Soil greenhouse gas emissions from a sisal chronosequence in Kenya

Sisal (Agave sisalana) is a climate-resilient crop grown on large-scale farms in semi-arid areas. However, no studies have investigated soil greenhouse gas (GHGs: CO2, N2O and CH4) fluxes from these plantations and how they relate to other land cover types. We examined GHG fluxes (Fs) in a sisal chr...

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Main Authors: Wachiye, Sheila, Merbold, Lutz, Vesala, Timo, Rinne, Janne, Leitner, Sonja, Räsänen, Matti, Vuorinne, Ilja, Heiskanen, Janne, Pellikka, Petri
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129559
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author Wachiye, Sheila
Merbold, Lutz
Vesala, Timo
Rinne, Janne
Leitner, Sonja
Räsänen, Matti
Vuorinne, Ilja
Heiskanen, Janne
Pellikka, Petri
author_browse Heiskanen, Janne
Leitner, Sonja
Merbold, Lutz
Pellikka, Petri
Rinne, Janne
Räsänen, Matti
Vesala, Timo
Vuorinne, Ilja
Wachiye, Sheila
author_facet Wachiye, Sheila
Merbold, Lutz
Vesala, Timo
Rinne, Janne
Leitner, Sonja
Räsänen, Matti
Vuorinne, Ilja
Heiskanen, Janne
Pellikka, Petri
author_sort Wachiye, Sheila
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Sisal (Agave sisalana) is a climate-resilient crop grown on large-scale farms in semi-arid areas. However, no studies have investigated soil greenhouse gas (GHGs: CO2, N2O and CH4) fluxes from these plantations and how they relate to other land cover types. We examined GHG fluxes (Fs) in a sisal chronosequence at Teita Sisal Estate in southern Kenya. The effects of stand age on Fs were examined using static GHG chambers and gas chromatography for a period of one year in seven stands: young stands aged 1–3 years, mature stands aged 7–8 years, and old stands aged 13–14 years. Adjacent bushland served as a control site representing the surrounding land use type. Mean CO₂ fluxes were highest in the oldest stand (56 ± 3 mg C m-2 h-1) and lowest in the 8-year old stand (38 ± 3 mg C m-2 h-1), which we attribute to difference in root respiration between the stand. All stands had 13–28% higher CO₂ fluxes than bushland (32 ± 3 mg C m-2 h-1). CO2 fluxes in the wet season were about 70% higher than dry season across all sites. They were influenced by soil water content (WS) and vegetation phenology. Mean N2O fluxes were very low (<5 µg N m-2 h-1) in all sites due to low soil nitrogen (N) content. About 89% of CH4 fluxes were below the detection limit (LOD ± 0.02 mg C m-2 h-1). Our results imply that sisal plantations have higher soil CO2 emissions than the surrounding land use type, and the seasonal emissions were largely driven by WS and the vegetation status. Methane and nitrous oxide are of minor importance. Thus, soil GHG fluxes from sisal plantations are a minor contributor to agricultural GHG emissions in Kenya.
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spelling CGSpace1295592025-12-08T09:54:28Z Soil greenhouse gas emissions from a sisal chronosequence in Kenya Wachiye, Sheila Merbold, Lutz Vesala, Timo Rinne, Janne Leitner, Sonja Räsänen, Matti Vuorinne, Ilja Heiskanen, Janne Pellikka, Petri soil greenhouse gas emissions kenya gas emissions Sisal (Agave sisalana) is a climate-resilient crop grown on large-scale farms in semi-arid areas. However, no studies have investigated soil greenhouse gas (GHGs: CO2, N2O and CH4) fluxes from these plantations and how they relate to other land cover types. We examined GHG fluxes (Fs) in a sisal chronosequence at Teita Sisal Estate in southern Kenya. The effects of stand age on Fs were examined using static GHG chambers and gas chromatography for a period of one year in seven stands: young stands aged 1–3 years, mature stands aged 7–8 years, and old stands aged 13–14 years. Adjacent bushland served as a control site representing the surrounding land use type. Mean CO₂ fluxes were highest in the oldest stand (56 ± 3 mg C m-2 h-1) and lowest in the 8-year old stand (38 ± 3 mg C m-2 h-1), which we attribute to difference in root respiration between the stand. All stands had 13–28% higher CO₂ fluxes than bushland (32 ± 3 mg C m-2 h-1). CO2 fluxes in the wet season were about 70% higher than dry season across all sites. They were influenced by soil water content (WS) and vegetation phenology. Mean N2O fluxes were very low (<5 µg N m-2 h-1) in all sites due to low soil nitrogen (N) content. About 89% of CH4 fluxes were below the detection limit (LOD ± 0.02 mg C m-2 h-1). Our results imply that sisal plantations have higher soil CO2 emissions than the surrounding land use type, and the seasonal emissions were largely driven by WS and the vegetation status. Methane and nitrous oxide are of minor importance. Thus, soil GHG fluxes from sisal plantations are a minor contributor to agricultural GHG emissions in Kenya. 2021-09 2023-03-10T14:39:14Z 2023-03-10T14:39:14Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129559 en Open Access Elsevier Wachiye, Sheila; Merbold, Lutz; Vesala, Timo; Rinne, Janne; Leitner, Sonja; Räsänen, Matti; Vuorinne, Ilja; Heiskanen, Janne; Pellikka, Petri. 2021. Soil greenhouse gas emissions from a sisal chronosequence in Kenya. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 307: 108465
spellingShingle soil
greenhouse gas emissions
kenya
gas emissions
Wachiye, Sheila
Merbold, Lutz
Vesala, Timo
Rinne, Janne
Leitner, Sonja
Räsänen, Matti
Vuorinne, Ilja
Heiskanen, Janne
Pellikka, Petri
Soil greenhouse gas emissions from a sisal chronosequence in Kenya
title Soil greenhouse gas emissions from a sisal chronosequence in Kenya
title_full Soil greenhouse gas emissions from a sisal chronosequence in Kenya
title_fullStr Soil greenhouse gas emissions from a sisal chronosequence in Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Soil greenhouse gas emissions from a sisal chronosequence in Kenya
title_short Soil greenhouse gas emissions from a sisal chronosequence in Kenya
title_sort soil greenhouse gas emissions from a sisal chronosequence in kenya
topic soil
greenhouse gas emissions
kenya
gas emissions
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129559
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