Forest Flux Research Articles

Sampling effort and uncertainty in leaf litterfall mass and nutrient flux in northern hardwood forests

AbstractDesigns for litterfall sampling can be improved by understanding the sources of uncertainty in litterfall mass and nutrient concentration. We compared the coefficient of variation of leaf litterfall mass and nutrient concentrations (nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and potassium) at different spatial scales and across years for six northern hardwood species from 23 stands in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, USA. Stands with steeper slopes (P = 0.01), higher elevations (P = 0.05), and more westerly aspect (P = 0.002) had higher interannual variation in litter mass, probably due to a litter trap design that allowed litter to blow into traps in windy years. The spatial variation of nutrient concentrations varied more across stands than within stands for all elements (P < 0.001). Phosphorus was the most spatially variable of all nutrients across stands (P < 0.001). Litter nutrient concentrations varied less from year to year than litter mass, but the magnitude of difference depended on the element and tree species. We compared the relative importance of variation in mass vs. concentration to estimates of nutrient flux by simulating different sampling intensities of one while holding the other constant. In this dataset, interannual variability of leaf litter mass contributed more to uncertainty in litterfall flux calculations than interannual variation in nutrient concentrations. Optimal sampling schemes will depend on the elements of interest and local factors affecting spatial and temporal variability.

Measuring trees in 3D: what lasers can reveal about our forests

ABSTRACTForests provide a direct link between forest ecosystem productivity and earth-atmosphere fluxes, and their structure is both a result and driver of these interactions. However, a significant challenge still remains as to how to best measure forests, in a way that truly represents their structurally complex and dynamic nature. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) has shown its potential to provide such measurements, offering a new approach to monitoring how forest systems change through time and space. The aim of this article is to outline the application of TLS for forestry measurement, and to demonstrate how recent advancements in TLS can offer new insights in vegetation monitoring.

Below-canopy contributions to ecosystem CO2 fluxes in a temperate mixed forest in Switzerland

Forests are structurally complex ecosystems with several canopy layers, each with distinct functional properties contributing differently to the net ecosystem CO2 exchange. A large number of studies have addressed ecosystem-scale net CO2 fluxes in forests, but only few studies have investigated the role of the forest understory. The goal of this study was to quantify the below-canopy contribution to ecosystem CO2 fluxes of a mixed deciduous forest in Switzerland. Below- and above-canopy eddy-covariance (EC) measurements were made continuously over two years, complemented by within canopy wind and CO2 concentration profile measurements.On an annual basis, the below-canopy fluxes indicated a net carbon source dominated by soil respiration, while the above-canopy fluxes were dominated by tree photosynthesis leading to a net carbon sink. Below-canopy fluxes showed a net carbon sink only in spring, with the early emergence of understory plants before overstory canopy leaf-out. Below-canopy respiration partitioned from the EC measurements agreed well with previous chamber-based soil respiration measurements. However, below- and above-canopy fluxes became decoupled under full canopy closure, thus leading to unaccounted below-canopy fluxes when measured only above the canopy. Wind and CO2 concentration profile measurements supported this finding. Decoupling was independent of low turbulence conditions and decoupled periods could be identified using the relationship between the below- and above-canopy standard deviation in vertical wind velocity. A decoupling correction was applied to the above-canopy measurements during decoupled periods and corrected annual net ecosystem production (NEP) agreed well with independent estimates from biomass inventory combined with models. Overall, the below-canopy fluxes contributed 79% to annual ecosystem respiration, but only 9% to annual ecosystem photosynthesis. The decoupling correction reduced annual NEP for the site from about 760 to 330gCm−2yr−1. Our results showed that below-canopy EC measurements are essential in this mixed deciduous forest, and likely in many other forests, to fully understand the carbon dynamics within structurally complex ecosystems.

Effects of warming and precipitation exclusion on soil N2O fluxes in subtropical forests.

