Globally, agriculture accounts for nearly 60% of the N2O emissions. The current global N2O budget has large uncertainties with a poorly understood capacity of the soil to take up atmospheric N2O. Consumption of N2O has been reported for anoxic soils and sediments rich in organic matter and depleted in nitrates (NO3-), and for some dry, oxic soils. However, the mechanisms and controls of N2O consumption in dry soil are not yet clear. Studies linking above- and below-ground processes of C and N dynamics, plant and soil microbe interactions in agroecosystems are necessary. The aim of the ENSINK project is to investigate N2O uptake processes in several cropping systems in different climatic zones (Finland, Italy, Japan, UK and China) employing a multidisciplinary suite of novel measurement techniques (micrometeorological, biogeochemical, molecular biological, enzymological, rhizosphere imaging and modelling) across temporal (hourly, daily) and spatial (molecular to ecosystem) scales.

2020

2024