ALBERT

Description: Annual emissions of CH 4 and N 2 O, and ecosystem respiration, from eight organic soils in Western Denmark managed by agriculture Biogeosciences Discussions, 8, 10017-10067, 2011 Author(s): S. O. Petersen, C. C. Hoffmann, C.-M. Schäfer, G. Blicher-Mathiesen, L. Elsgaard, K. Kristensen, S. E. Larsen, S. B. Torp, and M. H. Greve The use of organic soils by agriculture involves drainage and tillage, and the resulting increase in C and N turnover can significantly affect their greenhouse gas balance. This study estimated annual fluxes of CH 4 and N 2 O, and ecosystem respiration ( R eco ), from eight organic soils managed by agriculture. The sites were located in three regions representing different landscape types and climatic conditions, and three land use categories (arable crops, AR, grass in rotation, RG, and permanent grass, PG) were covered. The normal management at each site was followed, except that no N inputs occurred during the monitoring period from August 2008 to October 2009. The stratified sampling strategy further included six sampling points in three blocks at each site. Environmental variables (precipitation, PAR, air and soil temperature, soil moisture, groundwater level) were monitored continuously and during sampling campaigns, where also groundwater samples were taken for analysis. Gaseous fluxes were monitored on a three-weekly basis, giving 51, 49 and 38 field campaigns for land use categories AR, PG and RG, respectively. Climatic conditions in each region during monitoring were representative based on 20-yr averages. Peat layers were shallow, typically 0.5 to 1 m, and with a pH of 4–5. At six sites annual emissions of N 2 O were in the range 3 to 24 kg N 2 O-N ha −1 , but at two arable sites (spring barley, potato) net emissions of 38 and 61 kg N 2 O-N ha −1 were recorded. Both were characterized by fluctuating groundwater with elevated SO 4 2− concentrations. Annual fluxes of CH 4 were generally small, as expected, ranging from –2 to 4 kg CH 4 ha −1 . However, two permanent grasslands had tussocks of Juncus effusus (soft rush) in sampling points that were consistent sources of CH 4 throughout the year. Emission factors for organic soils in rotation and permanent grass, respectively, were estimated to be 0.011 and 0.47 g m −2 for CH 4 , and 2.5 and 0.5 g m −2 for N 2 O. This first documentation of CH 4 and N 2 O emissions from managed organic soils in Denmark confirms the levels and wide ranges of emissions previously reported for this region. However, the factorial approach also identified links between gaseous emissions and site-specific conditions with respect to soil, groundwater and vegetation which point to areas of future research that may account for part of the variability and hence lead to improved emission factors or models.