Summary
This pot experiment investigated the relative importance of soil legacy effects—specifically prior management with farmyard manure, green manure, or synthetic nitrogen—versus current soil properties in determining greenhouse gas emissions following digestate application. The findings demonstrate that the legacy of previous organic amendments was a key determinant of CO₂ and N₂O flux, whereas soil edaphic factors, particularly texture, were the primary driver of CH₄ emissions. The results suggest that site management history is essential for predicting soil GHG responses to digestate application, beyond edaphic properties alone.
UK applicability
The study is directly applicable to UK agricultural practice, as it addresses digestate application—an increasingly common practice in UK farming via anaerobic digestion schemes—and uses temperate soil conditions. The finding that soil management legacy matters for emission prediction is relevant to UK policy on nutrient recycling and organic matter management, particularly for farms transitioning between management systems or adopting anaerobic digestion.
Key measures
N₂O, CH₄ and CO₂ fluxes (measured over 64 days post-digestate application at 250 kg total N/ha equivalent); soil edaphic variables (texture, pH); legacy effects of prior soil management regime
Outcomes reported
The study measured N₂O, CH₄ and CO₂ fluxes from soils amended with cattle-slurry digestate over a 64-day period. It evaluated how prior soil management history (farmyard manure, green manure, or synthetic N-fertiliser applied 18 months earlier) influenced subsequent greenhouse gas emissions compared to current soil properties.
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