A cuvette design for field and laboratory measurement of water and ammonia flux from soils in a short grass prairie

Abstract Development of micro‐meteorological methods has made it possible to estimate ammonia (NH3) volatilization in the field. However, this method requires field size plots which are not possible to use under many circumstances such as evaluation of volatile loss of NH3 from urine patches. Cuvettes are the only alternative available for direct estimation of NH3 flux from small sites. This work describes the use of evaporation of water from a freely evaporating surface as a method of developing a cuvette which can provide realistic estimates of NH3 volatilization in the field. Nitrogen‐15 labeled urea solutions were used to evaluate the overall performance of the cuvette system. A number of design considerations are discussed. Using evaporation rates was found to be a satisfactory method to determine operating parameters of a cuvette in the field. Nighttime and daytime conditions varied in such a way that it was necessary to use difference conditions for each. It was necessary for daytime conditions to ...