Overlapping Yak Excreta Patches Emit Less Nitrous Oxide Than Expected

Overlapping Yak Excreta Patches Emit Less Nitrous Oxide Than Expected

A research team has found that overlapping yak urine and dung patches in an alpine meadow do not simply add together to increase soil nitrous oxide emissions. Under dry field conditions on the Qingzang Plateau, combined deposition produced an antagonistic response: cumulative emissions were similar to urine alone and far below the theoretical sum of separate urine and dung patches. The finding challenges a common assumption in greenhouse-gas acc…