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The effect of mixing organic biological waste materials and high-N crop residues on the short-time N2O emission from horticultural soil in model experiments

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Abstract

Manipulating the N release from high-N crop residues by simultaneous mixing of these residues with organic biological waste (OBW) materials seems to be a possible method to reduce NO3− leaching. The aim of this study was to examine whether the incorporation of OBW materials together with a high-N crop residue (celery) had also an effect on N2O emission from horticultural soil under short-term and optimised laboratory conditions. A sandy loam soil and celery residues were mixed with different OBW materials and brought into PVC tubes at 80% water-filled pore space and 15°C. Every 2.5 h, a gas sample was taken and analysed by gas chromatography for its N2O concentration. The soil amended with only celery residues had a cumulative N2O emission of 9.6 mg N kg−1 soil in 50 h. When the celery residues were mixed with an OBW material, the N2O emission was each time lower than the emission from the celery-only treatment (between 3.8 and 5.9 mg N kg−1 soil during maximum 77 h), except with paper sludge (17.2 mg N kg−1 soil in 100 h). The higher N2O emission from the paper sludge treatment was probably due to its unusually low C:N ratio. Straw, green waste compost 1 (GWC1) and 2 (GWC2), saw dust, and tannic acid reduced the N2O emission of the celery treatment by 40 to 60%. Although the N2O reduction potential can be expected to be lower and with differing dynamics under field conditions, this study indicates that apart from reducing NO3− leaching, OBW application may at the same time reduce N2O emissions after incorporation of high-N crop residues.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their thanks to the Belgian Ministry of Small Enterprises and Traders and Agriculture, Division of Research and Development, for funding this research (project S-6059). We also thank M. Remue, V. Van De Vyvere, L. Bauwens, T. Coddens and S. Schepens for their skilful technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Management and Soil Care, Division of Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Barbara Chaves, Stefaan De Neve, Maria del Carmen Lillo Cabrera & Georges Hofman

  2. Department of Applied Analytical and Physical Chemistry, Laboratory of Applied Physical Chemistry, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Pascal Boeckx & Oswald Van Cleemput

Authors
  1. Barbara Chaves
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  2. Stefaan De Neve
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  3. Maria del Carmen Lillo Cabrera
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  4. Pascal Boeckx
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  5. Oswald Van Cleemput
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  6. Georges Hofman
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Correspondence to Barbara Chaves.

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Chaves, B., De Neve, S., del Carmen Lillo Cabrera, M. et al. The effect of mixing organic biological waste materials and high-N crop residues on the short-time N2O emission from horticultural soil in model experiments. Biol Fertil Soils 41, 411–418 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-005-0853-8

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