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Abstract A procedure is described that permits determination of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) evolved from soils treated with 15 N‐labeled fertilizer. This procedure involves dilution of 15 N‐labeled N 2 O with a known amount of unenriched dinitrogen (N 2 ), reduction of the N 2 O to N 2 in a heated tube containing reduced copper, and determination of the ratios, 29 N 2 / 28 N 2 and 30 N 2 /( 28 N 2 + 29 N 2 ), with a dual‐inlet ratio mass spectrometer. The procedure described is accurate and precise; it permits measurement of 15 N‐labeled N 2 O without interference by CO 2 ; it allows calculation of the average 15 N enrichment of the nitrogen pool from which this N 2 O is derived; and it permits N 2 O analysis of an atmospheric sample previously analyzed for 15 N‐labeled N 2 .
Mulvaney et al. (Mon,) studied this question.