Emission of nitrogen oxides (NO x ) from a flooded soil fertilized with urea: Relation to other nitrogen loss processes

Emissions of nitric oxide and other odd nitrogen oxides (NO _x ) from a flooded rice field were studied after urea had been broadcast into the floodwater.The NO _x flux from the fertilized area was very low (0.2×10^-9 g N m^-2 s^-1) for the first few days after application of urea and was high (0.95×10^-9 g N m^-2 s^-1) in the subsequent period when significant nitrite and nitrate were present in the floodwater. At night, little if any NO _x was exhaled but ambient NO₂ was absorbed by the floodwater. An uptake velocity for NO₂ of 3×10^-4 m s^-1 was measured during one night. Maximum NO _x losses were observed near 1300 h when temperature and solar ultraviolet light were maximum.While the amounts of nitrogen oxides emitted are of little agronomic importance (2×10^-3 per cent of the fertilizer nitrogen was lost as NO _x during the 10-day study period), they may well be of significance as a source for some gas reactions in the atmosphere and for the global nitrogen cycle.Of the fertilizer nitrogen applied (as urea) approximately 30% was lost to the atmosphere by NH₃ volatilization, 15% by denitrification, presumably as N₂, and the remainder, less minor losses of NO and N₂O, remained in the plant/soil/water system.Now at Forestry Department, Australian National University, G.P.O. Box 4, ACT 2601, Australia.