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Trace gas fluxes and nitrogen cycling along an elevation sequence of tropical montane forests in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
Author(s) -
Purbopuspito Joko,
Veldkamp Edzo,
Brumme Rainer,
Murdiyarso Daniel
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/2005gb002516
Subject(s) - plant litter , biogeochemical cycle , cycling , flux (metallurgy) , tropics , litter , trace gas , subtropics , soil water , nitrogen , environmental science , hydrology (agriculture) , nutrient , geology , ecology , atmospheric sciences , chemistry , forestry , environmental chemistry , soil science , biology , geography , organic chemistry , geotechnical engineering
Studies on soil‐atmosphere flux of N 2 O, NO and CH 4 in tropical forests have mainly focused on tropical lowland forests. Here we present the first intensive study of trace gas fluxes along an elevation sequence of tropical montane forests ranging from 1190 m to 2470 m elevation in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Using chamber techniques, we measured monthly flux rates and controlling factors on three elevations, each with three replicate plots for 1 year. Annual N 2 O fluxes ranged from 0.29 kg N ha −1 yr −1 at 1800 m to 1.01 kg N ha −1 yr −1 at 2470 m and 1.11 kg N ha −1 yr −1 at 1190 m, while annual NO fluxes ranged from 0.17 kg N ha −1 yr −1 at 1800 m, to 0.18 kg N ha −1 yr −1 at 2470 m and 0.48 kg N ha −1 yr −1 at 1190 m. Methane uptake ranged from 1.45 kg C ha −1 yr −1 at 2470 m to 2.45 kg C ha −1 yr −1 at 1190 m and 3.32 kg C ha −1 yr −1 at 1800 m. At the highest elevation, methane uptake was affected by the thick organic layer present at the surface of the soil. Several lines of evidence (soil N stocks, extractable inorganic N, litterfall mass, litterfall‐N and δ 15 N signals in litterfall and soil organic matter) show that the annual N 2 O + NO emissions could be explained by the inherent N status of these forests. In a test of indices of N cycling to explain N 2 O and NO fluxes, the robustness of litterfall C/N and litterfall N was confirmed and the δ 15 N signal of litterfall emerged as promising driver for regional and global biogeochemical models that predict N 2 O + NO emissions from soil.