily associated with the use
Received in revised form 7 May 2016 of nitrogen (N) fertilizers, so that the use of nitrification and urease inhibitors may represent a potential
Accepted 27 June 2016 mitigation option. However, their effectiveness in volcanic ash soils with high organic matter is still
Available online xxx uncertain. In this study, the effect of Dicyandiamide (DCD) and N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide
(NBPT) on soil N2O and CH4 emissions from an oat crop was determined using a fully automated
Keywords: greenhouse gas measuring system. Three urea treatments were evaluated: 120 kg N ha1, 120 kg N
Emission factor ha1 + DCD and 120 kg N ha1 + NBPT (n = 3). A zero treatment (-N) was also considered. Annual N2O
NBPT
emissions ranged from 0.36 to 1.00 kg N2O-N ha1 (P > 0.05) whereas the net uptake of CH4 ranged from
DCD
6.72 to 7.00 kg CH4-C ha-1 (P > 0.05). Increases in N2O emissions were associated with rainfall events, as
Emission intensity
Greenhouse gases characteristic of Mediterranean rain fed ecosystems. Soil CH4 uptake did not vary among treatments but
had a significant role offsetting N2O emissions, resulting in total emissions ranging from 17.1 to 239.0 kg
CO2eq ha1 (P < 0.001). There was no significant effect of DCD or NBPT on average soil mineral N
concentration, and total N2O and CH4 emissions. NBPT significantly increased crop yield and crop N
uptake by 27% and 33% respectively (P < 0.05), resulting in greater N use efficiency. The use of DCD did not
increase productive parameters, but resulted in a 35% reduction of the N2O-N emission intensity
(P < 0.05). The study shows that volcanic ash soils have a relatively low N2O emission potential due to
physic-chemical characteristics and that NBPT could be used to increase N use efficiency in crops, while
DCD has a potential to reduce N2O losses per unit yield.
ã 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.040
0167-8809/ã 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: S. Hube, et al., Effect of nitrification and urease inhibitors on nitrous oxide and methane emissions from an oat
crop in a volcanic ash soil, Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.040
G Model
AGEE 5500 No. of Pages 9
Please cite this article in press as: S. Hube, et al., Effect of nitrification and urease inhibitors on nitrous oxide and methane emissions from an oat
crop in a volcanic ash soil, Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.040
G Model
AGEE 5500 No. of Pages 9
sprayers. Only enough water to allow inhibitors spraying was used application. Acrylic extensions of 50 cm height were used to
( < 0.5 mm m2), to avoid effects on urea dissolution. increase the height of the chamber to a total height of 65 cm.
Experimental plots were imaginary divided in half, one-half Extensions were added when the oat crop reached 15 cm height
was used for N2O and CH4 measuring, the remainder half was used (07th June 2012).
for destructive soil and crop sampling. The automated chambers were sealed airtight during sampling
by two lids that opened and closed via pneumatic actuators. During
2.3. Soil environmental and climatic measurements a measurement cycle, a set of four chambers closed (one chamber
per treatment) for 60 min and each chamber was sequentially
Soil temperature (10 cm depth) and chamber temperature was sampled for 3 min followed by a known calibration standard. This
measured every minute in conjunction with the automatic process was repeated for each chamber four times over the closure
sampling system using a PT100 probe (Temperature Controls period before the chambers reopened and the next set of four
Pty, Australia). Daily values of air temperature (maximum, chambers closed. A complete full cycle of twelve chambers lasted
minimum, and average), relative humidity, wind speed and rainfall for 3 h, during which each chamber was sampled for 1 h and
were recorded with an automatic weather station (CR10X-1 M remained opened for 2 h to restore ambient conditions, allowing
Model, Campbell Scientific Inc., Logan, Utah, USA) placed within eight single fluxes to be determined per chamber each day.