In order to explore how soil warming and precipitation exclusion influence soil N2O fluxes, we used related functional genes as markers, and four treatments were set up, i.e. , control (CT), soil warming (W, 5 ℃ above the ambient temperature of the control), 50% precipitation reduction (P), soil warming plus 50% precipitation reduction (WP). The results showed that precipitation exclusion reduced soil ammonium nitrogen concentration significantly. Soil warming decreased soil N2O flux and soil denitrification potential significantly. Soil microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) in warming treatment (W) and precipitation exclusion treatment (P) was significantly lower than that in the control. The amoA gene abundance of AOA was negatively correlated with MBN and ammonium nitrogen contents, but neither soil nitrification potential nor soil N2O flux was correlated with the amoA gene abundance of AOA. Path analysis showed that the denitrification potential affected soil N2O flux directly, while microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP) and warming affected soil N2O flux indirectly through their direct effects on denitrification potential. Temperature might be the main driver of N2O flux in subtropical forest soils. Global warming would reduce N2O emissions from subtropical forest soils.

Methane Production Explained Largely by Water Content in the Heartwood of Living Trees in Upland Forests

AbstractMost forests worldwide are located in upland landscapes. Previous studies have mainly focused on ground methane (CH4) flux in upland forests, and living tree stem‐based CH4 processes and fluxes are thus relatively poorly understood. This study investigated the relationship between CH4 concentration and water content in the heartwood of living trees in midtemperate, warm temperate, and subtropical upland forests and also measured seasonal changes of in situ stem CH4 flux and the CH4 concentration and water content in the heartwood of Populus davidiana Dode in a warm temperate upland forest. We found that approximately 4–13% of tree stems or approximately 8–31% of tree species had a substantial CH4 concentration of ≥10,000 μL L−1 in their heartwood across the three types of upland forests. The heartwood CH4 concentration was related to water content by a power function. A threshold of water content occurred beyond which CH4 was produced at high levels in the heartwood. The CH4 emissions from the breast height stems of P. davidiana ranged from 202.1 to 331.6 μg m−2 h−1 on a stem surface area basis during July–October 2016 and were significantly linearly correlated with the CH4 concentration or water content in the heartwood throughout the experimental period, but the linear correlation was not significant at daily and monthly scales. Temperature was not a limiting factor for CH4 production during July–October 2016, and thus, most of the CH4 production may be explained by water content in the heartwood of living trees in upland forests.

Improving predictions of tropical forest response to climate change through integration of field studies and ecosystem modeling.

Tropical forests play a critical role in carbon and water cycles at a global scale. Rapid climate change is anticipated in tropical regions over the coming decades and, under a warmer and drier climate, tropical forests are likely to be net sources of carbon rather than sinks. However, our understanding of tropical forest response and feedback to climate change is very limited. Efforts to model climate change impacts on carbon fluxes in tropical forests have not reached a consensus. Here, we use the Ecosystem Demography model (ED2) to predict carbon fluxes of a Puerto Rican tropical forest under realistic climate change scenarios. We parameterized ED2 with species-specific tree physiological data using the Predictive Ecosystem Analyzer workflow and projected the fate of this ecosystem under five future climate scenarios. The model successfully captured interannual variability in the dynamics of this tropical forest. Model predictions closely followed observed values across a wide range of metrics including aboveground biomass, tree diameter growth, tree size class distributions, and leaf area index. Under a future warming and drying climate scenario, the model predicted reductions in carbon storage and tree growth, together with large shifts in forest community composition and structure. Such rapid changes in climate led the forest to transition from a sink to a source of carbon. Growth respiration and root allocation parameters were responsible for the highest fraction of predictive uncertainty in modeled biomass, highlighting the need to target these processes in future data collection. Our study is the first effort to rely on Bayesian model calibration and synthesis to elucidate the key physiological parameters that drive uncertainty in tropical forests responses to climatic change. We propose a new path forward for model-data synthesis that can substantially reduce uncertainty in our ability to model tropical forest responses to future climate.

