Measurement of soil nitrogen oxide emissions at three North American ecosystems

Abstract

Results from measurements of emission of nitrogen oxides from soils at three North American ecosystems are presented. These measurements were conducted during the summer and fall of 1988 at (1) a grassland site near Nunn, Colorado, (2) a coastal marine environment at North Inlet, South Carolina and (3) a deciduous forest near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Emission of NO was highest from the grassland soil (mean: 10.0 ng N m−2 s−1), intermediate at the forest area (mean: 0.28 ng N m−2 s−1) and lowest at the coastal site (mean: 0.034 ng N m−2 s−1). A comparison of the results from the present study with previous measurements indicates that NOx (NO + NO2) emission from grasslands and temperate forests are similar within each ecosystem independent of location. This suggests that simple approaches may be used to estimate soil emissions over wide areas.