TY - JOUR
T1 - A modeling study on mitigation of N2O emissions and NO3 leaching at different agricultural sites across Europe using LandscapeDNDC
AU - Molina-Herrera, S
AU - Haas, E
AU - Klatt, S
AU - Kraus, D
AU - Augustin, J
AU - Magliulo, V
AU - Tallec, T
AU - Ceschia, E
AU - Ammann, C
AU - Loubet, B
AU - Skiba, U
AU - Jones, SK
AU - Brummer, C
AU - Butterbach-Bahl, K
AU - Kiese, R
PY - 2016/2/22
Y1 - 2016/2/22
N2 - The identification of site-specific agriculturalmanagement practices in order tomaximize yieldwhile minimizing
environmental nitrogen losses remains in the center of environmental pollution research. Here, we used the biogeochemical
model LandscapeDNDC to explore different agricultural practices with regard to their potential to
reduce soil N2O emissions and NO3 leachingwhile maintaining yields. In a first step, the model was tested against
observations of N2O emissions, NO3 leaching, soil micrometeorology as well as crop growth for eight European
cropland and grassland sites. Across sites, LandscapeDNDC predicts very well mean N2O emissions (r2= 0.99)
and simulates the magnitude and general temporal dynamics of soil inorganic nitrogen pools. For the assessment
of site-specific mitigation potentials of environmental nitrogen losses a Monte Carlo optimization technique considering
different agricultural management options (i.e., timing of planting, harvest and fertilization, amount of
applied fertilizer as well as residue management)was used. The identified optimized field management practices
reduce N2O emissions and NO3 leaching from croplands on average by 21% and 31%, respectively. Likewise, average reductions of 55% for N2O emissions and 16% for NO3 leaching are estimated for grasslands. For mitigating
environmental loss - while maintaining yield levels - it was most important to reduce fertilizer application
rates by in average 10%. Our analyses indicate that yield scaled N2O emissions and NO3 leaching indicate possible
improvements of nitrogen use efficiencies in European farming systems.Moreover, the applied optimization approach
can be used also in a prognostic way to predict optimal timings and fertilization options (rates and splitting)
upon accurate weather forecasts combined with the knowledge of modeled soil nutrient availability and
plant nitrogen demand.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
AB - The identification of site-specific agriculturalmanagement practices in order tomaximize yieldwhile minimizing
environmental nitrogen losses remains in the center of environmental pollution research. Here, we used the biogeochemical
model LandscapeDNDC to explore different agricultural practices with regard to their potential to
reduce soil N2O emissions and NO3 leachingwhile maintaining yields. In a first step, the model was tested against
observations of N2O emissions, NO3 leaching, soil micrometeorology as well as crop growth for eight European
cropland and grassland sites. Across sites, LandscapeDNDC predicts very well mean N2O emissions (r2= 0.99)
and simulates the magnitude and general temporal dynamics of soil inorganic nitrogen pools. For the assessment
of site-specific mitigation potentials of environmental nitrogen losses a Monte Carlo optimization technique considering
different agricultural management options (i.e., timing of planting, harvest and fertilization, amount of
applied fertilizer as well as residue management)was used. The identified optimized field management practices
reduce N2O emissions and NO3 leaching from croplands on average by 21% and 31%, respectively. Likewise, average reductions of 55% for N2O emissions and 16% for NO3 leaching are estimated for grasslands. For mitigating
environmental loss - while maintaining yield levels - it was most important to reduce fertilizer application
rates by in average 10%. Our analyses indicate that yield scaled N2O emissions and NO3 leaching indicate possible
improvements of nitrogen use efficiencies in European farming systems.Moreover, the applied optimization approach
can be used also in a prognostic way to predict optimal timings and fertilization options (rates and splitting)
upon accurate weather forecasts combined with the knowledge of modeled soil nutrient availability and
plant nitrogen demand.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
KW - Agricultural management
KW - LandscapeDNDC
KW - Mitigation
KW - N2O emission
KW - NO3 leaching
KW - Optimization
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.099
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.099
M3 - Article
VL - 553
SP - 128
EP - 140
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
SN - 0048-9697
ER -