Constraining Reionization with the z ∼ 5–6 Lyα Forest Power Spectrum: The Outlook after Planck

Abstract The latest measurements of cosmic microwave background electron-scattering optical depth reported by Planck significantly reduces the allowed space of H I reionization models, pointing toward a later ending and/or less extended phase transition than previously believed. Reionization impulsively heats the intergalactic medium (IGM) to ∼ 10 4 K , and owing to long cooling and dynamical times in the diffuse gas that are comparable to the Hubble time, memory of reionization heating is retained. Therefore, a late-ending reionization has significant implications for the structure of the z ∼ 5 – 6 Lyα forest. Using state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations that allow us to vary the timing of reionization and its associated heat injection, we argue that extant thermal signatures from reionization can be detected via the Lyα forest power spectrum at 5 < z < 6 . This arises because the small-scale cutoff in the power depends not only the the IGM temperature at these epochs, but is also particularly sensitive to the pressure-smoothing scale set by the IGM full thermal history. Comparing our different reionization models with existing measurements of the Lyα forest flux power spectrum at z = 5.0 – 5.4 , we find that models satisfying Planck’s τ e constraint favor a moderate amount of heat injection consistent with galaxies driving reionization, but disfavoring quasar-driven scenarios. We study the feasibility of measuring the flux power spectrum at z ≃ 6 using mock quasar spectra and conclude that a sample of ∼10 high-resolution spectra with an attainable signal-to-noise ratio will allow distinguishing between different reionization scenarios.

Soil greenhouse gas fluxes in tropical mangrove forests and in land uses on deforested mangrove lands

Mangrove forests are important carbon sinks in the tropics, yet tropical mangrove deforestation and land use conversion still persists. Reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from natural and anthropogenic sources in wetlands are important in regional and national emissions inventories. However, very few studies have been conducted to measure on the GHG fluxes in coastal wetlands, particularly in mangrove forest and non-forest land uses in deforested mangroves. We investigated the soil fluxes of CO2, CH4 and N2O in mangrove forest and non-forest land uses on deforested mangrove areas (i.e. abandoned aquaculture ponds, coconut plantations, abandoned salt ponds, and cleared mangroves) in the coasts of Honda Bay, Philippines. Results showed that the emissions of CO2 and CH4 were higher by 2.6 and 6.6 times in mangrove forests (110 and 0.6kg CO2e ha −1 day −1, respectively) while N2O emissions were lower by 34 times compared to the average of non-forest land uses (1.3kg CO2e ha −1 day −1). CH4 and N2O emissions accounted for 0.59% and 0.04% of the total emissions in mangrove forest as compared to 0.23% and 3.07% for non-forest land uses, respectively. Site-scale soil GHG flux distribution could be mapped with 75% to 83% accuracy using Ordinary Kriging. Unlike mangroves that can offset all GHG emissions through CO2 uptake from photosynthesis, the non-forest land uses cannot offset their emissions on-site as they are usually devoid of vegetation. Our results could be utilised in higher tier national GHG inventories, to refine regional and global estimates of GHG emissions in mangrove wetlands, and improve policy on coastal wetlands conservation.

Reducing the uncertainty of parameters controlling seasonal carbon and water fluxes in Chinese forests and its implication for simulated climate sensitivities

AbstractReducing parameter uncertainty of process‐based terrestrial ecosystem models (TEMs) is one of the primary targets for accurately estimating carbon budgets and predicting ecosystem responses to climate change. However, parameters in TEMs are rarely constrained by observations from Chinese forest ecosystems, which are important carbon sink over the northern hemispheric land. In this study, eddy covariance data from six forest sites in China are used to optimize parameters of the ORganizing Carbon and Hydrology In Dynamics EcosystEms TEM. The model‐data assimilation through parameter optimization largely reduces the prior model errors and improves the simulated seasonal cycle and summer diurnal cycle of net ecosystem exchange, latent heat fluxes, and gross primary production and ecosystem respiration. Climate change experiments based on the optimized model are deployed to indicate that forest net primary production (NPP) is suppressed in response to warming in the southern China but stimulated in the northeastern China. Altered precipitation has an asymmetric impact on forest NPP at sites in water‐limited regions, with the optimization‐induced reduction in response of NPP to precipitation decline being as large as 61% at a deciduous broadleaf forest site. We find that seasonal optimization alters forest carbon cycle responses to environmental change, with the parameter optimization consistently reducing the simulated positive response of heterotrophic respiration to warming. Evaluations from independent observations suggest that improving model structure still matters most for long‐term carbon stock and its changes, in particular, nutrient‐ and age‐related changes of photosynthetic rates, carbon allocation, and tree mortality.

