Use of the agricultural practice of pasture termination in reducing soil N2O emissions in high-rainfall cropping systems of south-eastern Australia

Abstract

Conversion of long-term pasture to cropping was investigated for its effects on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in a 2-year field experiment in the high-rainfall zone of south-western Victoria. Early termination (pasture terminated 6 months before sowing) followed by winter (ETw) and spring (ETs) crops and late termination (pasture terminated 1 month before sowing) followed by a winter crop (LTw) were compared with continuous, mown pasture (MP). Emissions of N2O were measured with an automated gas sampling and analysing system. Emissions from MP were the lowest throughout the study, resulting in annual losses of 0.13kg N2O-N ha-1 in the first and the second years of the experiment. N2O-N loss ..