Ploughing a poorly drained grassland reduced N2O emissions compared to chemical fallow

▶ Managed grasslands are a large portion of the agricultural landbase, rich in C and N and represent a risk for emissions of N2O. ▶ On poorly drained grassland soils, ploughing reduced emissions of N2O relative to a chemical fallow by a factor of 2-3 for equivalent soil NO3-N. ▶ Ploughing placed the C and N deeper in the soil profile, and complete reduction to N2 was likely favoured.