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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lincoln, Nebraska » Agroecosystem Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #305724
Title: Effect of irrigation on short-term pulses of greenhouse gas fluxes from manure-amended soils

Author
item Miller, Daniel
item Jin, Virginia
item Woodbury, Bryan
item GOESCHEL, TYLER - Former ARS Employee

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Manure is a valuable crop fertilizer but may release greenhouse gases during application and subsequent decomposition. A long-term study to evaluate the effect of irrigation on greenhouse gas fluxes when cattle feedlot manure was applied every other year was initiated at a continuous corn production site. Two levels of irrigation (100% and 60%) and two levels of nitrogen fertilizer (125 and 200 kg nitrogen/hectare) were established in plots with manure application times ranging from no history of application, application two years ago, or fresh manure application. Fluxes of carbon dioxide were higher from all plots receiving fresh manure, and no differences were observed for methane or nitrous oxide immediately after fresh manure application. Immediately after the irrigation event (four days after fresh manure application), all plots, regardless of manure application history, had higher carbon dioxide fluxes. For plots that received manure (either fresh or two years prior), nitrous oxide fluxes were also greater than soils that received no manure, except for the low irrigation/low nitrogen fertilizer plots that were similar to no manure plots. Methane was consumed in most soils except after irrigation in the high irrigation/high nitrogen fertilizer plots that generally produced methane.

Technical Abstract: Greenhouse gas fluxes were monitored at a no-till continuous corn field site contrasting irrigation rates (60% versus 100%), overall nitrogen fertilizer rates (125 versus 200 kg N/ha), and biennial application of cattle feedlot manure. Greenhouse gas fluxes were assessed after the manure application and after a single irrigation event 4 days after manure application using vented static chambers. All four treatment combinations receiving fresh manure (60% Irr/125N, 60%Irr/200N, 100% Irr/125N, and 100% Irr/200N) showed enhanced CO2 fluxes on the day of manure application, but the other gas fluxes (N2O and CH4) were unaffected. Irrigation produced an immediate 5- to 10-fold increase in CO2 flux from all treatments regardless of manure amendment history (none, 2 years ago, 4 days ago). Enhanced N2O irrigation fluxes were also observed for both manure amendments upon irrigation, but CH4 fluxes were largely unaffected with soils serving as a sink. For the entire 15-day study period, the integrated N2O emissions from fresh and old (2 years previously) manured plots were 2.5 to 6 fold higher than no manure plots, with the exception of the 60%Irr/125N treatment that received manure 2 years ago and emitted similarly to no manure plots. Integrated CO2 emissions were similar regardless of treatment and manure history. Soils were a sink for CH4 except in the 100%Irr/200N treatment where soils released CH4.