Journal article

Authors list: Liebermann, Ralf; Breuer, Lutz; Houska, Tobias; Klatt, Steffen; Kraus, David; Haas, Edwin; Müller, Christoph; Kraft; Philipp

Publication year: 2018

Journal: Atmosphere

Volume number: 9

Issue number: 10

Open access status: Gold

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9100407

Publisher: MDPI

Abstract: 

European groundwater reservoirs are frequently subject to reactive nitrogen pollution (N-r) owing to the intensive use of nitrogen (N) fertilizer and animal manure in agriculture. Besides its risk on human health, groundwater N-r loading also affects the carbon (C) and N cycle of associated ecosystems. For a temperate grassland in Germany, the long-term (12 years) annual average exports of N-r in form of harvest exceeded N-r inputs via fertilization and deposition by more than 50 kgN ha(-1). We hypothesize that the resulting deficit in the N budget of the plant-soil system could be closed by N-r input via the groundwater. To test this hypothesis, the ecosystem model LandscapeDNDC was used to simulate the C and N cycle of the respective grassland under different model setups, i.e., with and without additional N-r inputs via groundwater transport. Simulated plant nitrate uptake compensated the measured N deficit for 2 of 3 plots and lead to substantial improvements regarding the match between simulated and observed plant biomass and CO2 emission. This suggests that the C and N cycle of the investigated grassland were influenced by N-r inputs via groundwater transport. We also found that inputs of nitrate-rich groundwater increased the modelled nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, while soil water content was not affected.

Harvard Citation style: Liebermann, R., Breuer, L., Houska, T., Klatt, S., Kraus, D., Haas, E., et al. (2018) Closing the N-Budget: How Simulated Groundwater-Borne Nitrate Supply Affects Plant Growth and Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Temperate Grassland, Atmosphere, 9(10), Article 407. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9100407

APA Citation style: Liebermann, R., Breuer, L., Houska, T., Klatt, S., Kraus, D., Haas, E., Müller, C., Kraft, & Philipp (2018). Closing the N-Budget: How Simulated Groundwater-Borne Nitrate Supply Affects Plant Growth and Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Temperate Grassland. Atmosphere. 9(10), Article 407. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9100407