| Volumes and Issues Contents of Issue 3 Special Issue |
www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/6/5305/2009/
doi:10.5194/bgd-6-5305-2009
© Author(s) 2009. This work is distributed
under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Nitrous oxide production in boreal soils with variable organic matter content at low temperature – snow manipulation experiment
1University of Kuopio, Dept. of Environmental Science, P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
2Agrifood Res. Finland, Animal Production Res., Halolantie 31 A, 71750 Maaninka, Finland
3Finnish Forest Res. Inst., Kannus Research Unit, P.O. Box 44, 69101 Kannus, Finland
4Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Department of Forest Ecology & Management, Skogsmarksgränd, 90183 Umeå, Sweden
5Umeå University, Department Chemistry, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
Abstract. Agricultural soils are the most important sources for the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O), which is produced and emitted from soil also at low temperatures. The processes behind emissions at low temperatures are still poorly known. To simulate the effects of a reduction in snow depth on N2O emission in warming climate, snow pack was removed from three different agricultural soils (sand, mull, peat). Removal of snow lowered soil temperature and increased the extent and duration of soil frost which led to enhanced N2O emissions during freezing and thawing events in sand and mull soils. The cumulative emissions during the first year when snow was removed over the whole winter were 0.25, 0.66 and 3.0 g N2O-N m−2 yr−1 in control plots of sand, mull and peat soils, respectively. Without snow cover the respectively cumulative emissions were 0.37, 1.3 and 3.3 g N2O-N m−2 yr−1. Shorter snow manipulation during the second year did not increase the annual emissions. Only 20% of the N2O emission occurred during the growing season. Thus, highlighting the importance of the winter season for this exchange and that the year-round measurements of N2O emissions from boreal soils are integral for estimating their N2O source strength. N2O accumulated in the frozen soil during winter and the soil N2O concentration correlated with the depth of frost but not with the winter N2O emission rates per se. Also laboratory incubations of soil samples showed high production rates of N2O at temperatures below 0°C, especially in the sand and peat soils.
Discussion Paper (PDF, 628 KB) Interactive Discussion (Closed, 4 Comments) Final Revised Paper (BG) Special Issue
Notice on Discussion StatusCitation: Maljanen, M., Virkajärvi, P., Hytönen, J., Öquist, M., Sparrman, T., and Martikainen, P. J.: Nitrous oxide production in boreal soils with variable organic matter content at low temperature – snow manipulation experiment, Biogeosciences Discuss., 6, 5305-5337, doi:10.5194/bgd-6-5305-2009, 2009. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
Search BG
News
- Impact factor for 2010 confirms the prominent position of Biogeosciences
- Overview of Scheduled Special Issues
- Three times in 2010, Biogeosciences has achieved the highest percent increase in total citations among journals in the field of Environment & Ecology in Essential Science IndicatorsSM from Thomson Reuters. For more information see: http://sciencewatch.com.
- EGU Position Statement on Discussion Papers