Joint Bayesian Estimation of Quasar Continua and the Lyα Forest Flux Probability Distribution Function

Abstract We present a new Bayesian algorithm making use of Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling that allows us to simultaneously estimate the unknown continuum level of each quasar in an ensemble of high-resolution spectra, as well as their common probability distribution function (PDF) for the transmitted Lyα forest flux. This fully automated PDF regulated continuum fitting method models the unknown quasar continuum with a linear principal component analysis (PCA) basis, with the PCA coefficients treated as nuisance parameters. The method allows one to estimate parameters governing the thermal state of the intergalactic medium (IGM), such as the slope of the temperature–density relation , while marginalizing out continuum uncertainties in a fully Bayesian way. Using realistic mock quasar spectra created from a simplified semi-numerical model of the IGM, we show that this method recovers the underlying quasar continua to a precision of and at z = 3 and z = 5, respectively. Given the number of principal component spectra, this is comparable to the underlying accuracy of the PCA model itself. Most importantly, we show that we can achieve a nearly unbiased estimate of the slope of the IGM temperature–density relation with a precision of at z = 3 and at z = 5, for an ensemble of ten mock high-resolution quasar spectra. Applying this method to real quasar spectra and comparing to a more realistic IGM model from hydrodynamical simulations would enable precise measurements of the thermal and cosmological parameters governing the IGM, albeit with somewhat larger uncertainties, given the increased flexibility of the model.

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) input to the soil: DOC fluxes and their partitions during the growing season in a cool‐temperate broad‐leaved deciduous forest, central Japan

AbstractDissolved organic carbon (DOC) plays an important role in C cycling in forest ecosystems. Here we measured the concentrations and fluxes of DOC in a cool‐temperate broad‐leaved deciduous forest (Takayama Forest) to quantify the contribution of DOC from different forest water flux conditions. Mean DOC concentration during the growing season increased in the sequence from bulk precipitation (2.98 ± 0.45 mg L−1), throughfall above dwarf bamboo (6.84 ± 0.45 mg L−1), throughfall below dwarf bamboo (7.08 ± 0.42 mg L−1), stemflow (15.05 ± 0.98 mg L−1), and litter leachate (21.33 ± 1.01 mg L−1). Litter leachate DOC concentration, being high in spring and autumn, which was fairly correlated with the amount of litterfall of bamboo and trees. In stemflow, the DOC concentration was high during early summer and gradually decreased, in addition, it also showed dramatic variation among different plant species. Litter leachate (72.5%) accounted for most of the DOC input to the soil during the growing season (311.5 kg C ha−1 7 months−1), while stemflow (1.6%) contributed the least. A great quantity of precipitation at the study site was associated with a subsequent high atmospheric contribution of DOC flux (8.6%), which was more than half of throughfall (16.5%). The high input of DOC to the soil and andisol soil characteristics at the Takayama Forest suggest that the DOC fluxes are vital to the soil carbon sequestration. Therefore, DOC fluxes should be taken into account when the carbon balance is assessed at forest ecosystems.

Effect of chronic nitrogen fertilization on soil CO2 flux in a temperate forest in North China: a 5-year nitrogen addition experiment

