Effects of Drainage Water Management in a Corn–Soy Rotation on Soil N2O and CH4 Fluxes

Drainage water management (DWM), also known as controlled drainage, is a best practice (BMP) deployed on drainage ditches with demonstrated success at reducing dissolved nitrogen export from agricultural fields. By slowing discharge ditches, subsequent anaerobic soil conditions provide an environment for nitrate to be reduced via denitrification. Despite this success, incomplete denitrification might increase nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and more methanogenesis, resulting in increased methane (CH4) emissions. These two gases, N2O CH4, are potent greenhouse gases (GHG) depletes stratospheric ozone. This potential pollution swapping of reduction GHG production could negatively impact the desirability BMP. We conducted three years static chamber measurements surface farm plots without DWM corn–soybean rotation Delmarva Peninsula. found that raised table ditch edge, but had no statistically significant effect water-filled pore space field surface. Nor did we find findings encouraging suggest that, least site, can used remove tradeoff