The effect of plantain (<i>Plantago Ianceolata</i> L.) in pasture swards on gaseous nitrogen emissions from nitrogen-enriched urine patches

<b>Aims</b>: Plantain has been shown to possess biological nitrification inhibiting (BNI) activity, which can reduce nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from ruminant urine patches. However, the effectiveness of plantain in mitigating these emissions remains unclear.<b>Methods</b>: In this study, the ¹⁵N flux method was employed to investigate the relationship between different plantain proportions in pasture sward and gaseous nitrogen (N) ((N₂O and dinitrogen (N₂)) loss following dairy cow urine deposition (660 kg N ha^-1) on the Allophanic and Gley soils.<b>Results</b>: The findings indicate that the presence of plantain reduced cumulative N₂O emissions after urine deposition, but there was no direct correlation between the nominal sowing rate and its mitigation effectiveness. However, in the Allophanic soil, there was a reduction in cumulative N₂O emissions with an increase in the proportion of plantain in the dry matter. Plantain presence increased total N₂ emissions in both soil types, possibly due to its BNI function, which would retain mineral N in the soil for an extended period, providing substrate for complete denitrification. The total N₂ emissions from the Allophanic soil with plantain presence were higher compared to those from the Gley soil.<b>Conclusion</b>: This study revealed the role of soil type in the effect of plantain on N2O and N₂ emissions from urine patches. The increase of proportion of plantain in the pasture dry matter in the Allophanic soil decreased cumulative N₂O emissions, while no effect of plantain proportion was observed in the Gley soil.