Abstract
The main source of N2O emissions is agriculture, and coffee monocultures have become an important part of these emissions. The demand for coffee has increased in the last five decades. Thus, its production in agricultural fields and the excess of fertilizers have increased. This study quantified N2O emissions from different dose applications and types of nitrogen fertilizer in a region of major coffee production in Costa Rica. A specific methodology to measure N2O fluxes from coffee plants was developed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Measurements were performed in a botanical garden in Germany and plots in Costa Rica, analyzing the behavior of a fertilizer in two varieties of coffee (Catuai and Geisha), and in a field experiment, testing two types of fertilizers (chemical (F1) and physical mixture (F2)) and compost (SA). As a result, the additions of synthetic fertilizer increased the N2O fluxes. F2 showed higher emissions than F1 by up to 90% in the field experiment, and an increase in general emissions occurred after a rain event in the coffee plantation. The weak levels of N2O emissions were caused by a rainfall deficit, maintaining low water content in the soil. Robust research is suggested for the inventories.
Highlights
One of the biggest anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) sources and sinks for nitrous oxide (N2O) contributing to climate change, is agriculture [1,2]
This study attempted to estimate the N2O–N emission fluxes in a coffee mill in Costa Rica, by the measuring of punctual fertilization events during the coffee fertilization cycle and the effect of two types of fertilizers used in coffee plantations
The methodology developed in the botanical garden for the first measurements and the setup under controlled conditions were achieved and reflected in the field experiments in Costa Rica
Summary
One of the biggest anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) sources and sinks for nitrous oxide (N2O) contributing to climate change, is agriculture [1,2]. Fertilizers are sources that enhance plant growth, and they can be natural or synthetic, providing key macronutrients such as nitrogen (N) that are important for leaf growth [4,5]. Studies indicate that N2O emission could be correlated with synthetic nitrogen fertilizer (SNF) application rates in linear or nonlinear relationships in agroecosystems [6,7]. Studies imply that indirect sources come from nitrogen leaching and runoff from agricultural soils, [8]. Direct source is SNF, which once applied, is used by the bacteria living in the soil to produce the necessary energy required to live and grow [10]. Due to the excess supply of fertilizers, the production of N2O, in agricultural fields provokes intermediate emissions [11]. When the fertilizer is combined with favorable soil conditions for denitrification, large amounts of N2O can be produced and emitted to the atmosphere [12]
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