200 m of the experimental site. To minimise a potential climatic impact of the chamber,
transparent tinted plastic coating was placed on the lids to reduce
2.4. Soil and plant analysis heat build-up within the chambers when closed. A tipping bucket
rain gauge (Davis Instruments Corp. CA, USA) and a temperature
Available soil N (NO3-N and NH4+-N) and the soil gravimetric sensor inside of one chamber per experimental block were
water content were measured (0–20 cm) every 15 days after crop connected to the system, to allow for automated opening of the
establishment to explain seasonal variations of N2O and CH4 fluxes. lids during rainfall events (more than 0.4 mm over a 5 min1
At each sampling date, two soil samples were collected from each period) and increases of temperature (over 40 C).
plot, and individually analysed for NO3 and NH4+ by extraction After chamber closure, air samples were automatically pumped
with 2 M KCl (Sadzawka et al., 2006). Soil water content was from the chamber’s headspace into the sampling unit with a flow
determined gravimetrically after drying the sample at 105 C for rate of 200 ml min1. At the end of a 3 min sampling period a 3 ml
24 h (Rowell, 1997). The water-filled pore space (WFPS) was gas sample was injected into the carrier stream of a gas
calculated from the gravimetric water content results, using results chromatograph (SRI 8610C, Torrance/USA) equipped with a 63Ni
of the initial soil bulk andparticle densities (Table 1). Bulk density electron capture detector (ECD) for N2O analysis and a flame
was again measured after harvest on the grassland naturally ionization detector (FID) for CH4 analysis. To minimize the
developed at the site. This information was used to analyse the interference of moisture vapour and CO2 on N2O measurement,
implications for WFPS. a pre-column filled with sodium-hydroxide-coated silica was
Plots were harvest on 22th January 2013 and samples from installed upstream of the ECD and changed regularly. Sample gas
straw, cape (including seed shell, glumes and the spike’s rachis) measurements were calibrated automatically by a single point
and grain were collected from each plot to determine dry mater calibration using certified gas standards (Air Liquide, Dallas, TX,
(DM) concentration and total yield (t DM ha1), at 60 C for 48 h USA) of 0.5 ppm N2O and 2.5 ppm CH4. The detection limit of the
(Sadzawka et al., 2007). Total N in each component was system was c. 2.0 mg N2O-N and 2.0 mg CH4-C m2 h1; and
determined by the Kjeldahl digestion method (Sadzawka et al., 10.0 mg N2O-N and CH4-C mg m2 h1 with extensions in placed,
2007) and used to calculate total N uptake per treatment. Using N for N2O. Sample dilution via leakage was considered negligible.
uptake values the apparent NUE was estimated according to:
2.6. Flux calculations
NþN NZ
NUE ¼ 100
NA
Fluxes of N2O and CH4 from the automated chambers were
where NþN is the nitrogen accumulation in the total aboveground calculated from the slope of the linear increase or decrease of the
biomass (grain + straw + cape) in the +N treatment (kg), NZ is the four concentrations measured over the enclosure time, similarly to
nitrogen accumulation in the total aboveground biomass (grain + the procedure outlined by Barton et al. (2008). Flux rates were
straw + cape) in the Zero N treatment (kg) and NA is the amount of expressed on an elemental weight basis as both mg N2O-N m2 h1
nitrogen applied (kg). and g N2O-N ha1 day1 for N2O, and mg CH4-C m2 h1 and g CH4-
Yield information was also used to estimate the N2O emission C ha1 day1 for CH4. The flux rates were calculated and corrected
intensity of each treatment, calculated as the ratio of total N2O for air temperature, atmospheric pressure and the ratio of chamber
emissions per unit of DM yield. volume to surface area as follows:
Please cite this article in press as: S. Hube, et al., Effect of nitrification and urease inhibitors on nitrous oxide and methane emissions from an oat
crop in a volcanic ash soil, Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.040
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AGEE 5500 No. of Pages 9
where 0.02241 m3 is 22.41 L mol volume, T is the chamber and moderately acid water pH (Table 1), typical characteristics in
temperature during the measurement (Kelvin), p0 is air pressure most Andisols of this area (Vistoso et al., 2012; Alfaro et al., 2006).
