Carbon-sink potential of continuous alfalfa agriculture lowered by short-term nitrous oxide emission events

Alfalfa is the most widely grown forage crop worldwide and is thought to be a significant carbon sink due to high productivity, extensive root systems, and nitrogen-fixation. However, these conditions may increase nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions thus lowering the climate change mitigation potential. We used a suite of long-term automated instrumentation and satellite imagery to quantify patterns and drivers of greenhouse gas fluxes in a continuous alfalfa agroecosystem in California. We show that this continuous alfalfa system was a large N₂O source (624 ± 28 mg N₂O m² y^-1), offsetting the ecosystem carbon (carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄)) sink by up to 14% annually. Short-term N₂O emissions events (i.e., hot moments) accounted for ≤1% of measurements but up to 57% of annual emissions. Seasonal and daily trends in rainfall and irrigation were the primary drivers of hot moments of N₂O emissions. Significant coherence between satellite-derived photosynthetic activity and N₂O fluxes suggested plant activity was an important driver of background emissions. Combined data show annual N₂O emissions can significantly lower the carbon-sink potential of continuous alfalfa agriculture.