Other Soils
The amount of N2O emitted from non-agricultural soils is dependent on the soil’s nutrient level and
moisture content.5 It is believed therefore that soils in tropical regions emit far more N2O than soils
in other terrestrial ecosystems.5,6 Because of the variability of soil types and soil moisture levels,
some tropical soils emit more N2O than others.
Global soil N2O flux measurements were compiled from various sources5-8 and used to delineate soil
N2O emission factors.9 Table 14.1-2 presents the mean emission factors developed for 6 ecological
regions. These emission factors are based on test data from primarily undisturbed soils.9