Premium
An initial intercomparison of micrometeorological and ecological inventory estimates of carbon exchange in a mid‐latitude deciduous forest
Author(s) -
Ehman J. L.,
Schmid H. P.,
Grimmond C. S. B.,
Randolph J. C.,
Hanson P. J.,
Wayson C. A.,
Cropley F. D.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2486.2002.00492.x
Subject(s) - eddy covariance , environmental science , deciduous , atmospheric sciences , biomass (ecology) , canopy , carbon cycle , ecology , primary production , soil respiration , ecosystem , hydrology (agriculture) , soil water , soil science , biology , geology , geotechnical engineering
The role of mid‐latitude forests in the sequestration of carbon (C) is of interest to an increasing number of scientists and policy‐makers alike. Net CO 2 exchange can be estimated on an annual basis, using eddy‐covariance techniques or from ecological inventories of C fluxes to and from a forest. Here we present an intercomparison of annual estimates of C exchange in a mixed hardwood forest in the Morgan‐Monroe State Forest, Indiana, USA for two years, 1998 and 1999. Based on eddy‐covariance measurements made at 1.8 times canopy height from a tower, C uptake by the forest was 237 and 287 g C m −2 y −1 for 1998 and 1999, respectively. For the same time period, biometric and ecophysiological measures and modelled estimates of all significant carbon fluxes within deciduous forests were made, including: change in living biomass, aboveground and belowground detritus production, foliage consumption, and forest floor and soil respiration. Using this ecological inventory method for these same two time periods, C uptake was estimated to be 271 and 377 g C m −2 y −1 , which are 14.3% and 31.4% larger, respectively, than the tower‐based values. The relative change between this method's annual estimates is consistent with that of the eddy‐covariance based values. Our results indicate that the difference in annual C exchange rates was due to reduced heterotrophic soil respiration in 1999.