Spatial variability of soil N2O and CO2 fluxes in different topographic positions in a tropical montane forest in Kenya

Quantifying and understanding the small-scale variability of nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission is essential for reporting accurate ecosystem greenhouse gas budgets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the spatial pattern of soil CO2 and N2O emissions and their relation to...

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Main Authors: Arias Navarro, Cristina, Díaz Pinés, Eugenio, Klatt, Steffen, Brandt, Patric, Rufino, Mariana C., Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus, Verchot, Louis V.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Wiley 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/80052
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author Arias Navarro, Cristina
Díaz Pinés, Eugenio
Klatt, Steffen
Brandt, Patric
Rufino, Mariana C.
Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus
Verchot, Louis V.
author_browse Arias Navarro, Cristina
Brandt, Patric
Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus
Díaz Pinés, Eugenio
Klatt, Steffen
Rufino, Mariana C.
Verchot, Louis V.
author_facet Arias Navarro, Cristina
Díaz Pinés, Eugenio
Klatt, Steffen
Brandt, Patric
Rufino, Mariana C.
Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus
Verchot, Louis V.
author_sort Arias Navarro, Cristina
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Quantifying and understanding the small-scale variability of nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission is essential for reporting accurate ecosystem greenhouse gas budgets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the spatial pattern of soil CO2 and N2O emissions and their relation to topography in a tropical montane forest. We measured fluxes of N2O and CO2 from 810 sampling locations across valley bottom, mid-slope and ridge top positions under controlled laboratory conditions. We further calculated the minimum number of samples necessary to provide best estimates of soil N2O and CO2 fluxes at the plot level. Topography exhibited a major influence on N2O emissions, with soils at mid-slope position emitting significantly less than at ridge tops and valley bottoms, but no consistent effect of topography on soil CO2 emissions was found. The high spatial variation of N2O and CO2 fluxes was further increased by changes in vegetation and soil properties resulting from human disturbance associated with charcoal production. Soil N2O and CO2 fluxes showed no spatial pattern at the plot level, with “hot spots” strongly contributing to the total emissions (10 % of the soil cores represented 73 and 50 % of the total N2O and CO2 emissions, respectively). Thus, a large number of samples are needed to obtain robust estimates of N2O and CO2 fluxes. Our results highlight the complex biogeochemical cycling in tropical montane forests, and the need to carefully address it in research experiments to robustly estimate soil CO2 and N2O fluxes at the ecosystem scale.
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spelling CGSpace800522025-02-19T13:42:02Z Spatial variability of soil N2O and CO2 fluxes in different topographic positions in a tropical montane forest in Kenya Arias Navarro, Cristina Díaz Pinés, Eugenio Klatt, Steffen Brandt, Patric Rufino, Mariana C. Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus Verchot, Louis V. food security agriculture temperature climate change carbon dioxide nitrous oxide greenhouse gases soil topography tropical forests dióxido de carbono óxido nitroso gases de efecto invernadero suelo topografía bosque tropical paleontology ecology forestry Quantifying and understanding the small-scale variability of nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission is essential for reporting accurate ecosystem greenhouse gas budgets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the spatial pattern of soil CO2 and N2O emissions and their relation to topography in a tropical montane forest. We measured fluxes of N2O and CO2 from 810 sampling locations across valley bottom, mid-slope and ridge top positions under controlled laboratory conditions. We further calculated the minimum number of samples necessary to provide best estimates of soil N2O and CO2 fluxes at the plot level. Topography exhibited a major influence on N2O emissions, with soils at mid-slope position emitting significantly less than at ridge tops and valley bottoms, but no consistent effect of topography on soil CO2 emissions was found. The high spatial variation of N2O and CO2 fluxes was further increased by changes in vegetation and soil properties resulting from human disturbance associated with charcoal production. Soil N2O and CO2 fluxes showed no spatial pattern at the plot level, with “hot spots” strongly contributing to the total emissions (10 % of the soil cores represented 73 and 50 % of the total N2O and CO2 emissions, respectively). Thus, a large number of samples are needed to obtain robust estimates of N2O and CO2 fluxes. Our results highlight the complex biogeochemical cycling in tropical montane forests, and the need to carefully address it in research experiments to robustly estimate soil CO2 and N2O fluxes at the ecosystem scale. 2017-03 2017-03-02T18:04:38Z 2017-03-02T18:04:38Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/80052 en Open Access Wiley Arias-Navarro C, Díaz-Pinés E, Klatt S, Brandt P, Rufino MC, Butterbach-Bahl K, Verchot LV. 2017. Spatial variability of soil N2O and CO2 fluxes in different topographic positions in a tropical montane forest in Kenya. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 122(3):514–527.
spellingShingle food security
agriculture
temperature
climate change
carbon dioxide
nitrous oxide
greenhouse gases
soil
topography
tropical forests
dióxido de carbono
óxido nitroso
gases de efecto invernadero
suelo
topografía
bosque tropical
paleontology
ecology
forestry
Arias Navarro, Cristina
Díaz Pinés, Eugenio
Klatt, Steffen
Brandt, Patric
Rufino, Mariana C.
Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus
Verchot, Louis V.
Spatial variability of soil N2O and CO2 fluxes in different topographic positions in a tropical montane forest in Kenya
title Spatial variability of soil N2O and CO2 fluxes in different topographic positions in a tropical montane forest in Kenya
title_full Spatial variability of soil N2O and CO2 fluxes in different topographic positions in a tropical montane forest in Kenya
title_fullStr Spatial variability of soil N2O and CO2 fluxes in different topographic positions in a tropical montane forest in Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Spatial variability of soil N2O and CO2 fluxes in different topographic positions in a tropical montane forest in Kenya
title_short Spatial variability of soil N2O and CO2 fluxes in different topographic positions in a tropical montane forest in Kenya
title_sort spatial variability of soil n2o and co2 fluxes in different topographic positions in a tropical montane forest in kenya
topic food security
agriculture
temperature
climate change
carbon dioxide
nitrous oxide
greenhouse gases
soil
topography
tropical forests
dióxido de carbono
óxido nitroso
gases de efecto invernadero
suelo
topografía
bosque tropical
paleontology
ecology
forestry
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/80052
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