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Title: Long-term dynamics of soil, tree stem and ecosystem methane fluxes in a riparian forest

Journal Article · · Science of the Total Environment
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [1];  [5];  [5];  [5];  [6];  [5];  [4];  [1]
  1. University of Tartu (Estonia); Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Prague (Czech Republic)
  2. University of Tartu (Estonia); Estonian University of Life Sciences (Estonia)
  3. Smithsonian Environmental Institute, Edgewater, MD (United States)
  4. Estonian University of Life Sciences (Estonia)
  5. University of Tartu (Estonia)
  6. Univ. of Helsinki (Finland)

The carbon (C) budgets of riparian forests are sensitive to climatic variability. Therefore, riparian forests are hot spots of C cycling in landscapes. Only a limited number of studies on continuous measurements of methane (CH4) fluxes from riparian forests is available. Here, in this work, we report continuous high-frequency soil and ecosystem (eddy-covariance; EC) measurements of CH4 fluxes with a quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer for a 2.5-year period and measurements of CH4 fluxes from tree stems using manual chambers for a 1.5 year period from a temperate riparian Alnus incana forest. The results demonstrate that the riparian forest is a minor net annual sink of CH4 consuming 0.24 kg CH4-C ha–1 y–1. Soil water content is the most important determinant of soil, stem, and EC fluxes, followed by soil temperature. There were significant differences in CH4 fluxes between the wet and dry periods. During the wet period, 83% of CH4 was emitted from the tree stems while the ecosystem-level emission was equal to the sum of soil and stem emissions. During the dry period, CH4 was substantially consumed in the soil whereas stem emissions were very low. A significant difference between the EC fluxes and the sum of soil and stem fluxes during the dry period is most likely caused by emission from the canopy whereas at the ecosystem level the forest was a clear CH4 sink. Our results together with past measurements of CH4 fluxes in other riparian forests suggest that temperate riparian forests can be long-term CH4 sinks.

Research Organization:
Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0008165
OSTI ID:
1977627
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1839484
Journal Information:
Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 809; ISSN 0048-9697
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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