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Gaseous Nitrogen Losses from Soils Under Zero-Till as Compared with Conventional-Till Management Systems¹

ABSTRACT

The gaseous losses of N from conventional-till (CT) and zero-till (ZT) crop fields were 3 to 7 and 12 to 16 kg N ha^–1 y^–1, respectively. In contrast, losses from CT and ZT fallow were severalfold higher, namely, 12 to 14 and 34 kg N ha^–1, respectively. The more dense surface soil and consistently higher moisture content (lower air-filled porosity) were identified as major factors affecting increased denitrification under ZT. The potential denitrification rates were markedly higher under ZT, and the population of denitrifiers was up to six times higher than in CT soil samples.

The contribution of lower soil horizons towards gaseous N losses was found to be low on both CT and ZT fields, and this finding was confirmed from a survey carried out on three other widely differing soils.

Volumetric soil moisture and air temperature were the only two of several factors that accounted for a significant portion of the variations in gaseous N fluxes under field conditions.

The average mole fraction of N₂O ranged from almost 100% to as low as 28% of the total gaseous products and showed a negative relationship with soil moisture.

Key Words: acetylene inhibition technique • denitrification • nitrification • potential denitrification rates • soil moisture • mineral N

¹ Contribution from the Saskatchewan Inst. of Pedology, Saskatoon, Canada; Pub. no. R336. This paper was presented in Division S-3, Soil Sci. Soc. of Am. Meetings, 28 Nov.–3 Dec. 1982, Anaheim, Calif.

² Canadian Commonwealth Scholar; Professor, Dep. of Soil Sci., Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada S7N 0W0; and Professor and Chairman, Dep. of Plant and Soil Biology, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, respectively.

Received for publication March 30, 1983.

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