Evaluating and comparing greenhouse gas emissions from annual and perennial dairy feed cropping systems amended with dairy manure

This project compared the N2O and CO2 emissions between an annual cropping system (corn) and a perennial cropping system (hay), each subject to different manure application treatments. We addressed the following questions: 1) How do the net GHG budgets compare between the annual and hay crops, 2) how does the timing or method of manure application affect the GHG emissions, and 3) how do weather conditions affect GHG emissions. GHG emissions were taken using multi-plot flux gradient methodology for 4 side-by-side 4 ha plots. Measurements were continuous.