TY - JOUR
T1 - Land inclination controls CO2 and N2O fluxes, but not CH4 uptake, in a temperate upland forest soil
AU - Gillespie, Lauren M.
AU - Triches, Nathalie Y.
AU - Abalos, Diego
AU - Finke, Peter
AU - Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Sophie
AU - Glatzel, Stephan
AU - Díaz-Pinés, Eugenio
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Inclination and spatial variability in soil and litter properties influence soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes and thus ongoing climate change, but their relationship in forest ecosystems is poorly understood. To elucidate this, we explored the effect of inclination, distance from a stream, soil moisture, soil temperature, and other soil and litter properties on soil–atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) with automated static chambers in a temperate upland forest in eastern Austria. We hypothesised that soil CO2 emissions and CH4 uptake are higher in sloped locations with lower soil moisture content, whereas soil N2O emissions are higher in flat, wetter locations. During the measurement period, soil CO2 emissions were significantly higher on flat locations (p < 0.05), and increased with increasing soil temperature (p < 0.001) and decreasing soil moisture (p < 0.001). The soil acted as a CH4 sink, and CH4 uptake was not significantly related to inclination. However, CH4 uptake was significantly higher at locations furthest away from the stream as compared to at the stream (p < 0.001) and positively related to litter weight and soil C content (p < 0.01). N2O fluxes were significantly higher on flat locations and further away from the stream (p < 0.05) and increased with increasing soil moisture (p < 0.001), soil temperature (p < 0.001), and litter depth (p < 0.05). Overall, this study underlines the importance of inclination and the resulting soil and litter properties in predicting GHG fluxes from forest soils and therefore their potential source-sink balance.
AB - Inclination and spatial variability in soil and litter properties influence soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes and thus ongoing climate change, but their relationship in forest ecosystems is poorly understood. To elucidate this, we explored the effect of inclination, distance from a stream, soil moisture, soil temperature, and other soil and litter properties on soil–atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) with automated static chambers in a temperate upland forest in eastern Austria. We hypothesised that soil CO2 emissions and CH4 uptake are higher in sloped locations with lower soil moisture content, whereas soil N2O emissions are higher in flat, wetter locations. During the measurement period, soil CO2 emissions were significantly higher on flat locations (p < 0.05), and increased with increasing soil temperature (p < 0.001) and decreasing soil moisture (p < 0.001). The soil acted as a CH4 sink, and CH4 uptake was not significantly related to inclination. However, CH4 uptake was significantly higher at locations furthest away from the stream as compared to at the stream (p < 0.001) and positively related to litter weight and soil C content (p < 0.01). N2O fluxes were significantly higher on flat locations and further away from the stream (p < 0.05) and increased with increasing soil moisture (p < 0.001), soil temperature (p < 0.001), and litter depth (p < 0.05). Overall, this study underlines the importance of inclination and the resulting soil and litter properties in predicting GHG fluxes from forest soils and therefore their potential source-sink balance.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85189500044&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5194/soil-9-517-2023
DO - 10.5194/soil-9-517-2023
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85189500044
SN - 2199-3971
VL - 9
SP - 517
EP - 531
JO - SOIL
JF - SOIL
IS - 2
ER -