Management Practices of Miscanthus giganteu s Strongly Influence Soil Properties and N sub(2)O Emissions Over the Long Term

Cropping practices of Miscanthus giganteus, a promising energy crop, can influence C and N cycles and therefore potentially affect N sub(2)O emissions. They may vary in harvesting date, either early (EH) or late harvest (LH), and the fertiliser form (NH sub(4) or NO sub(3)). In this study, we combin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioenergy research 2017-03, Vol.10 (1), p.208-224
Main Authors: Peyrard, Celine, Ferchaud, Fabien, Mary, Bruno, Grehan, Eric, Leonard, Joeel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomass
Computer simulation
Crops
Emission
Mathematical models
Miscanthus
Nitrification
Nitrous oxides
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Summary:Cropping practices of Miscanthus giganteus, a promising energy crop, can influence C and N cycles and therefore potentially affect N sub(2)O emissions. They may vary in harvesting date, either early (EH) or late harvest (LH), and the fertiliser form (NH sub(4) or NO sub(3)). In this study, we combined a long-term field experiment and simulations with the STICS model to investigate the effect of these practices on soil parameters, N sub(2)O emissions and the contribution of nitrification and denitrification. Daily N sub(2)O fluxes and soil parameters were measured during the 4-month period following fertilisation in 2014 and 2015. Mean cumulative N sub(2)O emissions were markedly higher in LH than EH (4.21 vs. 0.89 kg N sub(2)O-N ha super(-1 ) year super(-1)) but did not differ significantly between fertiliser forms or years. The difference was mainly attributed to the higher soil water-filled pore space (WFPS) observed in LH (80 vs. 56 % in EH) which resulted itself from the leaf mulch present in LH and not in EH. WFPS explained 67 % of the variance of N sub(2)O emissions. The large decrease in pH observed after NH sub(4) fertilisation stimulated N sub(2)O emissions probably through less-efficient reduction of N sub(2)O to N sub(2) as simulated by STICS. Model outputs suggest a large contribution of nitrification in EH and a dominant contribution of denitrification in LH. Our study highlights the crucial impact of management practises on N sub(2)O emissions in Miscanthus crops through changes in physico-chemical parameters and soil processes on the short and long term and brings knowledge required to maximise the benefits of bioenergy crops.
ISSN:1939-1234
1939-1242
DOI:10.1007/s12155-016-9796-1