A new incubation system to simultaneously measure n2 as well as n2o and co2 fluxes from plant-soil mesocosms

This study presents a novel plant-soil mesocosm system designed for cultivating plants over periods ranging from days to weeks while continuously measuring fluxes of N2, N2O and CO2. For proof of concept, we conducted a 33-day incubation experiment using six soil mesocosms, with three containing germinated wheat plants and three left plant-free. To validate the magnitude of N2 and N2O fluxes, we used 15N-enriched fertilizer and a 15N mass balance approach. The system inherent leakage rate was about 55 µg N m− 2 h− 1 for N2, while N2O leakage rates were below the detection limit (< 1 µg N m− 2 h− 1). In our experiment, we found higher cumulative gaseous N2 + N2O losses in sown soil (0.34 ± 0.02 g N m− 2) as compared to bare soil (0.23 ± 0.01 g N m− 2). N2 fluxes accounted for approximately 94–96