Effects of tillage during the nonwaterlogged period on nitrous oxide and nitric oxide emissions in typical Chinese rice‐wheat rotation ecosystems

Tillage practices result in major changes to soil environmental conditions and to the distribution of crop residues and nutrients in the soil profile, which may consequently affect the biogenic production and emission of N trace gases. To investigate the effects of tillage during the nonwaterlogged period on nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions in rice‐wheat rotation systems, we performed field experiments at three sites (Suzhou, Wuxi, and Jiangdu) in the Yangtze River Delta using static chamber techniques. The results showed that the effect of tillage on the emissions of both gases differed among the three field sites due to differences in agricultural management and soil texture. At the site with a light soil texture (Jiangdu: sandy loam), no tillage resulted in reduced NO emissions (0.5 kg N ha −1 ) as compared to conventionally tilled fields (0.9 kg N ha −1 ; p < 0.05). Regarding N 2 O, the no tillage plots showed significantly higher emissions (p < 0.05) in comparison to the tilled plots (3.9 versus 2.2 kg N ha −1 ) when the fields were merely amended with synthetic N fertilizers. However, this effect was not significant when wheat straw was used in addition to synthetic N fertilizers during the preceding rice season. In the clay loam soils (Wuxi), no tillage resulted in lower NO and higher N 2 O emissions from either N fertilized or unfertilized fields even though these results were not statistically significant. In the silty clay loam soils (Suzhou), which showed the highest soil organic carbon contents and the highest rates of N trace gas emissions in all three of the investigated sites, reduced tillage resulted in much higher NO emissions, whereas N 2 O emissions were not obviously influenced by tillage practices (reduced tillage versus tillage: NO, 9.5 versus 5.4 kg N ha −1 ; N 2 O, 10.6 versus 9.0 kg N ha −1 ). Similar effects of tillage were observed for the direct emission factors of the applied N during the wheat season. The observed emission factors for the different sites ranged from 0.3% to 2.4% for N 2 O (mean: 1.0%) and from 0.1% to 4.0% (mean: 0.9%) for NO, respectively. The observed site‐to‐site differences in emission factors are most likely the results of variations in soil properties (such as texture and pH) and agricultural practices (such as tillage and crop residue management) or in the amount and pattern of precipitation.