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N2O and CO2 emissions from South German arable soil after amendment of manures and composts

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Abstract

Organic residues can be a major source of nutrients and are valuable fertilizers. But their benefits with regard to soil quality are undisputed. However, only few studies have focused on emissions of greenhouse gases from soil enriched with organic residues. A microcosom approach was employed to investigate the influence of the origin and composition of various organic residues on mineralization and N2O and CO2 emissions in an arable soil. In total, we set up six treatments: control, poultry manure, bio-waste compost, sheep and wheat straw compost, cow manure (CM) and for further comparison, the mineral fertilizer calcium ammonium nitrate. 500 g of sieved and homogenized soil was mixed with the amendments and packed into microcosms. After a pre-incubation period of 10 days, gas concentrations were measured periodically from the headspace of the microcosm by means of an airtight surgical syringe. The measurement period continued for 32 days. Soil amended with CM showed a significantly (α = 0.05) higher cumulative CO2 emission (914 mg kg−1) followed by bio-waste compost than poultry manure, sheep waste compost, control and calcium ammonium nitrate. Amending soil with cow manure and poultry manure led to the highest N2O-N emissions (110 µg kg−1). However, poultry manure and calcium ammonium nitrate significantly enhanced mineralization and net nitrification. Amendment of sheep and wheat straw compost and cow manure led to C sequestration and reduced N2O emission. Soil pH greatly decreased with poultry manure, sheep and wheat straw compost and bio-waste compost. Summing up, the application of organic residues to soil has some disadvantageous environmental effects calling for further research.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by Agriculture Research Sindh, Pakistan and Hohenheim University, Stuttgart, Germany. The authors are highly thankful to Dr. Joachim Ingwersen Senior researcher and lecturer, University of Hohenheim, for his valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript.

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  1. Biogeophysics Section, Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany

    Ambreen Shah, Marc Lamers & Thilo Streck

  2. Sindh Agriculture Research Institute, Tando Jam, Pakistan

    Ambreen Shah

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  1. Ambreen Shah
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  2. Marc Lamers
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Correspondence to Ambreen Shah.

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Shah, A., Lamers, M. & Streck, T. N2O and CO2 emissions from South German arable soil after amendment of manures and composts. Environ Earth Sci 75, 427 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-5126-8

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