Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) that also depletes stratospheric ozone. Nitrogen (N) fertilizer rate is the best single predictor of N 2 O emissions from agricultural soils, which are responsible for ∼50% of the total global anthropogenic flux, but it is a relatively imprecise estimator. Accumulating evidence suggests that the emission response to increasing N input is exponential rather than linear, as assumed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change methodologies. We performed a metaanalysis to test the generalizability of this pattern. From 78 published studies (233 site-years) with at least three N-input levels, we calculated N 2 O emission factors (EFs) for each nonzero input level as a percentage of N input converted to N 2 O emissions. We found that the N 2 O response to N inputs grew significantly faster than linear for synthetic fertilizers and for most crop types. N-fixing crops had a higher rate of change in EF (ΔEF) than others. A higher ΔEF was also evident in soils with carbon >1.5% and soils with pH <7, and where fertilizer was applied only once annually. Our results suggest a general trend of exponentially increasing N 2 O emissions as N inputs increase to exceed crop needs. Use of this knowledge in GHG inventories should improve assessments of fertilizer-derived N 2 O emissions, help address disparities in the global N 2 O budget, and refine the accuracy of N 2 O mitigation protocols. In low-input systems typical of sub-Saharan Africa, for example, modest N additions will have little impact on estimated N 2 O emissions, whereas equivalent additions (or reductions) in excessively fertilized systems will have a disproportionately major impact.fertilizer response | greenhouse gas emissions | agriculture | bioenergy | greenhouse gas mitigation

Row-crop agriculture is a major source of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) globally, and results from recent field experiments suggest that significant decreases in N 2 O emissions may be possible by decreasing nitrogen (N) fertilizer inputs without affecting economic return from grain yield. We tested this hypothesis on five commercially farmed fields in Michigan, USA planted with corn in 2007 and 2008. Six rates of N fertilizer (0-225 kg N ha À1 ) were broadcast and incorporated before planting, as per local practice. Across all sites and years, increases in N 2 O flux were best described by a nonlinear, exponentially increasing response to increasing N rate. N 2 O emission factors per unit of N applied ranged from 0.6% to 1.5% and increased with increasing N application across all sites and years, especially at N rates above those required for maximum crop yield. At the two N fertilizer rates above those recommended for maximum economic return (135 kg N ha À1 ), average N 2 O fluxes were 43% (18 g N 2 O-N ha À1 day À1 ) and 115% (26 g N 2 O-N ha À1 day À1 ) higher than were fluxes at the recommended rate, respectively. The maximum return to nitrogen rate of 154 kg N ha À1 yielded an average 8.3 Mg grain ha À1 . Our study shows the potential to lower agricultural N 2 O fluxes within a range of N fertilization that does not affect economic return from grain yield.

Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is a major greenhouse gas (GHG) product of intensive agriculture. Fertilizer nitrogen (N) rate is the best single predictor of N 2 O emissions in rowcrop agriculture in the US Midwest. We use this relationship to propose a transparent, scientifically robust protocol that can be utilized by developers of agricultural offset projects for generating fungible GHG emission reduction credits for the emerging US carbon cap and trade market. By coupling predicted N 2 O flux with the recently developed maximum return to N (MRTN) approach for determining economically profitable N input rates for optimized crop yield, we provide the basis for incentivizing N 2 O reductions without affecting yields. The protocol, if widely adopted, could reduce N 2 O from fertilized row-crop agriculture by more than 50%. Although other management and environmental factors can influence N 2 O emissions, fertilizer N rate can be viewed as a single unambiguous proxy-a transparent, tangible, and readily manageable commodity. Our protocol addresses baseline establishment, additionality, permanence, variability, and leakage, and provides for producers and other stakeholders the economic and environmental incentives necessary for adoption of agricultural N 2 O reduction offset projects.

Management decisions both at the field and off-site have the potential to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Climate change threatens to increase the potential for soil erosion, reduce soil quality, lower agricultural productivity and negatively impact food security and global sustainability, making it one of the most severe challenges we will face in the 21st century. This paper looks at the potential of management to help us, not only mitigate climate change, but also to help us adapt to a changing climate. Different aspects of carbon management, nitrogen management, manure management, management in low-input systems (sustainable agriculture), and grazing land management are discussed as examples. Management decisions regarding conservation practices, such as no-till, conservation agriculture, and returning crop residue to the field to increase nutrient cycling, can contribute to carbon sequestration and help us mitigate and adapt to climate change. Additionally, management of grasslands, restoration of degraded/desertified lands, nitrogen management to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, precision conservation management at a field and/or watershed level, and other management alternatives can also help us mitigate and/or adapt to climate change. Management for climate change mitigation and adaptation is key for environmental conservation, sustainability of cropping systems, soil and water quality, and food security. This paper suggests, based on a review of the literature, that management decisions that reduce soil erosion, increase carbon sequestration to improve soil functions, soil quality, and soil health, and contribute to the resilience of soils and cropping systems will be needed to respond to climate change and related challenges such as food security. Our review suggests that without management decisions that increase soil and water conservation, food security for the world's growing population will be harder to achieve.

