O2:CO2 exchange ratios observed in a cool temperate deciduous forest ecosystem of central Japan

Abstract

Detailed observations of O2:CO2 exchange ratios were conducted in a cool temperate deciduous forest located in central Japan. The exchange ratios of soil respiration and net assimilation were found to be 1.11±0.01 and 1.02±0.03 from soil chamber and branch bag measurements, respectively. Continuous measurements of the atmospheric O2/N2 ratio and the CO2 concentration, made inside the canopy during a summer season, indicated that the average exchange ratio was lower in the daytime (0.87±0.02) than in the nighttime (1.03±0.02) with a daily mean value of 0.94±0.01. The observed average daytime and nighttime exchange ratios were nearly consistent with the corresponding values obtained from a one-box canopy O2/CO2 budget model simulation of net turbulent O2 and CO2 fluxes between the atmosphere and the forest ecosystem. Our results suggest that the daily mean exchange ratios of the net turbulent O2 and CO2 fluxes depend sensitively on the forest ecosystem processes.