Nitric Oxide Emissions from Engineered Soil Systems

Sophisticated laboratory equipment and procedures are developed and used in controlled experiments to measure nitric oxide (NO) emissions ranging from 42 to 75 ng N/m2·s from sludge-amended soil of concern to environmental engineers because nitric oxide emitted to the troposphere is a precursor to troublesome ozone formation and also of concern to agricultural engineers because valuable nitrogen as fertilizer is lost from the soil. Water-filled pore space is confirmed to be of critical importance to NO flux, and the upper layers of soil are determined to contribute the larger portion of the NO fluxing from the soil to the troposphere. More than 42% of the total NO flux comes from the top 1 cm of soil, with NO contributions decreasing exponentially with soil depth and very little if any tropospheric NO contributed from soil at a depth of 20 cm or greater. The results are discussed in terms of microbiological, chemical, and soil transport processes that influence NO flux from sludge-amended soil.