Water Salinity Should Be Reduced for Irrigation to Minimize Its Risk of Increased Soil N(2)O Emissions

To reveal the effect of irrigation salinity on soil nitrous oxide (N(2)O) emission, pot experiments were designed with three irrigation salinity levels (NaCl and CaCl(2) of 1, 2.5 and 4 g/L equivalence, Ec = 3.6, 8.1 and 12.7 ds/m), either for 0 kg N/ha (N0) or 120 kg N/ha (N120) nitrogen inputs. N(2)O emissions from soils irrigated at different salinity levels varied in a similar pattern which was triggered by soil moisture dynamics. Yet, the magnitudes of pulse N(2)O fluxes were significantly varied, with the peak flux at 5 g/L irrigation salinity level being much higher than at 2 and 8 g/L. Compared to fresh water irrigated soils, cumulative N(2)O fluxes were reduced by 22.7% and 39.6% (N0), 29.1% and 39.2% (N120) for soils irrigated with 2 and 8 g/L saline water, while they were increased by 87.7% (N0) and 58.3% (N120) for soils irrigated with 5 g/L saline water. These results suggested that the effect degree of salinity on consumption and production of N(2)O might vary among irrigation salinity ranges. As such, desalinating brackish water to a low salinity level (such as 2 g/L) before it is used for irrigation might be helpful for solving water resources crises and mitigating soil N(2)O emissions.