Mounting evidence has indicated that there was dramatic increase in atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition. The objectives of this study were to characterize how soil carbon dioxide (CO2) flux responds to different forms and levels of N addition in 5 years. We hope to provide further understanding and detailed information of the impact of N addition on CO2 flux in temperate forests in North China. A 5-year field experiment was conducted at the Xi Mountain Research Station of Beijing Forestry University, northern China, from 2011 to 2016. Multiple levels and forms of N addition experiment included control with no N added, NH4NO3, NaNO3, and (NH4)2SO4 at two levels (low N (L) 50 kg N ha−1 year−1 and high N (H) 150 kg N ha−1 year−1). Additional N was administered equally once per month during the growing season (March to October), and CO2 flux was measured three times every month. Soil temperature, water-filled pore space, and NO3 −-N and NH4 +-N concentrations were measured monthly to determine the relationships between CO2 flux and soil physicochemical variables. Cumulative CO2 flux increased by more than 50% under all high-level N addition and by 27% under L-NH4NO3 addition, while other N additions had no significant effect. H-NaNO3 and H-NH4NO3 exerted stronger effects on cumulative CO2 flux in initial years, especially the second year when maximum increases were 99 and 129%, respectively. Increasing inorganic N concentration could change soil from N-limited to N-rich, and then N-saturated, and so the promotion increased and then decreased. The effect of high-level N addition was stronger than that of low-level, and exhibited a general order: NH4NO3 > (NH4)2SO4. Considering the amount and decrease in NH4 +-N/NO3 −-N in local actual N deposition, there might be an increase in soil CO2 flux in our study area in the future. The performance of N addition on cumulative CO2 flux depended on N forms and levels. If the experimental period had been less than 3 years, the effect of N addition on temperate forest soil would be overestimated. Our findings highlighted the importance of experimental time and multiple forms and levels of N addition with regard to the response of soil CO2 flux to N deposition.

Response approach to the squeezed-limit bispectrum: application to the correlation of quasar and Lyman-α forest power spectrum

The squeezed-limit bispectrum, which is generated by nonlinear gravitational evolution as well as inflationary physics, measures the correlation of three wavenumbers, in the configuration where one wavenumber is much smaller than the other two. Since the squeezed-limit bispectrum encodes the impact of a large-scale fluctuation on the small-scale power spectrum, it can be understood as how the small-scale power spectrum ``responds'' to the large-scale fluctuation. Viewed in this way, the squeezed-limit bispectrum can be calculated using the response approach even in the cases which do not submit to perturbative treatment. To illustrate this point, we apply this approach to the cross-correlation between the large-scale quasar density field and small-scale Lyman-α forest flux power spectrum. In particular, using separate universe simulations which implement changes in the large-scale density, velocity gradient, and primordial power spectrum amplitude, we measure how the Lyman-α forest flux power spectrum responds to the local, long-wavelength quasar overdensity, and equivalently their squeezed-limit bispectrum. We perform a Fisher forecast for the ability of future experiments to constrain local non-Gaussianity using the bispectrum of quasars and the Lyman-α forest. Combining with quasar and Lyman-α forest power spectra to constrain the biases, we find that for DESI the expected 1−σ constraint is err[fNL]∼60. Ability for DESI to measure fNL through this channel is limited primarily by the aliasing and instrumental noise of the Lyman-α forest flux power spectrum. The combination of response approach and separate universe simulations provides a novel technique to explore the constraints from the squeezed-limit bispectrum between different observables.

Effects of topography and fire on soil CO2 and CH4 flux in boreal forest underlain by permafrost in northeast China

Regional quantification of soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes in boreal forests remains difficult because of high landscape heterogeneity and fire disturbance coupled with a sparse measurements network. Most of the work focuses on the separate effects of fire or topography, and as a result, the spatial variability in the response of soil carbon flux to fire remains unclear. A two-year field experiment was conducted in the boreal forest of the DaXing’anling Mountains to investigate the effects of topography (ridge and depression) and fire on soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes and to determine how the effects of fire vary with topography. The results showed that soil carbon flux to the atmosphere in this region was dominated by soil CO2 flux. Topography had significant effect on soil carbon fluxes, with higher soil CO2 emissions and CH4 uptakes on the ridge than in the depression, whether burned or not, and these topographical differences were amplified by fire. Fire significantly increased soil CO2 emissions and CH4 uptakes both in the depression and on the ridge. However, the factors that determined soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes and the extent of the response to fire varied with topography. Although the depression released less soil carbon to the atmosphere, the increase in Q10 of soil CO2 flux and the permafrost degradation following fire in the depression indicated stronger positive feedbacks to climate warming. To concluded, topography regulated the effects of fire on soil carbon fluxes and might control the post-fire soil carbon flux feedbacks to climate warming. Therefore, large-scale predictions of soil carbon fluxes in response to fire in the boreal region must explicitly incorporate topographic features.

