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Diurnal variation of soil CO2 efflux and its optimal measuring time-window of temperate meadow steppes in western Songnen Plain, China

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Abstract

In order to study the diurnal variation of soil CO2 efflux from temperate meadow steppes in Northeast China, and determine the best time for observation, a field experiment was conducted with a LI-6400 soil CO2 flux system under five typical plant communities (Suaeda glauca (Sg), Chloris virgata (Cv), Puccinellia distans (Pd), Leymus chinensis (Lc) and Phragmites australis (Pa)) and an alkali-spot land (As) at the meadow steppe of western Songnen Plain. The results showed that the diurnal variation of soil CO2 efflux exhibited a single peak curve in the growing season. Diurnal maximum soil respiration (Rs) often appeared between 11:00 and 13:00, while the minimum occurred at 21:00–23:00 or before dawn. Air temperature near the soil surface (Ta) and soil temperature at 10 cm depth (T10) exerted dominant control on the diurnal variations of soil respiration. The time-windows 7:00–9:00 could be used as the optimal measuring time to represent the daily mean soil CO2 efflux at the Cv, Pd, Lc and Pa sites. The daily mean soil CO2 efflux was close to the soil CO2 efflux from 15:00 to 17:00 and the mean of 2 individual soil CO2 efflux from 15:00 to 19:00 at the As and Sg sites, respectively. During nocturnal hours, negative soil CO2 fluxes (CO2 downwards into the soil) were frequently observed at the As and Sg sites, the magnitude of the negative CO2 fluxes were 0.10–1.55 μmol/(m2·s) and 0.10–0.69 μmol/(m2·s) at the two sites. The results implied that alkaline soils could absorb CO2 under natural condition, which might have significant implications to the global carbon budget accounting.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Peat and Mire Research, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration of National Environmental Protection, Changchun, 130024, China

    Xiuli Yu, Linshu Xu & Ming Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, China

    Xiujun Li, Ming Wang, Jitao Zhang, Ming Jiang & Guodong Wang

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  1. Xiuli Yu
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  2. Xiujun Li
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  3. Linshu Xu
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  4. Ming Wang
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  5. Jitao Zhang
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  6. Ming Jiang
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  7. Guodong Wang
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Correspondence to Ming Wang.

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Foundation item: Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41501090, 41501105), Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities (No. 2412015KJ023)

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Yu, X., Li, X., Xu, L. et al. Diurnal variation of soil CO2 efflux and its optimal measuring time-window of temperate meadow steppes in western Songnen Plain, China. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 26, 518–526 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-016-0824-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-016-0824-z

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