Ouma, Turry; Barthel, Matti; Oluoch, Kevin Churchill; Otinga, Abigael; Njoroge, Ruth; Leitner, Sonja; Oduor, Collins; Agredazywczuk, Phillip; Zhu, Yuhao; Tamburini, Federica; Obozinski, Guillaume; Six, Johan; Harris, Eliza: A multi-variable high-resolution dataset of N2O fluxes, isotopologue signatures, greenhouse gas fluxes, soil mineral nitrogen, microclimate, and crop yield from smallholder maize and potato systems [dataset bundled publication]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995337 (dataset in review)
Abstract:
We present a multi-variable field dataset of nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas measurements from smallholder maize and potato systems in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya (0°34′45″N, 35°18′22″E; 2,213 m a.s.l.), collected from March 2024 to March 2025. The dataset includes (1) automated chamber-based N₂O, CH₄, and CO₂ fluxes measured continously using a cavity ring-down spectrometer (Butterbach-Bahl et al., 1997; Zhu et al., 2024); (2) N₂O isotopologue signatures (δ¹⁵N_bulk, δ¹⁵N_site preference, δ¹⁸O); (3) soil stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) and elemental composition; (4) soil mineral nitrogen concentrations (NH₄⁺–N, NO₃⁻–N) from soil cores to 60 cm depth; and (5) continuous soil microclimate and meteorological variables recorded at 15-minute resolution. The dataset spans a full annual cycle, including long rains, dry season, short rains, and fallow periods, with temporal resolution ranging from sub-hourly to monthly. Measurements were conducted on Ferralsol soils (FAO, 2006) within a randomized complete block design with nitrogen fertilisation treatments (0, 50, and 100 kg N ha⁻¹) applied to maize and potato systems. The data were collected to support analysis of nitrogen cycling processes and greenhouse gas emissions in tropical agroecosystems and are suitable for applications in greenhouse gas inventories, process-based modelling, and evaluation of nitrogen management strategies in sub-Saharan Africa.
Supplement to:
Ouma, Turry; Barthel, Matti; Oluoch, Kevin Churchill; Otinga, Abigael; Njoroge, Ruth; Leitner, Sonja; Oduor, Collins; Agredazywczuk, Phillip; Zhu, Yuhao; Tamburini, Federica; Obozinski, Guillaume; Six, Johan; Harris, Eliza (submitted): A multi-variable dataset of N₂O fluxes, isotopologue signatures, soil mineral nitrogen, greenhouse gas emissions, and microclimate from smallholder maize and potato systems in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya (March 2024–March 2025). Earth System Science Data
Related to:
Oluoch, Kevin Churchill; Njoroge, Ruth; Otinga, Abigael; Mutua, Scholastica; Ouma, Turry; Agredazywczuk, Phillip; Barthel, Matti; Six, Johan; Collins, Oduro; Leitner, Sonja; Tufail, Muhammad; Oyugi, Antony; Harris, Eliza (preprint): Fate of Nitrogen in Rainfed Maize (Zea mays) Systems of the Tropical Highlands of Kenya Under Increasing Nitrogen Fertiliser Application Rates. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5912075
References:
Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus; Gasche, R; Breuer, Lutz; Papen, H (1997): Fluxes of NO and N2O from temperate forest soils: impact of forest type, N deposition and of liming on the NO and N2O emissions. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 48(1-2), 79-90, https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009785521107
IUSS Working Group WRB (2007): World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2006, first update 2007. World Soil Resources Reports No. 103. FAO, Rome
Zhu, Yuhao; Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus; Merbold, Lutz; Oduor, Collins; Gakige, Jesse Kagai; Mwangi, Paul; Leitner, Sonja (2024): Greenhouse gas emissions from sheep excreta deposited onto tropical pastures in Kenya. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 359, 108724, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2023.108724
Funding:
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), grant/award no. 207348: N2O-SSA: Combining measurements, modelling and machine learning to improve N2O accounting for sustainable agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa
Coverage:
Latitude: 0.579720 * Longitude: 35.306110
Date/Time Start: 2024-03-05T03:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2025-03-14T19:30:00
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) (License comes into effect after moratorium ends)
Size:
7 datasets
Download Data (login required; moratorium until 2026-12-08)
Datasets listed in this bundled publication
- Ouma, T; Barthel, M; Oluoch, KC et al. (in review): Methane fluxes measured from automated static closed chambers in maize and potato plots in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995344
- Ouma, T; Barthel, M; Oluoch, KC et al. (in review): Soil carbon dioxide fluxes measured from automated static closed chambers in maize and potato plots in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995346
- Ouma, T; Barthel, M; Oluoch, KC et al. (in review): Nitrous oxide fluxes measured from automated static closed chambers in maize and potato plots in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995348
- Ouma, T; Barthel, M; Oluoch, KC et al. (in review): Bulk soil stable isotope compositions and elemental concentrations measured from soil cores in smallholder maize and potato plots in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995351
- Ouma, T; Barthel, M; Oluoch, KC et al. (in review): Soil mineral nitrogen concentrations and physicochemical properties measured from soil cores in smallholder maize and potato plots in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995352
- Ouma, T; Barthel, M; Oluoch, KC et al. (in review): Nitrous oxide isotopologue signatures measured from static chambers in smallholder maize and potato plots in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995349
- Ouma, T; Barthel, M; Oluoch, KC et al. (in review): Continuous soil microclimate and meteorological measurements from maize and potato plots in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995353