Emission of nitrous oxide from tropical fore stand plantation soils in Peninsular Malaysia

We measured the flux of nitrous oxide (N2O) in three different land uses (primar y forest, oil palm plantation, and rubber plantation) in Peninsular Malaysia. The N2O emission rate in the primar y forest was higher than those in the plantations throughout the experimental period. This result suggests that primar y forest soil is a greater source of N2O than that of oil palm and rubber plantations. The rate of N2O emission in the primary forest showed a clear variation during the experimental period, with higher values from wet soils and lower values from dry soils, whereas N2O emission rates in the plantations showed little variation. The proportions of soil surface carbon and nitrogen in primar y forest were three times those in the plantations. The dif ference in soil carbon and nitrogen contents between the primary forest and plantations may have affected the rates of N2O emission from the soils.