at sea level and p1 is the air pressure at the experimental site. Air A total of 814.6 mm rain fell during the study period, lower than
pressure at the site was estimated from the height above sea level the 39-yr average (1253.2 mm) for this site for the same period. The
using a barometric equation. minimum, maximum and mean air daily temperature over the
Daily fluxes were calculated by averaging sub-daily measure- experimental period was 5.9, 16.4 and 10.7 C respectively, similar
ments for each chamber over the 24 h period (midnight to to the 39-yr average (5.8, 16.8, 11.2 C, respectively). The minimum
midnight) before averaging across the three replicate chambers. To air temperature was registered during June (-4.1 C) and the
calculate seasonal cumulative fluxes, calculated daily fluxes were maximum air temperature was registered during January (33.4 C).
then summed according to the measurement period before Average soil temperature (0–10 cm) was 12 C with the lowest soil
averaging across the three replicate chambers. Gaps in the dataset temperatures in the June to August period and minimum soil daily
were filled by linear interpolation across missing days. temperature of 4.9 C during July. Highest soil temperatures were
observed in the January–February period with a maximum of
2.7. Equivalent CO2 emissions (CO2 eq) and emission factor 20.7 C during January (Fig. 1b).
The WFPS (0–20 cm) varied over the season in response to
The concept of CO2 eq allows assessing the radiative forcing of rainfall events, ranging from 33.0 to 85.3%, with the lowest value
different GHG’s relative to the reference gas, in this case CO2, over a registered in the summer (end of January) and the highest value
specific time horizon. The study only refers to the equivalent registered in winter (June) (Fig. 1a), but did not differ among
emissions of CH4 and N2O emissions from the investigated treatments (P > 0.05). The final bulk density check was carried out
agroecosystems. Soil-borne CO2 emissions were not taken into after the experiment was finished providing a final value of
account for the calculation. The equivalence was calculated using 0.72 0.01 g cm3 (0–20 cm depth). When bulk density was used
the CO2-equivalents of 25 and 298 for CH4 and N2O, respectively to re-estimate the WFPS, the new values obtained ranged between
(IPCC, 2007), and expressed in kilograms of carbon dioxide 37.6 to 97.4%, because of a reduction in total pore space from 62.7 to
equivalents per hectare per day. The CO2 eq concept allows 59.6% over the period.
comparing N2O and CH4 fluxes and assessing the relative
contribution of these two gases on a reference scale, according 3.2. Soil NO3 and NH4+
to following formulas:
Soil available N (NO3-N + NH4+-N) varied during year, with the
gN2 ON 44
GWPðN2 OÞ½gCO2 eq=ha=day ¼ x1 298 highest concentrations prior to the tiller stage N fertilizer
haday 28
application (Figs. 2a and b).
At the beginning of the cropping season soil NH4+-N varied
between 11.32 1.78 and 63.71 11.94 mg kg1, with higher
gCH4 C 16
GWPðCH4 Þ½gCO2 eq=ha=day ¼ x2 25
haday 12
where x1 = average daily N2O-N emission rate (g N2O-N ha1 day1)
x2 = average daily CH4-C emission rate (g CH4-C ha1 day1)
The EF for N-N2O, this is the fraction of N applied lost as N2O,
discounted the emission in the Zero N treatment, was estimated as
follow:
AB
Emission Factor ðEFÞ ¼ 100
C
where A is N2O-N emitted (kg) in any of the +N treatment, B is N2O-
N emitted (kg) by the Zero N treatment, and C is the amount of N
applied (kg).
3. Results
Please cite this article in press as: S. Hube, et al., Effect of nitrification and urease inhibitors on nitrous oxide and methane emissions from an oat
crop in a volcanic ash soil, Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.040
G Model
AGEE 5500 No. of Pages 9
Fig. 3. Daily N2O-N fluxes (a) and daily CH4-C fluxes (b) over time for the different
treatments during the experimental period (March 2012–March 2013). Original
data with no interpolation. The arrows indicate the timing of fertilizer application.
concentrations in the fertilized plots (P < 0.05). Fifty days after
seeding, concentrations increased up to 64.40 11.64 and
204.95 37.73 mg kg1 (Fig. 2a), for the Zero N and +N treatments, (P < 0.05), similarly to what was observed in February 2013
respectively (P > 0.001). Twelve days after the second urea (P < 0.05; Fig. 2b).
