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Greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils with different organic matter concentrations

Logotheti Eirini

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Summary

Creating conditions that favour the accumulation of organic matter in soil – Soil Organic Matter, through the application of appropriate soil management practices, has been a global priority in recent years. The aim is to halt global warming and improve soil fertility, thus ensuring primary production and food security. The aim of this thesis is to further understand the interaction between soil organic matter and greenhouse gas and NH3 emissions, as it remains unclear whether and to what extent the increase of soil organic matter beyond certain limits reverses this positive effect through increased release of other gases such as N2O, CH4 and NH3. Specifically, four (4) soils from neighbouring areas with different organic matter concentrations but with the same origin and physicochemical properties were studied. Soil moisture levels during the study were different and fertilization, at a concentration of 10 gN/m^2 , was applied to investigate its effect. During the experimental procedure, greenhouse gas emissions, specifically CO2, N2O, CH4, and NH3 were measured using the Gasmet 4015 analyser and the changes in emissions over time were evaluated. In addition, the ammonium and nitrates concentrations in the soils were analysed as a function of time. Overall, the contribution of different soil organic matter concentrations, different soil moisture levels and fertilization application was examined. The results showed variations in GHG and NH3 emissions, with CO2 emissions ranging from zero to 400 kg/(day*ha), N2O emissions from zero to 0.20 kg/(day*ha), NH3 emissions from zero to 0.95 kg/(day*ha) and CH4 emissions from zero to 0.12 kg/(day*ha). Soil organic matter was found to contribute to GHG and NH3 emissions, but no increased GHG and NH3 emissions were observed to reverse the positive effects of soil organic matter accumulation, making it an appropriate practice to address global challenges.

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