Nitrous Oxide Emissions from a Native Shortgrass Prairie

Abstract

Abstract Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions from a native shortgrass prairie averade 2.3‐g N ha −1 day −1 during a summer sampling period. Although N 2 O emissions from the native grassland were small, they were substantially larger than earlier estimates from uncultivated soils. The losses accounted for about 10% of N inputs from atmospheric deposition and N 2 ‐fixation, which represented a significant N‐loss mechanism that had not been recognized. Nitrous oxide losses from similar sites treated with urea to simulate ungulate urine deposition were about three times greater than from untreated soils, but still amounted to only 0.6% of the added N.