application a significant increase of concentration was observed
in the Urea + DCD treatment (204.44 24.40 mg kg1), in compar- 3.3. Plant yield and N uptake
ison to the Urea + NBPT and urea treatments (100.65 7.14 and
79.86 7.04 mg kg1, respectively). All +N treatments were higher Total aboveground biomass was in the range of 7.03–16.13 t
than the Zero N (4.39 4.60 mg kg 1) (P < 0.001) (Fig. 2a). During ha1, with the highest biomass in the Urea + NBPT treatment
winter (June-September), soil N-NH4 was low (Fig. 2a). (Table 2; P < 0.001). This resulted in a greater NUE in this treatment
Soil NO3-N concentrations after seeding were low, varying (Table 2; P < 0.05).
between 27.85 6.88 and 37.73 4.7 mg kg1 (P > 0.05), with a
significant increase after 50 days of seeding for all treatments 3.4. Daily and cumulative N2O and CH4 fluxes
(Fig. 2b) up to 58.87 11.68 to 210.81 11.95 mg kg1, in the Zero N
and +N treatments, respectively (P < 0.001). After tiller stage 3.4.1. N2O fluxes
application (12 and 40 days), the Urea + NBPT treatment showed an Daily N2O-N emissions showed high temporal and spatial
increase in concentration in relation to the other treatments variability (Fig. 3). Values ranged from 4.56 0.03 to 26.19 5.31
Table 2
Crop productive parameters, greenhouse gases emission and carbon balance for the different treatments (n = 3, standard error of the mean).
Crop Total yield t ha1 7.03 0.69 c 12.70 1.29 b 11.26 0.67 b 16.13 0.54 a
N grain g kg1 17.00 1.00 a 16.33 0.33 a 13.00 1.73 a 13.33 1.76 a
N straw g kg1 6.67 0.88 a 6.00 0.00 a 6.33 0.33 a 6.33 0.88 a
N uptake kg N ha1 47.45 6.72 b 78.35 8.02 ab 72.18 1.23 ab 104.21 17.30 a
N use efficiency % No 25.75 7.19 b 20.61 5.28 b 47.30 9.29 a
GHG emissions Annual N2O-N emission kg N2O-N ha1 0.36 0.12 a 1.00 0.30 a 0.55 0.25 a 0.98 0.36 a
N2O emissions intensity g N2O-N t DM 1 53.92 22.95 b 76.39 16.31 a 49.28 21.27 b 61.59 23.55 a
N emission factor % No 0.54 0.30 a 0.16 0.19 a 0.52 0.21 a
CH4-C uptake kg CH4-C ha1 -6.72 0.45 a 7.00 0.11 a 6.96 0.03 a 6.99 0.31 a
Carbon balance kg CO2 eq ha1 17.08 77.90 c 238.96 143.25 a 28.72 115.69 b 263.67 188.48 a
Different letters in columns indicate significant differences among treatments (P < 0.05).
Please cite this article in press as: S. Hube, et al., Effect of nitrification and urease inhibitors on nitrous oxide and methane emissions from an oat
crop in a volcanic ash soil, Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.040
G Model
AGEE 5500 No. of Pages 9
g N2O-N ha1 day1, with one emission peak in all +N treatments Annual emissions reported in this paper are based on one year of
22 days after the tiller stage application and the highest values for measurements, although a greater length would have been
Urea + NBPT (26.19 5.31 g N2O-N ha1 day1) followed by Urea desirable to account for climate variability (Barton et al., 2008).
and Urea + DCD (21.215 4.05 and 11.36 0.77 g N2O ha1 day1, The impact of irrigation on N2O emissions remains as an area of
respectively). Emission decreased in all treatments during winter interest for crops production in southern Chile, as it is expected
until background values. Annual N2O-N emissions did not differ this management would increase emissions (Saggar et al., 2013;
among treatments (P > 0.05; Table 2). Cayuela et al., 2016).
