Obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in agriculture (30% below 1990 levels by 2030) have seen renewed interest in switching from ammonium nitrate (AN) based to urea based fertilisers as a mitigation strategy for GHG emissions. The performance of a comprehensive range of urea based formulations was compared to Calcium AN in a two-year study over three sites across the island of Ireland. The performance criteria were nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, ammonia (NH3) emissions, grassland yield and N uptake encompassing a range of soils and climatic conditions. The results of the main field experiments showed that all urea formulations reduced N2O emissions relative to CAN in all site-years with larger reductions under the heavier and wetter soil conditions. The inclusion of the urease inhibitor NBPT also reduced NH3 emissions relative to urea and maintained yield and N uptake relative to CAN in all six site-years. In contrast, the nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide (DCD) showed inconsistent effects on NH3 emissions compared to urea and reduced yield and N uptake relative to CAN in three and four of six site-years respectively. The most climate favourable option was urea incorporating NBPT, however as it is more expensive than urea, a tax on urea or financial incentive to use NBPT will be required to ensure farmers select the stabilised urea incorporating NBPT over urea. In addition, the assessment of N2O emissions from the same fertilisers also contributes to a more detailed accurate national inventory of mineral fertiliser N2O emissions. The tier 1 reporting of emission factors (EF) under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) requirements uses a default EF for N2O from soils of 1% of the N applied, irrespective of its form even though N2O emissions tend to be higher from nitrate-containing fertilisers compared to urea. This research generated tier 2 emission factors for mineral N fertiliser by formulation and soil type.

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No description available.

Breeding waders have suffered widespread population declines on lowland wet grassland. Conservation efforts on reserves are concentrated on the provision of optimum foraging and nesting conditions to improve wader productivity. This thesis aimed to investigate the potential offarmyard manure (FYM) application to increase soil invertebrate availability (a component of wader diet) in spring, thereby enhancing foraging habitat quality. Fieldwork was conducted in 2004-2006 on lowland wet grassland RSPB reserves to assess. the effects of FYM at rates of 5, 10 and 15 tonnes ha-1 on soil invertebrates and other factors of relevance to wader conservation and wider management objectives. Additional studies were carried out to investigate the response of earthworms to FYM on a finer scale and establish the role of earthworms in the diet, habitat choices and foraging efficiency of lapwing adults and chicks. An increase in earthworm availability in the breeding season was seen following an autumn application ofFYM spread at rates of 10 and 15 tonnes ha-1 Ã?Â? There was a strong aggregative response of earthworms to FYM on a small scale. No effect of FYM application at these rates was seen on epigeal invertebrate numbers, but the average body mass of Coleoptera increased on FYM treatments. There was no evidence to suggest a detrimental effect on either soil or vegetation properties on reserves. Earthwonn availability was an important factor in foraging choice and rates in female adult lapwing and for older chicks, with chicks close to fledging showing significantly greater levels of earthworms in their diet. An assessment of the gross energy content of common earthworm species suggests the increases in earthworm availability seen at these rates of FYM application are sufficient to be biologically meaningful to waders in the Breeding waders have suffered widespread population declines on lowland wet grassland. Conservation efforts on reserves are concentrated on the provision of optimum foraging and nesting conditions to improve wader productivity. This thesis aimed to investigate the potential offarmyard manure (FYM) application to increase soil invertebrate availability (a component of wader diet) in spring, thereby enhancing foraging habitat quality. Fieldwork was conducted in 2004-2006 on lowland wet grassland RSPB reserves to assess. the effects of FYM at rates of 5, 10 and 15 tonnes ha-1 on soil invertebrates and other factors of relevance to wader conservation and wider management objectives. Additional studies were carried out to investigate the response of earthworms to FYM on a finer scale and establish the role of earthworms in the diet, habitat choices and foraging efficiency of lapwing adults and chicks. An increase in earthworm availability in the breeding season was seen following an autumn application ofFYM spread at rates of 10 and 15 tonnes ha-1 Ã?Â? There was a strong aggregative response of earthworms to FYM on a small scale. No effect of FYM application at these rates was seen on epigeal invertebrate numbers, but the average body mass of Coleoptera increased on FYM treatments. There was no evidence to suggest a detrimental effect on either soil or vegetation properties on reserves. Earthwonn availability was an important factor in foraging choice and rates in female adult lapwing and for older chicks, with chicks close to fledging showing significantly greater levels of earthworms in their diet. An assessment of the gross energy content of common earthworm species suggests the increases in earthworm availability seen at these rates of FYM application are sufficient to be biologically meaningful to waders in the field.

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No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.