ESTIMATES OF DENITRIFICATION IN SOIL BY REMOTE-SENSING OF THERMAL INFRARED-EMISSION AT DIFFERENT MOISTURE LEVELS

Remote sensing techniques may be one way to narrow the range of uncert ainty in extrapolating N2 emissions from small-scale to large-scale te rrestrial ecosystems. In the present work we investigated the correlat ions between denitrification activity, soil moisture, and soil thermal infrared emissions. A field experiment was performed on two different agricultural soils, one loam and one silty clay. The results indicate d that thermal infrared emissions can only be used to estimate the den itrification rate in soil within a limited range of soil moisture leve ls. Estimates of denitrification activity based on soil texture and mo isture are, however, very likely to be a fruitful approach to generati ng large-scale N fluxes.