Highest N2O emissions were associated with the start of the
3.4.2. CH4 fluxes rainfall season rather than to N application (Figs. 1 and 3), in
Daily CH4 fluxes varied between 1.86 1.54 and 66.38 agreement with Mummey et al. (1997) and Barton et al. (2008) for
21.65 g CH4-C ha1 day1, without differences between treat- annual N2O losses from rain fed systems such as those under
ments (P > 0.05). During spring, CH4-C uptake increased, with an Mediterranean conditions. We recorded eighteen 10 mm rainfall
average uptake rate of 63.1 1.43 g CH4-C ha1 day1. after seeding, and 14 of them occurred during the 60 days after
Annual CH4-C uptake ranged between 6.72 0.45 to fertilizer application (Fig. 1), corresponding to 39% of the total
7.00 0.11 kg CH4-C ha1 (Table 2), without differences between annual rainfall. Our results could be related to the increase in N
treatments (P > 0.05). mineralization during the summer period, which would lead to
higher soil available NO3 with the first rainfall of the autumn, as
3.5. Intensity of emissions, CO2 eq and Emissions Factors described for andisoils in the area of the study (Lagos et al., 2014),
and thus, to greater potential N losses as N2O at this time of the
3.5.1. Intensity of N2O-N emission year.
Intensity of N2O-N emission varied between 49.3 21.3 to After the tiller stage fertilizer application the most significant
76.4 16.3 g N2O-N t1 (Table 2). The largest emission intensity increases in soil available N were found in all +N treatments with a
was observed in the Urea and Urea + NBPT treatments (76.4 16.3 significant effect of the NBPT for soil NH4+-N, consistent with
and 61.6 23.5 g N2O-N t1, respectively; P < 0.05). The use of DCD results of Vistoso et al. (2012) for N autumn application (April) on a
reduced emission intensity, in comparison to other +N treatments. grassland Andisol. Moreover, soil NO3-N increased 12 days after
the tiller stage application in all +N treatments, in agreement with
3.5.2. CO2 eq emissions and Emission Factors nitrification periods reported previously by Cartes et al. (2009) and
Equivalent CO2 emissions were positive in all +N treatments Cardenas et al. (2013) for this soil type. Nevertheless, this was not
(Fig. 4), however a significant reduction of emissions was observed associated to further N2O peaks.
when including the capture provided by CH4 (P < 0.001). The low N2O emissions and its lack of relationship with soil
Emission factors were lower than 1% in all treatments (Table 2), available N has been previously described for volcanic ash soils of
with no differences among +N treatments (P > 0.05). southern Chile (Vistoso et al., 2012; Alfaro et al., 2016). This would
agree with previous studies by Huygens et al. (2007) and Cardenas
4. Discussion et al. (2013), who show reduce soil N availability, due to high
dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) activity and
Daily N2O-N emissions ranged from 4.56 to 26.19 g N2O- NH4+ adsorption on clay minerals, respectively, as mechanisms
N ha1 day1, with a total loss ranging from 0.4 to 1 kg N2O- limiting the oxidation of NH4+ to NO3 and thereafter. This results
N ha1 yr 1, and no effect of N addition on overall emissions. These in reduce leaching (Salazar et al., 2012) and gas (Alfaro et al., 2016)
values are in the lower range of emissions reported globally across losses. It is also possible than in this soil, a grater abundance of
a variety of climatic regions, with values usually varying from 0.3 to nosZI denitrifying genes in soil bacteria (Cardenas et al., 2013)
16.8 kg N-N2O ha1 yr 1 and lower values in low N inputs systems would result in a complete (N2) rather than incomplete (N2O)
(Stehfest and Bouwman, 2006), suggesting a low potential of denitrification of the small amounts of soil available NO3. In
cropping areas for N2O emissions under Mediterranean-rain fed addition, preliminary results of our group show that nosZII is
conditions. This agrees with the low EF reported by Cayuela et al. present in bacterial DNA from these soils (data not shown),
(2016) in a meta-analysis carried out for Mediterranean areas. contributing again to total denitrification, although future studies
are necessary to clarify the importance and function of this gene in
Chilean volcanic ash soils.
The frequency of soil N sampling could have prevented the
detection of differences among treatments for soil available N
concentrations closer to N fertilizer addition, or it might have
resulted in incomplete soil N peaks detection. We suggest that in
further studies, soil N sampling frequency after N addition should
be increased to avoid this bias.
