Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-13T23:05:59.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of soil water status on the spatial variation of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide fluxes in tropical rain-forest soils in Peninsular Malaysia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2012

Masayuki Itoh*
Affiliation:
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
Yoshiko Kosugi
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
Satoru Takanashi
Affiliation:
Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan
Shuhei Kanemitsu
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan Sumitomo Forestry Co. Ltd, Tokyo 100-8270, Japan
Ken'ichi Osaka
Affiliation:
School of Environmental Science, University of Shiga Prefecture, Shiga 522-8533, Japan
Yuki Hayashi
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
Makoto Tani
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
Abdul Rahim Nik
Affiliation:
Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur 52109, Malaysia
*
1Corresponding author. E-mail: masayukiitoh@yahoo.co.jp

Abstract:

To assess the effects of soil water status on the spatial variation in soil carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes, we examined these gas fluxes and environmental factors in a tropical rain forest in Peninsular Malaysia. Measurements of soil CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes were taken ten, nine, and seven times, respectively over 30 mo at 15 or 39 sampling point within 2-ha plot. Mean (± SE) value of spatially averaged CO2 flux was 4.70 ± 0.19 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1 and observed spatial variation in CO2 flux was negatively related to the volumetric soil water content (VSWC) during the dry period. Over the wet period, extremely high CO2 emissions were positively correlated with VSWC at some locations, suggesting that no spatial structure of CO2 flux was because of such hot-spot CO2 emissions. Flux of CH4 was usually negative with little variation, with a mean value of –0.49 ± 0.15 mg CH4 m−2 d−1, resulting in the soil at our study site functioning as a CH4 sink. Spatial variation in CH4 flux was positively related to the VSWC throughout the entire study period (dry and wet). Some CH4 hot spots were observed during dry periods, probably due to the presence of termites. Mean value of spatially averaged N2O flux was 98.9 ± 40.7 μg N m−2 h−1 and N2O flux increased markedly during the wet period. Spatially, N2O flux was positively related to both the VSWC and the soil N concentration and was higher in wet and anaerobic soils. These findings suggest that denitrification is a major contributor to high soil N2O fluxes. Additionally, analysis by adjusting confounding effects of time, location and interaction between time and location in mixed models, VSWC has a negative effect on CO2 flux and positive effects on CH4 and N2O fluxes. We found that soil water status was related temporally to rainfall and controlled greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from the soil at the study site via several biogeochemical processes, including gas diffusion and soil redox conditions. Our results also suggest that considering the biological effects such as decomposer activities may help to explain the complex temporal and spatial patterns in CO2 and CH4 fluxes.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

