Measurement and modeling of N balance between atmosphere and biosphere over a grazed grassland (Bugacpuszta) in Hungary

Machon, Attila; Horváth, László; Weidinger, Tamás; Grosz, Balázs; Moring, Andrea; Führer, Ernő. 2015 Measurement and modeling of N balance between atmosphere and biosphere over a grazed grassland (Bugacpuszta) in Hungary. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 226 (3), 27. 19, pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-2271-8

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Abstract/Summary

This work is a synthesis of a 5-year estimation of nitrogen balance at a semi-arid, semi-natural, undisturbed grassland site (Bugac). We measured the N input of atmospheric pollutants by wet and dry deposition of gases and aerosols, while we considered N output as NO and N2O gases volatilized from soil. Besides measurements of soil fluxes, the denitrification-decomposition (DNDC) ecological model was also used and simulations were compared to and validated against the measured values. The daily flux simulations generally did not match well the measured data for N2O and NO. In most cases, the mean fluxes were underestimated, though results of the comparison of monthly values suggest that model data, together with observed deposition data, are applicable to estimate the net N balance for grasslands. The calculated yearly N balance (net flux) between atmosphere and surface, without biological fixation and effect of grazing, ranged between −9.4 and −14 kg N ha−1 year−1 as the sum of the measured deposition and emission terms, −11 to −15 and 0.9 to 2.9 kg N ha−1 year−1, respectively, between 2006 and 2010. Observed and modeled soil emissions were lower by one order of magnitude than atmospheric deposition. Considering the biological nitrogen fixation and the effect of grazing (effects of both grazed plant and excreta), the net nitrogen balance varies within −6.6 and −11 kg N ha−1 year−1. It seems — taking into account the high uncertainty in calculation due to the effect of grazing — that sources of nitrogen exceed the sinks; the surplus is probably mineralized in the soil.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-2271-8
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Dise
ISSN:	0049-6979
Additional Keywords:	nitrogen exchange, deposition, soil emission, denitrification, DNDC model, grassland
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment Agriculture and Soil Science Atmospheric Sciences Biology and Microbiology
Date made live:	15 Jun 2015 11:49 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/511039

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