The EF calculated for the use of urea in this experiment was half
the 1% default IPCC value (IPCC, 2006) currently being used in the
Chilean GHG Inventory. Thus, this information would contribute to
the accuracy of the Chilean inventory. These low values agree with
those reported by Cayuela et al. (2016) for rain fed Mediterranean
regions (>450 mm rainfall per year). Furthermore, although no
significant, the use of DCD reduced the EF by 70%, from 0.54%
(Urea) to 0.16%, representing a potential alternative for further
reductions, in concordance with Akiyama et al. (2010) and Cayuela
et al. (2016), having positive and significant implications for the
overall CO2 balance of the system. The lack of statistical
Fig. 4. Equivalent greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 eq) per treatment for the significance was associated to the high variability of N2O emissions
experimental period (March 2012–March 2013). registered, in agreement with Saggar et al. (2009). The addition of
Please cite this article in press as: S. Hube, et al., Effect of nitrification and urease inhibitors on nitrous oxide and methane emissions from an oat
crop in a volcanic ash soil, Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.040
G Model
AGEE 5500 No. of Pages 9
NBPT did not reduced the EF, probably because the hydrolysis of In contrast, the yield increase observed in the N + NBPT
urea is not directly related to N2O emissions, in contrast to treatment creates an opportunity to increase NUE in such cropping
nitrification. Thus, the use of NBPT would only delay the hydrolysis systems, in agreement with Abalos et al. (2014), who also reported
of urea, but all the fertilizer would eventually be hydrolysed an increase in crop yield with the use of this inhibitor, in
(Akiyama et al., 2010). The EF values reported here, although low comparison with the use of nitrification inhibitors. Areas of further
are higher than those generated by Vistoso et al. (2012) for the use work include the application of reduced N rates associated to the
of urea in a grassland Andisol. This was probably associated to the use of this inhibitor, in response to an increase of 1.8 times in the
added effect of i) timing of application, as a result of increasing NUE. It is possible that the proposed reduction for rain fed areas
losses at the beginning of the winter period in this experiment and, could account for the additional cost of using this product for
ii) increasing rates (84 versus 45 kg N ha1 applied in the present farmers, favouring the adoption of this technology. Furthermore,
versus the grassland study, respectively). the use of NBPT did not directly reduce N2O emissions but it can
Our results for CH4-C uptake are substantially higher than reduce NH3 volatilization, as studies on grassland soils in the area
values reported for other arable cropping systems. In a meta- have shown (Salazar et al., 2014; Alfaro et al., 2016), which would
analysis, Dalal et al. (2008) reported mean rates of CH4 reduce indirect N2O losses by reducing secondary N2O deposition
consumption of 3.1 1.6 g CH4-C ha1 day1 for arable cropping after NH3 volatilization. In these field experiments, the reduction
soils. This is 10–20 times lower than the average uptake rates on NH3 volatilization has ranged between 8% (cold and wet
observed in our study. This high CH4 uptake provides evidence of a conditions) and 30% (dry and warm conditions) of the N
natural high uptake capacity of the Andisol, related to its high application (100 kg N ha1 equivalent, urea application; Salazar
porosity and low bulk density, allowing for high rates of gas et al., 2014). Because in the present experiment the N + NBPT
diffusion into the soil. It has been demonstrated that soil gas application was carried out under wet and cooler conditions (May),
diffusivity is the main regulator of CH4 uptake, being influenced by and a lower N input was used (84 kg N ha1), it is expected that NH3
a combination of dynamic (soil moisture content and soil volatilization losses would be found at the lower end of this range.
temperature) and structural (soil bulk density and soil porosity) This would also agree with the NH4+ soil data, which were lower in
factors (Fest et al., 2009). The annual uptake rates reported here are the Urea + NBPT treatment at the beginning of the experiment,
also 1.9 times higher than those reported for and andisoil in Japan immediately after the second N and inhibitors addition. Our results
by Yonemura et al. (2013), who registered an uptake of 3.6 kg CH4- suggest that the use of NBPT represents a clear opportunity to
C ha1 yr1. In both cases, a low uptake over the winter period was increase NUE because of the potential significant impact of this loss
measured associated to an increase in soil moisture and the on effective N availability for the crop. Thus, an integrated strategy
corresponding lack of adequate aerobic conditions, which together considering both inhibitors throughout the year may improve both
with low temperatures, would reduce bacterial activity. In the case the crop NUE, and thus the economic benefit for famers, and the
of the current study, an increase in CH4-C uptake during the crop- environmental performance of agricultural systems.