Nitrogen flux patterns through Oxisols and Ultisols in tropical forests of Cameroon, Central Africa

ABSTRACTWe lack an understanding of nitrogen (N) cycles in tropical forests of Africa, although the environmental conditions in this region, such as soil type, vegetation, and climate, are distinct when compared with other tropical forests. Herein, we simultaneously quantified N fluxes through precipitation, throughfall, and 0-, 15-, and 30-cm soil solutions, as well as litterfall, in two forests with different soil acidity (Ultisols at the MV village (exchangeable Al3+ in 0–30 cm, 126 kmolc ha–1) and Oxisols at the AD village (exchangeable Al3+ in 0–30 cm, 59.8 kmolc ha–1)) over 2 years in Cameroon. The N fluxes to the O horizon via litterfall plus throughfall were similar for both sites (MV and AD, 243 and 273 kg N ha–1 yr–1, respectively). Those values were remarkably large relative to other tropical forests, reflecting the dominance of legumes in this region. The total dissolved N flux from the O horizon at the MV was 28 kg N ha–1 yr–1, while it was 127 kg N ha–1 yr–1 mainly as NO3–-N (~80%) at the AD. The distinctly different pattern of N cycles could be caused by stronger soil acidity at the MV, which was considered to promote a superficial root mat formation in the O horizon despite the marked dry season (fine root biomass in the O horizon and its proportion to the 1-m-soil profile: 1.5 Mg ha–1 and 31% at the MV; 0.3 Mg ha–1 and 9% at the AD). Combined with the published data for N fluxes in tropical forests, we have shown that Oxisols, in combination with N-fixing species, have large N fluxes from the O horizon; meanwhile, Ultisols do not have large fluxes because of plant uptake through the root mat in the O horizon. Consequently, our results suggest that soil type can be a major factor influencing the pattern of N fluxes from the O horizon via the effects of soil acidity, thereby determining the contrasting plant–soil N cycles in the tropical forests of Africa.

Leaf Litterfall and Decomposition ofPolylepis reticulatain the Treeline of the Ecuadorian Andes

Leaf litterfall contributes significantly to carbon fluxes in forests. A crucial open question for the sustainability of mountain forests is how climate change will affect this and other carbon fluxes (eg photosynthesis and respiration). Leaf litterfall and decomposition of Polylepis reticulata, an endemic species of the Andes, were analyzed during a period of 1 year at 6 experimental plots located in the Andean paramo between 3700 and 3900 m above sea level in Cajas National Park, Ecuador. Litterfall was collected in each plot using 5 randomly distributed traps. Every trap had a 40-cm diameter (0.125 m2) and was suspended 0.8 to 1.0 m above the ground. The decomposition rate of the leaf litter was analyzed using litter bags. Eighteen bags with approximately 20 g of dry litter were placed in the litter layer in each experimental plot and collected 30, 60, 90, 150, 210, 300, and 365 days after they were installed. The mean annual litterfall recorded was 3.77 Mg ha−1, representing 51% of the leaf biomass present in the canopy, so the leaf life span of P. reticulata in Cajas National Park is 1.98 years. Litterfall occurred all year, with no significant seasonal pattern. The mean decomposition rate (k) obtained for this study period was 0.38 year−1. This study contributes to the information gap on litterfall and decomposition in natural forests located at the highest elevations in the world.

