Global peatlands N2O

Locations, dates, measurements of soil chemistry and physics, and N2O fluxes used in the analyses for the paper 'Nitrogen-rich organic soils under warm, well-drained conditions are global nitrous oxide emission hotspots' submitted to Nature Communications . A'air_t_max', air temperature at the nearest weather station in the warmest month of the year (KNMI Climate Explorer climexp.knmi.nl). Nitrogen-rich organic soils under warm, well-drained conditions are global nitrous oxide emission hotspots.

N2O is a powerful greenhouse gas and the main driver of stratospheric ozone depletion. Since soils are the largest source of N2O, predicting soil response to changes in climate or land use is central to understanding and managing N2O. In a global field survey of N2O emissions and potential driving factors across a wide range of organic soils, we find that N2O flux can be predicted by models incorporating soil nitrate concentration (NO3-), water content and temperature.