Controls over N₂O, NO_x and CO₂ fluxes in a calcareous mountain forest soil

• Main Authors: B. Kitzler, S. Zechmeister-Boltenstern, C. Holtermann, U. Skiba, K. Butterbach-Bahl
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2006-01-01
• Series: Biogeosciences
• Online Access: http://www.biogeosciences.net/3/383/2006/bg-3-383-2006.pdf
• ISSN: 1726-4170; 1726-4189

We measured nitrogen oxides (N₂O and NO_x), dinitrogen (N₂) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from a spruce-fir-beech forest soil in the North Tyrolean limestone Alps in Austria. The site received 10.6–11.9 kg N ha^−1 y^−1 nitrogen as bulk deposition. Fluxes of nitric oxide (NO) were measured by an automatic dynamic chamber system on an hourly basis over a two year period. Daily N₂O emissions were obtained by a semi-automatic gas measuring system. In order to cover spatial variability biweekly manual measurements of N₂O and CO₂ emissions were carried out in addition. For acquiring information on the effects of soil and meteorological conditions and of N-deposition on N-emissions we chose the auto-regression procedure (time-series analysis) as our means of investigation. Hence, we could exclude the data's autocorrelation in the course of the time. We found that soil temperature, soil moisture and bulk N-deposition followed by air temperature and precipitation were the most powerful influencing parameters effecting N-emissions. With these variables, up to 89% of observed temporal variations of N-emissions could be explained. During the two-year investigation period between 2.5 and 3.5% of deposited N was reemitted in form of N₂O whereas only 0.2% were emitted as NO. At our mountain forest site the main end-product of microbial activity processes was N₂ and trace gases (N₂O and NO) were only of minor importance.