Can nitrogen fertiliser and nitrification inhibitor management influence N2O losses from high rainfall cropping systems in South Eastern Australia?

Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas released from high rainfall cropping soils, but the role of management in its abatement remains unclear in these environments. To quantify the relative influence of management, nitrogen (N) fertiliser and soil nitrification inhibitor was applied to separate but paired raised bed and conventionally flat field experiments in south west Victoria, to measure emissions and income from wheat and canola planted 2 and 3 years after conversion from a long-term pasture. Management included four different rates of N fertiliser, top-dressed with and without the nitrification inhibitor Dicyandiamide (DCD), which was applied in solution to the soil in the second year of experimentation. Crop biomass, grain yield, soil mineral N, soil temperature and soil water and N2O flux were measured. Static chamber methodology was used to identify relative differences in N2O loss between management. In the second crop (wheat) following conversion, N2O losses were up to 72 % lower (P < 0.05) in the furrows, receiving the lower rate of N fertiliser compared with the highest rate, with less frequent reductions observed in the third crop (canola); losses of N2O from the beds was unaffected by N rate, perhaps from nitrate leakage into the adjacent furrow of the raised bed experiment. On the nearby flat experiment, nitrate leaching may have diminished the effects of N rate and DCD on N2O flux. Furthermore the extra N did not significantly increase grain yield in either the wheat or canola crops on both experiments. The application of DCD in the canola crop temporarily reduced (P < 0.05) N2O production by up to 84 % from the beds, 83 % in the adjacent furrows and 75 % on the flat experiment. Grain yield was not significantly (P < 0.001) affected however, canola income was reduced by $1407/ha and $1252/ha, compared with no addition of inhibitor on the respective bed and flat experiments. Although N2O fluxes are driven by environmental episodic events, management will play a role in N2O abatement. However, DCD currently appears economically unfeasible and matching N fertiliser supply to meet crop demand appears a better option for minimising N2O losses from high rainfall cropping systems.