Investigation of the uptake and release of environmentally relevant trace gas N2O by soils and analysing the vertical profile of the N2O concentration in soils
Despite many investigations on the N2O emission from the upper soil into the atmosphere, there is a lack of knowledge on the N2O production, especially in the deeper water unsaturated soil zone where the microbial activity can be considerable. To obtain insight into the production, spreading and transport of N2O in the soil, the N2O concentration in the soil atmosphere is measured in lysimeters (agricultural soil monoliths of 1 m² x 2 m) at 30 cm, 50 cm, 80 cm, 155 cm and 190 cm depth. Additionally the N2O emission into the atmosphere was determined with closed chambers at the soil surface. To determine the N2O discharge into the groundwater, the N2O concentrations in the air of seepage tanks were measured.