Pasture age effects on N[sub 2]O, NO and CH[sub 4] emissions in the Atlantic Lowlands of Costa Rica

Conference · Tue Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993 · Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States)

OSTI ID:6246644

Keller, M ^[1]; Reiners, W A ^[2]; Veldkamp, E ^[3]

---

1. Institute of Tropical Forestry, Rio Piedras (Puerto Rico)
2. Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie (United States)
3. Wageningen Univ. (United Kingdom)

A study conducted in Brazil indicated that N[sub 2]O emissions increased following forest conversion to pasture. Our first study in Costa Rica indicated the reverse. To explore this contradiction, we measured N[sub 2]O, NO, and CH[sub 4] emissions in a chronosequence of 8 sites comprising forest and derive pastures of ayes 2 to 25 years, all on the same soil type in the Atlantic Lowlands of Costa Rica. We found large differences through the chronosequence in the fluxes of these three gases. Flux changes were related to changes in available nitrogen, organic matter, moisture content, and bulk density in the soil. N[sub 2]O emissions from the 2-year pasture were much greater than from the forest. Emissions declined with pasture age so that 25-year pasture had much smaller emissions than the forest. NO emissions from young pastures were similar to forest emissions, then declined sharply with pasture age. Forest soils consumed CH[sub 4]. Pasture soils mainly produced CH[sub 4]. Prediction of the effects of land use change on trace gas fluxes in the tropics will require an assessment of the history and soil condition of individual land units.

• OSTI ID: 6246644
• Report Number(s): CONF-930798--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States) Journal Volume: 74:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
ALKANES
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
CENTRAL AMERICA
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMISTRY
COSTA RICA
DEFORESTATION
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
EMISSION
FLUIDS
GASES
GREENHOUSE GASES
HYDROCARBONS
LAND USE
LATIN AMERICA
MATTER
METHANE
MOISTURE
NITRIC OXIDE
NITROGEN
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
NITROUS OXIDE
NONMETALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC MATTER
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PASTURES
SOIL CHEMISTRY
SOILS
TROPICAL REGIONS