The effects of nitrogen fertilization on N2O emissions from a rubber plantation

To gain the effects of N fertilizer applications on N2O emissions and local climate change in fertilized rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) plantations in the tropics, we measured N2O fluxes from fertilized (75 kg N ha−1 yr−1) and unfertilized rubber plantations at Xishuangbanna in southwest China over a 2-year period. The N2O emissions from the fertilized and unfertilized plots were 4.0 and 2.5 kg N ha−1 yr−1, respectively and the N2O emission factor was 1.96%. Soil moisture, soil temperature and the area weighted mean ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4+-N) content controlled the variations in N2O flux from the fertilized and unfertilized rubber plantations. NH4+-N did not influence temporal changes in N2O emissions from the trench, slope, or terrace plots, but controlled spatial variations in N2O emissions among the treatments. On a unit area basis, the 100-year carbon dioxide equivalence of the fertilized rubber plantation N2O offsets 5.8% and 31.5% of carbon sink of the rubber plantation and local tropical rainforest, respectively. When entire land area in Xishuangbanna is considered, N2O emissions from fertilized rubber plantations offset 17.1% of the tropical rainforest’s carbon sink. The results show that if tropical rainforests are converted to fertilized rubber plantations, regional N2O emissions may enhance local climate warming.