[1] The rotation of crops with fast-growing tree, shrub, and herbaceous N 2 -fixing legume species (improved fallows) is a central agroforestry technology for soil fertility management in the humid tropics. Maize yields are increased following improved fallows compared with continuous maize cropping or traditional natural-fallow systems consisting of broadleaved weeds and grasses. However, the effect of these improvedfallow systems on N availability and N 2 O emissions following residue application has yet to be determined. Emissions from these systems not only have a detrimental effect on the environment, but are of additional concern in that they represent a potentially significant loss of N and a reduction in N-use efficiency. Emissions of N 2 O were measured from improved-fallow agroforestry systems in western Kenya, being characteristic of agroforestry systems in the humid tropics. Emissions were increased after incorporation of fallow residues and were higher after incorporation of improved-fallow legume residues (Sesbania sesban, Crotalaria grahamiana, Macroptilium atropurpureum) than natural-fallow residues (mainly consisting of Digitaria abyssibica, Habiscus cannabinus, Bidens pilosa, Guizotia scabra, Leonotis nepetifolia, Commelina benghalensis). Following incorporation of Sesbania and Macroptilium residues (7.4 t dry matter ha À1 ; 2.9% N) in a mixed fallow system, 4.1 kg N 2 O-N ha À1 was emitted over 84 days. The percentages of N applied emitted as N 2 O following residue incorporation in these tropical agroforestry systems were of the same magnitude as in temperate agricultural systems. N 2 O (log e ) emissions were positively correlated with residue N content (r = 0.93; P < 0.05), and thus the residue composition, particularly its N content, is an important consideration when proposing management practices to mitigate N 2 O emissions from these systems.

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Differences in soil nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes among ecosystems are often difficult to evaluate and predict due to high spatial and temporal variabilities and few direct experimental comparisons. For 20 years, we measured N 2 O fluxes in 11 ecosystems in southwest Michigan USA: four annual grain crops (corn-soybean-wheat rotations) managed with conventional, no-till, reduced input, or biologically based/organic inputs; three perennial crops (alfalfa, poplar, and conifers); and four unmanaged ecosystems of different successional age including mature forest. Average N 2 O emissions were higher from annual grain and N-fixing cropping systems than from nonleguminous perennial cropping systems and were low across unmanaged ecosystems. Among annual cropping systems full-rotation fluxes were indistinguishable from one another but rotation phase mattered. For example, those systems with cover crops and reduced fertilizer N emitted more N 2 O during the corn and soybean phases, but during the wheat phase fluxes werẽ 40% lower. Likewise, no-till did not differ from conventional tillage over the entire rotation but reduced emissions 20% in the wheat phase and increased emissions 30-80% in the corn and soybean phases. Greenhouse gas intensity for the annual crops (flux per unit yield) was lowest for soybeans produced under conventional management, while for the 11 other crop 9 management combinations intensities were similar to one another. Among the fertilized systems, emissions ranged from 0.30 to 1.33 kg N 2 O-N ha À1 yr À1 and were best predicted by IPCC Tier 1 and DEF emission factor approaches. Annual cumulative fluxes from perennial systems were best explained by soil NO À 3 pools (r 2 = 0.72) but not so for annual crops, where management differences overrode simple correlations. Daily soil N 2 O emissions were poorly predicted by any measured variables. Overall, long-term measurements reveal lower fluxes in nonlegume perennial vegetation and, for conservatively fertilized annual crops, the overriding influence of rotation phase on annual fluxes.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soils are a key sustainability metric of cropping systems. During crop establishment, disruptive land-use change is known to be a critical, but under reported period, for determining GHG emissions. We measured soil N 2 O emissions and potential environmental drivers of these fluxes from a three-year establishment-phase bioenergy cropping systems experiment replicated in southcentral Wisconsin (ARL) and southwestern Michigan (KBS). Cropping systems treatments were annual monocultures (continuous corn, corn-soybean-canola rotation), perennial monocultures (switchgrass, miscanthus, and poplar), and perennial polycultures (native grass mixture, early successional community, and restored prairie) all grown using best management practices specific to the system. Cumulative three-year N 2 O emissions from annuals were 142% higher than from perennials, with fertilized perennials 190% higher than unfertilized perennials. Emissions ranged from 3.1 to 19.1 kg N 2 O-N ha À1 yr À1 for the annuals with continuous corn > corn-soybean-canola rotation and 1.1 to 6.3 kg N 2 O-N ha À1 yr À1 for perennials. Nitrous oxide peak fluxes typically were associated with precipitation events that closely followed fertilization. Bayesian modeling of N 2 O fluxes based on measured environmental factors explained 33% of variability across all systems. Models trained on single systems performed well in most monocultures (e.g., R 2 = 0.52 for poplar) but notably worse in polycultures (e.g., R 2 = 0.17 for early successional, R 2 = 0.06 for restored prairie), indicating that simulation models that include N 2 O emissions should be parameterized specific to particular plant communities. Our results indicate that perennial bioenergy crops in their establishment phase emit less N 2 O than annual crops, especially when not fertilized. These findings should be considered further alongside yield and other metrics contributing to important ecosystem services.