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Applicability of the soil gradient method for estimating soil–atmosphere CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O fluxes for steppe soils in Inner Mongolia
Author(s) -
Wolf Benjamin,
Chen Weiwei,
Brüggemann Nicolas,
Zheng Xunhua,
Pumpanen Jukka,
ButterbachBahl Klaus
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of plant nutrition and soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1522-2624
pISSN - 1436-8730
DOI - 10.1002/jpln.201000150
Subject(s) - flux (metallurgy) , steppe , soil water , calibration , soil science , atmosphere (unit) , soil gas , environmental science , greenhouse gas , chemistry , atmospheric sciences , analytical chemistry (journal) , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental chemistry , physics , geology , meteorology , ecology , oceanography , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , biology
For evaluating the applicability of the soil gradient method as a substitute for CO 2 ‐, CH 4 ‐, and N 2 O‐flux measurements in steppe, we carried out chamber measurements and determined soil gas concentration at an ungrazed (UG99) and a grazed (WG) site in Inner Mongolia, China. The agreement of the concentration‐based flux estimates with measured chamber‐based fluxes varied largely depending on the respective GHG in the sequence CO 2 > CH 4 >> N 2 O. A calibration of the gas‐transport parameter used to calculate fluxes based on soil gas concentrations improved the results considerably for CO 2 and CH 4 . After calibration, the average deviation from the chamber‐based annual cumulative flux for both sites was 11.5%, 10.5%, and 59% for CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O. The gradient method did not constitute an adequate stand‐alone substitute for greenhouse‐gas flux estimation since a calibration using chamber‐based measurements was necessary and vigorous production processes were confined to the uppermost, almost water‐saturated soil layer.