•Respiration of grazing dairy cows was derived from eddy covariance measurements.•Annual NEE of a pasture was determined including and excluding cow contributions.•Footprint weight of grazing cows ...was determined with animal GPS sensors.
Eddy covariance (EC) is the standard approach for monitoring the CO2 exchange of ecosystems and plays an important role in the assessment of their carbon and greenhouse gas budgets. For pastures the application of EC measurement is challenging due to the uneven spatial and temporal distribution of pasturing animals contributing to the net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE). In the present study, the quantitative contribution of the animals to the measured NEE and its gap filling was investigated for a pasture system with 20 dairy cows during one year.
GPS trackers recorded individual animal positions to separate EC data into fluxes with and without influence of animal respiration. Based on animal position data, emissions per animal were calculated using a footprint model.
Annual NEE calculated from data including cow respiration was −68gCm−2yr−1 (negative value indicating uptake) whereas annual NEE calculated from data without cow respiration contribution was −248gCm−2yr−1. The difference between the two calculation methods allowed the quantification of the cow respiration. The average emission per animals derived by footprint correction (4.6kgChead−1d−1) was in the upper range of values found in literature for similar dairy cows.
The applied standard gap filling and flux partitioning algorithm worked well for annual values, but results for shorter-term (daily to monthly) periods showed considerable uncertainties that can be attributed to the strong variability of cow presence in the flux footprint. However, the rotational grazing system in combination with the flux footprint distribution in the present study led to a reduction of the uncertainty for the annual scale.
Greenhouse gas budgets as well as the productivity of grassland systems are closely related to the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles. Within the framework of the CarboEurope and NitroEurope projects ...we have measured C and N exchange on the field scale at the grassland site Oensingen previously converted from arable rotation. The site is located on the Swiss Central Plateau and consists of two parallel fields of equal size. One field was subjected to intensive management with average nitrogen input of 230
kg-N
ha
−1
year
−1 and 4–5 cuts per year, and the other to an extensive management with no fertilisation and less frequent cutting. The total C budget of the fields was assessed by measuring the CO
2 exchange by eddy covariance and analysing the carbon import by manure application and export by harvest. The N budget of the managed grassland is more complex. Besides the management related import and export, it includes gaseous exchange in many different forms (NO, NO
2, HNO
3, N
2O, NH
3, N
2) needing different analytical techniques, as well as input by rain and leaching of N-compounds with the soil water. The main (“level-3”) field sites in the NitroEurope project are supposed to measure 95% of the N fluxes at the field scale. For several of the N fluxes specific measurements have been performed for 1 year or longer at the site. Some of the remaining N budget components (dry and wet deposition) could be estimated from results of a national deposition network, while other components (NH
3 and N
2 emission) were estimated based on literature parameterisations. However, we found indications that the (systematic) uncertainties of these estimated N-fluxes are large and that it is important to make site-specific measurement for all relevant budget components. The suitability of corresponding experimental methods is discussed.
Analysis of the C budget over a 6-year period (2002–2007) showed a significant mean difference between the two newly established grassland fields with a likely net carbon loss for the extensive management and a net sequestration for the intensive management. Since the C/N ratio of the soil organic matter of the grassland is constrained in a rather narrow range around 9.3, the change in the soil carbon pool is supposed to be accompanied by a corresponding change in the N storage. This approach provided an alternative method to check the N budget of the two grassland fields derived from the individual N fluxes.
N2O is a potent greenhouse gas involved in the destruction of the protective ozone layer in the stratosphere and contributing to global warming. The ecological processes regulating its emissions from ...soil are still poorly understood. Here, we show that the presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), a dominant group of soil fungi, which form symbiotic associations with the majority of land plants and which influence a range of important ecosystem functions, can induce a reduction in N2O emissions from soil. To test for a functional relationship between AMF and N2O emissions, we manipulated the abundance of AMF in two independent greenhouse experiments using two different approaches (sterilized and re-inoculated soil and non-mycorrhizal tomato mutants) and two different soils. N2O emissions were increased by 42 and 33% in microcosms with reduced AMF abundance compared to microcosms with a well-established AMF community, suggesting that AMF regulate N2O emissions. This could partly be explained by increased N immobilization into microbial or plant biomass, reduced concentrations of mineral soil N as a substrate for N2O emission and altered water relations. Moreover, the abundance of key genes responsible for N2O production (nirK) was negatively and for N2O consumption (nosZ) positively correlated to AMF abundance, indicating that the regulation of N2O emissions is transmitted by AMF-induced changes in the soil microbial community. Our results suggest that the disruption of the AMF symbiosis through intensification of agricultural practices may further contribute to increased N2O emissions.