Stomatal conductance models for ozone risk assessment at canopy level in two Mediterranean evergreen forests

Forests in Mediterranean Europe are located in a hot spot for tropospheric ozone formation. We applied two canopy-level stomatal conductance models (Jarvis-type and Ball-Woodrow-Berry models) to two Mediterranean evergreen forests (Umbrella pine at San Rossore, and Holm oak at Castelporziano, in central Italy), which is essential for assessing ozone impact on forests via the stomatal flux-based approach. Parameterizations of the models was carried out by the Eddy Covariance technique. Both Jarvis-type and Ball-Woodrow-Berry models well explained the observed stomatal conductance and stomatal ozone flux in both forests. Maximum stomatal conductance was 72% higher in Umbrella pine than in Holm oak, leading to higher stomatal ozone flux. Inclusion of a soil water function improved the performance of the Jarvis-type model for the estimation of stomatal ozone flux. We found contrasting results concerning the coefficient m (the slope of the photosynthesis-stomatal conductance relationship) in the Ball-Woodrow-Berry model between the two forests: while m was constant for varying soil water status in the Holm oak forest, it declined with soil drying in the Umbrella pine forest. This may result from higher stomatal sensitivity to drought in Umbrella pine as a response to avoid drought stress. Overall, these results advance our understanding of ozone risk assessment in Mediterranean forests.

Methane and carbon dioxide fluxes in the waterlogged forests of Western Siberian southern and middle taiga subzones

Methane and carbon dioxide fluxes in the waterlogged forests of Western Siberian southern and middle taiga subzones

Carbon and Nitrogen Pools and Fluxes in Adjacent Mature Norway Spruce and European Beech Forests

We compared two adjacent mature forest ecosystem types (spruce vs. beech) to unravel the fate of assimilated carbon (C) and the cycling of organic and inorganic nitrogen (N) without the risk of the confounding influences of climatic and site differences when comparing different sites. The stock of C in biomass was higher (258 t·ha−1) in the older (150 years) beech stand compared to the younger (80 years) planted spruce stand (192 t·ha−1), whereas N biomass pools were comparable (1450 kg·ha−1). Significantly higher C and N soil pools were measured in the beech stand, both in forest floor and mineral soil. Cumulative annual CO2 soil efflux was similar among stands, i.e., 9.87 t·ha−1·year−1 of C in the spruce stand and 9.01 t·ha−1·year−1 in the beech stand. Soil temperature explained 78% (Q10 = 3.7) and 72% (Q10 = 4.2) of variability in CO2 soil efflux in the spruce and beech stand, respectively. However, the rather tight N cycle in the spruce stand prevented inorganic N losses, whereas losses were higher in the beech stand and were dominated by nitrate in the mineral soil. Our results highlighted the long-term consequences of forest management on C and N cycling.

Cold season soil NO fluxes from a temperate forest: drivers and contribution to annual budgets

Soils, and here specifically acidic forest soils exposed to high rates of atmospheric nitrogen deposition, are a significant source for the secondary greenhouse gas nitric oxide (NO). However, as flux estimates are mainly based on measurements during the vegetation period, annual NO emissions budgets may hold uncertainty as cold season soil NO fluxes have rarely been quantified. Here we analyzed cold season soil NO fluxes and potential environmental drivers on the basis of the most extensive database on forest soil NO fluxes obtained at the Höglwald Forest, Germany, spanning the years 1994 to 2010. On average, the cold season (daily average air temperature <3 °C) contributed to 22% of the annual soil NO budget, varying from 13% to 41% between individual cold seasons. Temperature was the main controlling factor of the cold season NO fluxes, whereas during freeze-thaw cycles soil moisture availability determined NO emission rates. The importance of cold season soil NO fluxes for annual NO fluxes depended positively on the length of the cold season, but responded negatively to frost events. Snow cover did not significantly affect cold season soil NO fluxes. Cold season NO fluxes significantly correlated with cold season soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. During freeze-thaw periods strong positive correlations between NO and N2O fluxes were observed, though stimulation of NO fluxes by freeze-thaw was by far less pronounced as compared to N2O. Except for freeze-thaw periods NO fluxes significantly exceeded those for N2O during the cold season period. We conclude that in temperate forest ecosystems cold season NO emissions can contribute substantially to the annual NO budget and this contribution is significantly higher in years with long lasting but mild (less frost events) cold seasons.