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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Soil Management and Sugarbeet Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #380829
Research Project: Management Practices for Long Term Productivity of Great Plains Agriculture

Location: Soil Management and Sugarbeet Research

Title: Modeling nitrous oxide mitigation potential of enhanced efficiency nitrogen fertilizers from agricultural systems

Author
item GURUNG, RAM - Colorado State University
item OGLE, STEPHEN - Colorado State University
item BREIDT, JAY - Colorado State University
item PARTON, WILLIAM - Colorado State University
item Del Grosso, Stephen - Steve
item ZHANG, TAO - Colorado State University
item HARTMAN, MELANNIE - Colorado State University
item WILLIAMS, STEPHEN - Colorado State University
item Venterea, Rodney - Rod

Submitted to: Science of the Total Environment
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/25/2021
Publication Date: 8/8/2021
Citation: Gurung, R., Ogle, S., Breidt, J., Parton, W., Del Grosso, S.J., Zhang, T., Hartman, M., Williams, S., Venterea, R.T. 2021. Modeling nitrous oxide mitigation potential of enhanced efficiency nitrogen fertilizers from agricultural systems. Science of the Total Environment. 801. Article e149342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149342.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149342

Interpretive Summary: Agriculture soils are responsible for a large proportion of global nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. It is important to mitigate these emissions because N2O is a potent greenhouse gas and ozone depleting substance. Enhanced efficiency nitrogen (N) fertilizers (EENFs) can reduce N2O emission from N-fertilized soils, but their effect varies considerably due to a combination of factors, including climatic conditions, soil characteristics and management practices. In this study,we further developed the DayCent ecosystem model to represent two EENFs: controlled-release N fertilizers (CRNFs) and nitrification inhibitors (NIs) and evaluated their N2O mitigation potentials. We used advanced statistical methods to derive optimal values for model parameters. The enhanced model can be applied to estimate predictions of N2O reduction factors when EENFs are adopted in place of conventional N fertilizer. The resulting median reduction factors were -12% for CRNFs (ranging from -52% and 0.6%) and -27% for NIs (ranging from -62% to 3%), which is comparable to the measured reduction factors from different research sites. By incorporating EENFs, the DayCent ecosystem model is able to simulate a broader suite of options to identify best management practices for reducing N2O emissions.

Technical Abstract: Agriculture soils are responsible for a large proportion of global nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions - a potent greenhouse gas and ozone depleting substance. Enhanced efficiency nitrogen (N) fertilizers (EENFs) can reduce N2O emission from N-fertilized soils, but their effect varies considerably due to a combination of factors, including climatic conditions, edaphic characteristics and management practices. In this study, we further developed the DayCent ecosystem model to simulate two EENFs: controlled-release N fertilizers (CRNFs) and nitrification inhibitors (NIs) and evaluated their N2O mitigation potentials. We implemented a Bayesian calibration method using the sampling importance resampling (SIR) algorithm to derive a joint posterior distribution of model parameters. The joint posterior distribution can be applied to estimate predictions of N2O reduction factors when EENFs are adopted in place of conventional N fertilizer. The resulting median reduction factors were -11.9% for CRNFs (ranging from -51.7% and 0.58%) and -26.7% for NIs (ranging from -61.8% to 3.1%), which is comparable to the measured reduction factors in the dataset. By incorporating EENFs, the DayCent ecosystem model is able to simulate a broader suite of options to identify best management practices for reducing N2O emissions.