Carbon (C) sequestration in the soil is considered as a potential important mechanism to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the agricultural sector. It can be quantified by the net ecosystem ...carbon budget (NECB) describing the change of soil C as the sum of all relevant import and export fluxes. NECB was investigated here in detail for an intensively grazed dairy pasture in Switzerland. Two budget approaches with different system boundaries were applied: NECBtot for system boundaries including the grazing cows and NECBpast for system boundaries excluding the cows. CO2 and CH4 exchange induced by soil/vegetation processes as well as direct emissions by the animals were derived from eddy covariance measurements. Other C fluxes were either measured (milk yield, concentrate feeding) or derived based on animal performance data (intake, excreta). For the investigated year, both approaches resulted in a small near-neutral C budget: NECBtot −27 ± 62 and NECBpast 23 ± 76 g C m−2 yr−1. The considerable uncertainties, depending on the approach, were mainly due to errors in the CO2 exchange or in the animal-related fluxes. The comparison of the NECB results with the annual exchange of other GHG revealed CH4 emissions from the cows to be the major contributor in terms of CO2 equivalents, but with much lower uncertainty compared to NECB. Although only 1 year of data limit the representativeness of the carbon budget results, they demonstrate the important contribution of the non-CO2 fluxes depending on the chosen system boundaries and the effect of their propagated uncertainty in an exemplary way. The simultaneous application and comparison of both NECB approaches provides a useful consistency check for the carbon budget determination and can help to identify and eliminate systematic errors.
Open-path measurements of methane (CH4) with the use of GasFinder systems (Boreal Laser Inc, Edmonton Canada) have been frequently used for emission estimation with the inverse dispersion method ...(IDM), particularly from agricultural sources. It is common to many IDM applications that the concentration enhancement related to CH4 sources is small, typically between 0.05 and 0.5 ppm, and accurate measurements of CH4 concentrations are needed at concentrations close to ambient levels. The GasFinder3-OP (GF3) device for open-path CH4 measurements is the latest version of the commercial GasFinder systems by Boreal Laser Inc. We investigated the uncertainty of six GF3 devices from side-by-side intercomparison measurements and comparisons to a closed-path quantum cascade laser device. The comparisons were made at near-ambient levels of CH4 (85 % of measurements below 2.5 ppm) with occasional phases of elevated concentrations (max. 8.3 ppm). Relative biases as high as 8.3 % were found, and a precision for half-hourly data between 2.1 and 10.6 ppm-m (half width of the 95 % confidence interval) was estimated. These results deviate from the respective manufacturer specifications of 2 % and 0.5 ppm-m. Intercalibration of the GF3 devices by linear regression to remove measurement bias was shown to be of limited value due to drifts and step changes in the recorded GF3 concentrations.
We present a user-friendly tool for footprint calculations of flux measurements in the surface layer. The calculations are based on the analytical footprint model by Kormann, R. and Meixner, F.X. ...2001. An analytical footprint model for Non-neutral Stratification. Boundary-Layer Meteorology 99, 207–224. The footprint density function of a flux sensor is determined using readily available data from standard eddy covariance measurements. This footprint density function is integrated over defined surface areas given as quadrangular polygons representing e.g. agricultural fields. We illustrate the use and performance of the tool by applying it to CO
2 flux measurements with three eddy covariance system at the Swiss CarboEurope grassland site. Two flux towers were positioned in the centre of two neighbouring fields, respectively, that showed a very different CO
2 flux during the study period. The third tower was located near the border of the two fields and was frequently influenced by both fields to a similar degree. The calculated footprint fractions were used to simulate the latter flux from the other two systems. The measured and simulated fluxes showed a good agreement and thus support the reliability of the footprint calculation. The presented simple footprint tool can be used as a routine quality check for flux monitoring stations influenced by surface areas with varying vegetation covers and/or land-use.
A simple tool for operational footprint calculations is presented and its reliability is assessed using CO
2 flux measurements in a patchy agricultural landscape.
