title: Developing spatially stratified N(2)O emission factors for Europe.
abstract: We investigate the possibility to replace the - so-called - Tier 1 IPCC approach to estimate soil N(2)O emissions with stratified emissions factors that take into account both N-input and the spatial variability of the environmental conditions within the countries of the European Union, using the DNDC-Europe model. Spatial variability in model simulations is high and corresponds to the variability reported in literature for field data. Our results indicate that (a) much of the observed variability in N(2)O fluxes reflects the response of soils to external conditions, (b) it is likely that national inventories tend to overestimate the uncertainties in their estimated direct N(2)O emissions from arable soils; (c) on average over Europe, the fertilizer-induced emissions (FIE) coincide with the IPCC factors, but they display large spatial variations. Therefore, at scales of individual countries or smaller, a stratified approach considering fertilizer type, soil characteristics and climatic parameters is preferable.
authors.affiliation: European Commission-Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ispra (VA), Italy. adrian.leip@jrc.ec.europa.eu
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leip
authors.forename: Mirko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Busto
authors.forename: Wilfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Winiwarter
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005060:Europe; D005308:Fertilizers / Q000032:analysis; D008372:Manure / Q000032:analysis; D008954:Models, Biological; D009609:Nitrous Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D008372:Manure; D012987:Soil; D009609:Nitrous Oxide