Principles of development of a mass balance N cycle model for temperate grasslands: An Irish case study
Prado, A.D. , Brown, L., Schulte, R., Ryan, M., Scholefield, D. Principles of development of a mass balance N cycle model for temperate grasslands: An Irish case study Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems Volume 74, Issue 2, February 2006, Pages 115-131
Prado, A.D. , Brown, L., Schulte, R., Ryan, M., Scholefield, D.
Principles of development of a mass balance N cycle model for
temperate grasslands: An Irish case study Nutrient Cycling in
Agroecosystems Volume 74, Issue 2, February 2006, Pages
115-131
Abstract. Because of current environmental legislation in European
grass-based farming, there is a need to develop tools that can link
nitrogen (N) production with losses to the environment. A mass
balance empirical model (NCYCLE) is proposed to fulfil this role.
This study describes the principles and stages to develop a mass
balance N cycle model for Irish grasslands using the basis of the
existing NCYCLE model. The model was reconstructed and validated
using empirical data from herbage cutting experiments in different
Irish conditions and new functions were incorporated to improve the
predictions. Irish data on agroclimatic regions and atmospheric
deposition were used to provide site specific calculations. Outputs
from the model are presented and appear to agree reasonably well
with measured data from Ireland.
