Nitrous oxide emissions from dairy farm effluent applied to a New Zealand pasture soil

A field experiment on permanent ryegrass–white clover pasture at AgResearch's Ruakura dairy farm near Hamilton, New Zealand quantified nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from different types of dairy effluent applied to soil at three seasons and evaluated the potential of dicyandiamide (DCD) (a nitrification inhibitor) to decrease gaseous N2O emissions. Fresh or stored manure and farm dairy effluent (FDE; from dairy shed washings), with or without DCD (10 kg/ha), were applied at approximately 100 kg N/ha to plots on a well-drained soil on volcanic parent material. A field chamber technique was used to measure N2O emissions. Application of manure or FDE, both in fresh and stored forms, to pasture generally increased N2O emissions. Overall N2O emission factors (EF) varied between 0.01% and 1.87%, depending on application season and effluent type. EFs in spring and autumn were greater than those in summer (P < 0.05). Among the effluents, N2O EFs were largest from fresh FDE (1.65%) during the spring measurement period, stored manure (1.87%) during the autumn and stored FDE (0.25%) during the summer. DCD was effective in decreasing N2O EFs from fresh FDE, fresh manure, stored FDE and stored manure by 40–80%, 69–76%, 24–84% and 60–70%, respectively. DCD reduced N2O emissions during the spring and autumn seasons more effectively than in the summer season.