growing season was observed, probably related to C sequestration Further studies are required to develop mechanisms to enhance
as plant biomass and its transformation into soil organic matter, in CH4 capture in these volcanic soils, as together with the low
agreement with Johnson et al. (2007). potential for N2O losses and the mitigation effect of DCD, it
The high CH4 uptake registered in all treatments provides represents an opportunity for the development of low C emitting
evidence of the soil natural capacity to capture C, with a significant cropping systems in volcanic ash soils.
contribution to N2O emissions offsetting, especially when DCD was
applied, as in this treatment N2O emissions were reduced to
5. Conclusions
background levels (Fig. 4), resulting in a significant reduction in the
overall CO2 emissions for this cropping system.
Total N2O losses were low and ranged from 0.36 to 1.00 kg N2O-
High CH4 uptake is a potential opportunity for N2O mitigation
N ha1 yr1. The highest peak of emissions was associated with the
within the agricultural sector of Chile, and for Mediterranean
start of the rainfall season rather than the time of the N application,
cropping systems with increasing soil activity. It would also
probably associated to soil processes limiting the oxidation of NH4+
contribute to reach the target of 30% reduction in emissions per
to NO3 and thereafter. The EF calculated for the use of urea as
unit of economic growth, in relation to the 2007 reference value,
fertilizer in crops under rainfed conditions was half the 1% default
submitted by Chile to the United Nations Framework on Climate
IPCC value. The high CH4 uptake registered in all treatments
Change (UNFCC) as it Intended Nationally Determined Contribu-
provides evidence of the soil natural capacity to capture C, which
tion (iNDC) for the 2020–2030 period (Gobierno de Chile, 2015).
almost completely offset N2O emissions, resulting in a significant
The lack of significant effect of the use of DCD on crop yield and
reduction in the overall CO2 eq emissions. The use of N + DCD
NUE could limit farmers’ adoption of this technology because of
resulted in a significant reduction of the N2O emission intensity.
the additional cost associated to the inclusion of this practice and
The increase in yield observed in the N + NBPT treatment creates an
the lack of direct benefit. As discussed previously, this would be
opportunity to increase NUE in cropping systems, while having a
associated to the NH4+ adsorption and limited availability in soil
significant reduction on indirect N2O losses by reducing secondary
solution, so that nitrification (and then denitrification) would be
N2O deposition after NH3 volatilization. The study shows that
naturally limited in the soil with no effect of external inhibitors
volcanic ash soils have almost neutral emissions due to their
additions. Additionally, this could also be associated to the use of a
unique nature of high methane CH4 uptake and limited NH4+ soil
cereal for the experiment and the low N input applied, as impacts
availability. The combination of these processes provides a
of inhibitors on productivity and NUE have been reported to be
potential opportunity for GHG mitigation within the agricultural
significant (25% increase in yield and 32% increase in NUE) in
sector of Chile.
permanent grasslands (Di and Cameron, 2016), and with applica-
tion rates >300 kg N ha1 (Abalos et al., 2014). However, its effect
Acknowledgements
on N2O emissions intensity reduction and overall CO2 balance, if
compared with the other +N treatments, opens a window of
We thank to the Australian Government for the donation of the
opportunity as a potential mitigation option in Mediterranean
equipment, and to INIA for funding this research. We also thank to
cropping ecosystems, especially in vegetables or industrial crops (
Mrs. Ana Rosas for her help in laboratory matters.
Abalos et al., 2014).
Please cite this article in press as: S. Hube, et al., Effect of nitrification and urease inhibitors on nitrous oxide and methane emissions from an oat
crop in a volcanic ash soil, Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.040
G Model
AGEE 5500 No. of Pages 9
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crop in a volcanic ash soil, Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.040