Assessment of soil carbon (C) stock changes over time is typically based on the application of two methods, namely (i) repeated soil inventory and (ii) determination of the ecosystem C budget or net ...biome productivity (NBP) by continuous measurement of CO2 exchange in combination with quantification of other C imports and exports. Here, we applied both methods in parallel to determine C stock changes of two temperate grassland fields previously converted from long‐term cropland. The grasslands differed in management intensity with either intensive management (high fertilization, frequent cutting) or extensive management (no fertilization, less frequent cutting). Soil organic C stocks (0–45 cm depth) were quantified at the beginning (2001) and the end (2006) of a 5 year observational period using the equivalent soil mass approach. For the same period and in both fields, NBP was quantified from net CO2 fluxes monitored using eddy covariance systems, and measured C import by organic fertilizer and C export by harvest. Both NBP and repeated soil inventories revealed a consistent and significant difference between management systems of 170 ± 48 and 253 ± 182 g C m−2 a−1, respectively. For both fields, the inventory method showed a tendency towards higher C loss/smaller C gain than NBP. In the extensive field, a significant C loss was observed by the inventory but not by the NBP approach. Thus neither flux measurements nor repeated soil sampling may be suitable for tracking absolute changes in SOC, but both give similar answers with respect to relative changes.
The source of nitrous acid, HONO, in the troposphere remains uncertain, even after two decades of research. It is currently believed that HONO is formed by heterogeneous conversion of NO2 on either ...the ground or the aerosol surface. While this conversion has been studied in the laboratory, few atmospheric studies have been reported. Here we present the first simultaneous determination of the vertical gradients and fluxes of HONO, its precursor NO2, and SO2 over a flat grass surface in the polluted atmosphere. The measurements were performed in Milan, Italy, during the Limitation of Oxidant Production/Pianura Padana Produzione di Ozono (LOOP/PIPAPO) study in summer 1998, using differential optical absorption spectroscopy. While deposition of NO2 onto the ground was frequently observed, heterogeneous HONO formation was much smaller than expected. We can explain our observation by a mechanism that consists of a combination of NO2 and HONO deposition, and a heterogeneous conversion of NO2 to HONO on the ground. The compensation point for deposition and formation of HONO is characterized by a HONO/NO2 ratio of ∼0.03, indicating that only one HONO molecule is released into the gas phase for every 33 NO2 molecules deposited. Our measurements also show that direct emission of HONO is an important source in strongly polluted areas.
We present a differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) instrument, called "miniDOAS", optimised for optical open-path field-measurements of ambient ammonia (NH3) alongside nitrogen oxide ...(NO) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). The instrument is a further development of the miniDOAS presented by Volten et al. (2012). We use a temperature-controlled spectrometer, a deuterium light source and a modified optical arrangement. The system was set up in a robust, field-deployable, temperature-regulated housing. For the evaluation of light spectra we use a new high-pass filter routine based upon robust baseline extraction with local regression. Multiple linear regression including terms of an autoregressive–moving-average model is used to determine concentrations. For NH3 the random uncertainty is about 1.4 % of the concentration, and not better than 0.2 µg m−3. Potential biases for the slope of the calibration are given by the precision of the differential absorption cross sections (±3 %) and for the offset by the precision of the estimation of concentration offsets (cref) introduced by the reference spectrum Iref. Comparisons of miniDOAS measurements to those by NH3 acid trap devices showed good agreement. The miniDOAS can be flexibly used for a wide range of field trials, such as micrometeorological NH3 flux measurements with approaches based upon horizontal or vertical concentration differences. Results from such applications covering concentration dynamics of less than one up to several hundreds of µg m−3 are presented.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes from soil under mown grassland were monitored using static chambers over three growing seasons in intensively and extensively managed systems in Central Switzerland. ...Emissions were largest following the application of mineral (NH4NO3) fertilizer, but there were also substantial emissions following cattle slurry application, after grass cuts and during the thawing of frozen soil. Continuous flux sampling, using automatic chambers, showed marked diurnal patterns in N2O fluxes during emission peaks, with highest values in the afternoon. Net uptake fluxes of N2O and subambient N2O concentrations in soil open pore space were frequently measured on both fields. Flux integration over 2.5 years yields a cumulated emission of +4.7 kgN2O‐N ha−1 for the intensively managed field, equivalent to an average emission factor of 1.1%, and a small net sink activity of −0.4 kg N2O‐N ha−1 for the unfertilized system. The data suggest the existence of a consumption mechanism for N2O in dry, areated soil conditions, which cannot be explained by conventional anaerobic denitrification. The effect of fertilization on greenhouse gas budgets of grassland at the ecosystem level is discussed.
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