The effect of carbon availability on N2O emissions is moderated by soil phosphorus

This research investigated the effect of long-term phosphorus (P) addition relative to carbon (C) availability on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from an ungrazed grassland soil via two incubation experiments. No significant effect of soil P on N2O was found under C-limited conditions, while under added-C, cumulative N2O was significantly higher from low-P (p < 0.05) rather than high-P soils. CO2 was not significantly different between Plevels. This highlights the influence of soil P on N2O emissions under non C-limiting conditions. This is one of the first studies demonstrating available-C moderating the effect of P on N2O emissions from temperate grassland soils.