An assessment of factors controlling N2O and CO2 emissions from crop residues using different measurement approaches
Management of plant residues plays an important role in maintaining soil quality and nutrient availability for plants and microbes. However, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the factors controlling residue decomposition and their effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the soil. This uncertainty is created both by the complexity of the processes involved and limitations in the methodologies commonly used to quantify GHG emissions. We therefore investigated the addition of two soil residues (durum wheat and faba bean) with similar C/N ratios but contrasting fibres, lignin and cellulose contents on nutrient dynamics and GHG emission from two contrasting soils: a low-soil org…
Vertisols and cambisols had contrasting short term greenhouse gas responses to crop residue management
In sustainable agriculture crop residues management should consider the interactions between soil and residue properties, which can affect the decomposition and global greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission. Through a laboratory experiment, we investigated the effect of the management (incorporation and surface placement) of wheat and faba bean residues on their decomposition and CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions from two soils, a Chromic Vertisol and an Eutric Cambisol. In the Vertisol, wheat residues increased the CO2 emission more than faba bean when left on the surface whereas no differences among residues were observed when incorporated. In the Cambisol, faba bean emitted more than wheat when left …