Nitrous oxide emissions from solar greenhouses during summer fallow in the Loess Plateau of China

In Northern China, vegetables are usually grown in solar greenhouses using intensive fertilization and cultivation, which produces significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere. In this study, the nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions from 12 solar greenhouses with different fertilization practices (without manure application (SG); with chicken (SG‐CM) or swine (SG‐SM) manure application) were measured in the southern Loess Plateau of China during the summer fallow (35–61 days) in 2013 and 2014. The daily N 2 O fluxes varied over the ranges of 0.002–0.041, 0.014–12.58, and 0.005–8.41 mg N m-super-−2 h-super-−1 with averages of 0.037, 0.81, and 1.70 mg N m-super-−2 h-super-−1 in the SG, SG‐CM, and SG‐SM greenhouses, respectively, and the total N 2 O emissions were 1.17, 12.0, and 16.0 kg N ha-super-−1, respectively. Significantly high peak N 2 O emissions were observed at the beginning of the summer fallow and after manure application, accounting for more than 80% of the total N 2 O emissions. The management practices of polythene removal, greenhouse enclosure for a week, and tillage also significantly increased the N 2 O daily fluxes and total emissions. Linear regression analyses showed that soil moisture and manure application were the main factors controlling the N 2 O emissions during summer fallow, followed by the residual mineral N in the soil. The results indicated that solar greenhouses cause high N 2 O emissions during summer fallow and farmers should use appropriate measures to mitigate these emissions. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd