Soil N2O emissions under conventional and reduced tillage methods and maize cultivation

Abstract

The study concerned the determination of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions under conventional and reduced tillage conditions. In the reduced cultivation, a soil cultivating seed drill was used for simultaneous sowing of seeds and subsurface application of fertilizer. The emission levels of the gas tested were dependent on the year of the study and the method of soil tillage, and were subject to considerable changes during the growing season. The use of reduced soil tillage significantly limited emissions of the analysed gas into the atmosphere. Depending on the year of the study, N2O emission in the reduced tillage system was from 15% to 40% lower than in the conventional system. Low levels of easily mineralized components in soil could have been the cause of the reduction in N2O emissions to the atmosphere.