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Footprint methods to separate N2O emission rates from adjacent paddock areas

  • Original Research Paper
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Abstract

Using micrometeorological techniques to measure greenhouse gas emissions from differently treated adjacent plots is a promising avenue to verify the effect of mitigation strategies at the field scale. In pursuing such an approach, it is crucial to accurately characterize the source area of the fluxes measured at each sampling point. Hence, a comprehensive footprint analysis method is required so that emission rates can be obtained for a specific field within a biochemically heterogeneous area. In this study, a footprint analysis method is developed to estimate the emission for an experiment where the flux of N2O is measured from several control and treated plots. The emission rate of an individual plot is estimated using an inverse footprint fraction approach where the footprint fractions are obtained from an analytical footprint model. A numerical solution for obtaining the background flux for such a multiplot measurement system is also provided. Results of the footprint analysis method are assessed, first, by comparing footprint fractions obtained from both an analytical footprint model and a “forward” simulation of a backward Lagrangian stochastic (bLs) model; and second, by comparing the emission rates of a control plot obtained from the footprint analysis method and from the “backward” simulation of the bLs model. It is found that the analytical footprint fractions compare well with the values obtained from the bLs model (correlation coefficient of 0.58 and 0.66 within p value <0.001). An average of 4.3 % of the measured fluxes is found to be contributed by sources outside the measured area and, excluding this outside area contribution to the measured flux, footprint corrected emission rates within the defined domain are found to increase by 2.1 to 5.8 % of the measured flux. Also, the proposed method of emission rate estimation is found to work well under a wide range of atmospheric stability.

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Abbreviations

C b :

Background concentration (ppb)

F 0 :

Background flux (gN2O-N ha−1 day−1)

bLs model:

Backward Lagrangian stochastic model

ΔC :

Concentration gradient (ppb)

EC:

Eddy covariance

\( E{R}_{F_{eqn}^0} \) :

Emission rate from the analytical solution of F 0 (gN2O-N ha−1 day−1)

FG:

Flux gradient

f p :

Footprint function

γ :

Footprint fraction

γ outside :

Footprint fraction from outside source area

u ⋆ :

Friction velocity (m s−1)

f max p :

Maximum of footprint function

U mean :

Mean wind speed (m s−1)

L :

Obukhov length (m)

PSA:

Principal source area

z 0 :

Roughness length (m)

σ v :

Standard deviation of lateral wind component (m s−1)

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded by the Sustainable Land Management and Adaptation to Climate Change Fund of the Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry (now Ministry for Primary Industries) contract CO1X0816, by New Zealand’s Foundation of Research, Science and Technology (FRST) until 2011.

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Author notes

  1. Sandipan Mukherjee

    Present address: G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora, 263643, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Atmospheric Research, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Sandipan Mukherjee & Andrew P. Sturman

  2. Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North, 7640, New Zealand

    Andrew M. S. McMillan

  3. National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, 301 Evans Bay Parade, Wellington, New Zealand

    Mike J. Harvey

  4. Manaki Whenua–Landcare Research, Gerald St, Lincoln, 7608, New Zealand

    Johannes Laubach

Authors
  1. Sandipan Mukherjee
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  2. Andrew M. S. McMillan
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  3. Andrew P. Sturman
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  4. Mike J. Harvey
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  5. Johannes Laubach
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Correspondence to Sandipan Mukherjee.

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Mukherjee, S., McMillan, A.M.S., Sturman, A.P. et al. Footprint methods to separate N2O emission rates from adjacent paddock areas. Int J Biometeorol 59, 325–338 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-014-0844-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-014-0844-2

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