Effect of temporal resolution on N2O emission inventories in Dutch fen meadows

Most countries use a 1-year-resolution emission factor approach (Tier 1 or 2) to estimate terrestrial N2O emissions as part of their national greenhouse gas inventory. Little attention has so far been paid to the effect of the temporal resolution of the approach (e.g., day, season, and year) on N2O emission estimates. The effect of lumping temporal variation can be very large because of daily or seasonal variations of processes causing N2O emissions. Therefore, we compared annual N2O emissions from a model with daily time steps (DNDC) with those of a model with annual time steps (INITIATOR). Emissions were simulated for two intensively managed grassland plots in the Dutch fen meadow landscape. Annual N2O emissions from the investigated grasslands were sensitive to rainfall distribution within the year, especially to summer rainfall. We recommend that Tier 2 N2O emission estimates for intensively managed grasslands on peat soils in the temperate climate zone are adjusted for relative summer rainfal