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Increased methane uptake but unchanged nitrous oxide flux in montane grasslands under simulated climate change conditions
Author(s) -
Unteregelsbacher S.,
Gasche R.,
Lipp L.,
Sun W.,
Kreyling O.,
Geitlinger H.,
KögelKnabner I.,
Papen H.,
Kiese R.,
Schmid H.P.,
Dannenmann M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
european journal of soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.244
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2389
pISSN - 1351-0754
DOI - 10.1111/ejss.12092
Subject(s) - nitrous oxide , environmental science , climate change , greenhouse gas , grassland , denitrification , sink (geography) , precipitation , agronomy , nitrogen , atmospheric sciences , hydrology (agriculture) , chemistry , ecology , geology , physics , cartography , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , meteorology , biology , geography
Summary Montane grasslands of C entral E urope are expected to be exposed to strong warming and to altered precipitation patterns, suggesting that biosphere–atmosphere–hydrosphere exchange of carbon ( C ) and nitrogen ( N ) compounds may be vulnerable to future climatic conditions. By transferring small lysimeters along an altitudinal gradient, we assessed the impact of climate change conditions on soil–atmosphere exchange of methane ( CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide ( N 2 O ) as well as on ammonium ( NH 4 + ) and nitrate ( NO 3 − ) in soil water in extensively managed montane grassland in southern G ermany. Lysimeter transfer to lower altitude increased air and soil temperatures by more than 2°C and reduced summer precipitation as well as soil moisture throughout the year compared with a control transfer within the high altitude site. This simulation of climate change conditions almost doubled the CH 4 sink strength from −0.11 to −0.19 g C m −2 year −1 , which appeared to be mainly related to improved gas diffusion after reduced soil moisture. Mean NH 4 + and NO 3 − concentrations in soil water (0.05 mg NH 4 + –N l −1 and 0.08 mg NO 3 − –N l −1 ) and N 2 O emissions (approximately 0.03 g N m −2 year −1 ) remained small and unaffected by climate change simulation. Our study suggests that expected climate change conditions will have positive effects on the non‐ CO 2 greenhouse gas balance in extensively managed montane grassland because of increased net CH 4 uptake in soil. For N 2 O emission, we conclude that potential effects of management changes may override the small effects of simulated climate change on N 2 O emissions observed in this study.