Nitrous Oxide Fluxes from a Scottish Grazed Grassland

Terrestrial fluxes of N2O, H2O, and CO2 were measured over a six-month period starting in March 2012. Data collection used eddy covariance and chamber methods to investigate the effects of tillage and nitrogen fertilizer applications on two adjacent grasslands. The research was funded by DEFRA's GHG Platform project AC0116.

Use Cases

• Analyze N2O flux dynamics following tillage events and nitrogen fertilizer applications.
• Compare eddy covariance and chamber measurement methods for N2O, H2O, and CO2 flux data.
• Model greenhouse gas emissions from intensively managed grazed grasslands using six months of flux measurements.
• Investigate the correlation between N2O fluxes and agricultural management practices like tillage.

Strengths

• Six-month continuous measurement period provides temporal depth for flux analysis.
• Data includes fluxes for three key greenhouse gases: N2O, H2O, and CO2.
• Employs two established measurement methodologies: eddy covariance and chamber methods.
• Focuses on a controlled comparison of tilled and untilled grassland plots.

Limitations

• Dataset size and specific row/column counts are unknown, limiting assessment of statistical power.
• Geographic scope is limited to a single grassland site in Scotland, reducing generalizability.
• Data is from 2012, which may not reflect current agricultural practices or environmental conditions.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Fluxes measured using eddy covariance with a quantum cascade laser gas analyser and static/dynamic chambers.

Time Range

Six-month period starting at the end of March 2012.

Freshness

Metadata was last updated in March 2026, but the underlying data collection ended in 2012.

Geography

Intensively managed grazed grassland in Scotland.