Abstract. Grassland management may lead to strong modification of the canopy structure and hence fluxes of carbon and nitrogen in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. Mowing or grazing removes green leaves, which are often a sink for ammonia. Consequently, the ratio between actively growing leaves and senescing/dead parts of the plants is strongly changed in favour of the latter, which may constitute a large source of ammonia. Moreover, fertilisers are a known source of ammonia through direct volatilisation.

The effects of grassland management, e.g. growing, cutting and fertilisation, on ammonia emission were investigated using a dynamic chamber. This technique made it possible to monitor ammonia emissions in the field at the plant level. With ammonia-free air at the inlet, the ammonia emissions from mature sward did not exceed 4 ng NH₃ m⁻² s⁻¹. They were approximately 20 times larger above a sward re-growing after cutting and 200 times larger after fertilisation, where 0.5–1.0% of the applied inorganic nitrogen fertiliser was lost by volatilisation.

Cutting implied three main changes in ammonia sources and sinks within the canopy: (i) physiological changes with nitrogen remobilisation to the growing leaves and increase in senescence, (ii) changes in compartment proportions with only 5% of green leaves remaining after cutting as opposed to equal proportions of dead leaves as green leaves before cutting, (iii) microclimate changes within the canopy especially for litter with higher turbulence, temperature, and alternation of dry (day) and wet (night) conditions after cutting. These changes promoted ammonia volatilisation from the litter, which could account for the increased ammonia loss following cutting. Another potential source was the wounded surfaces of the stubble which may have emitted ammonia during bleeding and evaporation of sap containing significant levels of ammonium.

These results showed that the contribution of litter and drying cut sward on the ammonia balance of grassland is very significant, as well as their interaction with microclimatic conditions. This could apply to most natural and managed ecosystems and could be especially significant in the former. Consequently, further studies on ammonia fluxes should have a 0focus on this part of the canopy.