NO emission characteristics and its affecting factors in rain-fed potato fields in Wuchuan County, China.

Representing an important greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (NO) emission from cultivated land is a hot topic in current climate change research. This study examined the influences of nitrogen fertilisation, temperature and soil moisture on the ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA) gene copy numbers and NO emission characteristics. The experimental observation of NO fluxes was based on the static chamber-gas chromatographic method. The ammonia-oxidising bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidising archaea (AOA) gene copy numbers in different periods were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The results indicated that rain-fed potato field was a NO source, and the average annual NO emission was approximately 0.46 ± 0.06 kgNO-N/ha/year. NO emissions increased significantly with increase in fertilisation, temperatures below 19.6 °C and soil volumetric water content under 15%. Crop rotation appreciably decreases NO emissions by 34.4 to 52.4% compared to continuous cropping in rain-fed potato fields. The significant correlation between NO fluxes and AOB copy numbers implied that NO emissions were primarily controlled by AOB in rain-fed potato fields. The research has important theoretical and practical value for understanding NO emissions from rain-fed dry farmland fields.