ABE, T. & MATSUMOTO, T. 1979. Studies on the distribution and ecological role of termites in lowland rainforest of West Malaysia. 3. Distribution and abundance of termites in Pasoh Forest Reserve. Japanese Journal of Ecology 29:337351.Google Scholar
ADACHI, M., BEKKU, Y. S., RASHIDAH, W., OKUDA, T. & KOIZUMI, H. 2006. Differences in soil respiration between different tropical ecosystems. Applied Soil Ecology 34:258265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ASNER, G. P., NEPSTAD, D., CARDINOT, G. & DAVID, R. 2004. Drought stress and carbon uptake in an Amazon forest measured with spaceborne imaging spectroscopy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 101:60396044.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BATEMAN, E. J. & BAGGS, E. M. 2005. Contributions of nitrification and denitrification to N2O emissions from soils at different water-filled pore space. Biology and Fertility of Soils 41:379388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BLANKINSHIP, J. C., BROWN, J. R., DIJKSTRA, P., ALLWRIGHT, M. C. & HUNGATE, B. A. 2010. Response of terrestrial CH4 uptake to interactive changes in precipitation and temperature along a climatic gradient. Ecosystems 13:11571170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BORN, M., DÖRR, H. & LEVIN, I. 1990. Methane consumption in aerated soils of the temperate zone. Tellus B 42:28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BREUER, L., PAPEN, H. & BUTTERBACH-BAHL, K. 2000. N2O emission from tropical forest soils of Australia, Journal of Geophysical Research 105:2635326367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BRÜMMER, C., PAPEN, H., WASSMANN, R. & BRÜGGEMANN, N. 2009. Fluxes of CH4 and CO2 from soil and termite mounds in South sudanian savanna of Burkina Faso (West Africa). Global Biogeochemical Cycles 23:GB1001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BUTTERBACH-BAHL, K., KOCK, M., WILLIBALD, G., HEWETT, B., BUHAGIAR, S., PAPEN, H. & KIESE, R. 2004. Temporal variations in fluxes of NO, NO2, N2O, CO2, and CH4 in a tropical rain forest ecosystem. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 18:GB3012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DAVIDSON, E. A., MATSON, P. A., VITOUSEK, P. M., RILEY, R., DUNKIN, K., GARCÍA-MÉNDEZ, G. & MAASS, J. M. 1993. Processes regulating soil emissions of NO and N2O in a seasonally dry tropical forest. Ecology 74:130139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DAVIDSON, E. A., BELK, E. & BOONE, R. D. 1998. Soil water content and temperature as independent or confounded factors controlling soil respiration in a temperate mixed hardwood forest. Global Change Biology 4:217227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DAVIDSON, E. A., VERCHOT, L. V., CATTÂNIO, H., ACKERMAN, I. L. & CARVALHO, J. E. M. 2000a. Effects of soil water content on soil respiration in forests and cattle pastures of eastern Amazonia. Biogeochemistry 48:5369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DAVIDSON, E. A., KELLER, M., ERICKSON, H. E., VERCHOT, L. V. & VELDKAMP, E. 2000b. Testing a conceptual model of soil emissions of nitrous and nitric oxides. BioScience 50:667680.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DAVIDSON, E. A., ISHIDA, F. Y. & NEPSTAD, D. C. 2004. Effects of an experimental drought on soil emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and nitric oxide in a moist tropical forest. Global Change Biology 10:718730.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DAVIDSON, E. A., ISHIDA, F. Y. & NEPSTAD, D. C. 2008. Effects of an experimental drought and recovery on soil emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and nitric oxide in a moist tropical forest. Global Change Biology 14:25822590.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DOFF SOTTA, E., MEIR, P., MALHI, Y., NOBRE, A. D., HODNETT, M. & GRACE, J. 2004. Soil CO2 efflux in a tropical forest in the central Amazon. Global Change Biology 10:601617.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DÖRR, H., KATRUFF, L. & LEVIN, I. 1993. Soil texture parameterization of the methane uptake in aerated soils. Chemosphere 26:697713.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EPRON, D., BOSC, A., BONAL, D. & FREYCON, V. 2006. Spatial variation of soil respiration across a topographic gradient in a tropical rain forest in French Guiana, Journal of Tropical Ecology 22:565574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GORRES, J. H., DICHIARO, M. J., LYONS, J. B. & AMADOR, J. A. 1998. Spatial and temporal patterns of soil biological activity in a forest and an old field. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 30:219230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HANSON, P. J., WULLSCHLEGER, S. D., BOHLMAN, S. A. & TODD, D. E. 1993. Seasonal and topographic patterns of forest floor CO2 efflux from an upland oak forest. Tree Physiology 13:115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
HASHIMOTO, S., TANAKA, N., SUZUKI, M., INOUE, A., TAKIZAWA, H., KOSAKA, I., TANAKA, K., TANTASIRIN, C. & TANGTHAM, N. 2004. Soil respiration and soil CO2 concentration in a tropical forest, Thailand. Journal of Forest Research 9:7579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ISHIZUKA, S., SAKATA, S. & ISHIZUKA, K. 2000. Methane oxidation in Japanese forest soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 32:769777.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ISHIZUKA, S., TSURUTA, H. & MURDIYARSO, D. 2002. An intensive field study on CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions from soils at four land-use types in Sumatra, Indonesia. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 16:1049.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ITOH, M., OHTE, N. & KOBA, K. 2009. Methane flux characteristics in forest soils under an East Asian monsoon climate. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 41:388395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JURY, W. A., GARDNER, W. R. & GARDNER, W. H. 1991. Water characteristic function. Pp. 6167 in Jury, W. A., Gardner, W. R. & Gardner, W. H. (eds.). Soil physics. (Fifth edition). John Wiley & Sons, New York.Google Scholar
KATAYAMA, A., KUME, T., KOMATSU, H., OHASHI, M., NAKAGAWA, M., YAMASHITA, M., OTSUKI, K., SUZUKI, M. & KUMAGAI, T. 2009. Effect of forest structure on the spatial variation in soil respiration in a Bornean tropical rainforest. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 149:16661673.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KIESE, R. & BUTTERBACH-BAHL, K. 2002. N2O and CO2 emissions from three different tropical forest sites in the wet tropics of Queensland, Australia. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 34:975987.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KIESE, R., HEWETT, B., GRAHAM, A. & BUTTERBACH-BAHL, K. 2003. Seasonal variability of N2O emissions and CH4 uptake by tropical rainforest soils of Queensland, Australia. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 17:10431055.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KIESE, R., HEWETT, B. & BUTTERBACH-BAHL, K. 2008. Seasonal dynamic of gross nitrification and N2O emission at two tropical rainforest sites in Queensland, Australia. Plant and Soil 309:105117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KOSUGI, K. 1996. Lognormal distribution model for unsaturated soil hydraulic properties. Water Resources Research 32:26972703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KOSUGI, Y., MITANI, T., ITOH, M., NOGUCHI, S., TANI, M., MATSUO, N., TAKANASHI, S., OHKUBO, S. & ABDUL RAHIM, N. 2007. Spatial and temporal variation in soil respiration in a Southeast Asian tropical rainforest. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 147:3547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KOSUGI, Y., TAKANASHI, S., OHKUBO, S., MATSUO, N., TANI, M., MITANI, T., TSUTSUMI, D. & ABDUL RAHIM, N. 2008. CO2 exchange of a tropical rainforest at Pasoh in Peninsular Malaysia. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 148:439452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KOSUGI, Y., TAKANASHI, S., TANI, M., OHKUBO, S., MATSUO, N., ITOH, M., NOGUCHI, S. & ABDUL RAHIM, N. 2012. Influence of inter-annual climate variability on evapotranspiration and canopy CO2 exchange of a tropical rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia. Journal of Forest Research 17:227240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LINN, D. M. & DORAN, J. W. 1984. Effect of water-filled pore space on carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide production in tilled and nontilled soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal 48:12671272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MANOKARAN, N. & KOCHUMMEN, K. M. 1993. Tree growth in primary lowland and hill dipterocarp forests. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 6:332345.Google Scholar
MATSUMOTO, E., IKEDA, H. & SHINDO, S. 1991. Hydro-geomorphological role of termites in Central Tanzania. Transaction of Japanese Geomorphological Union 12:219234. (In Japanese with English summary.)Google Scholar
MATSUMOTO, T. 1976. The role of termites in an equatorial rain forest ecosystem of West Malaysia. I. Population density, biomass, carbon, nitrogen and calorific content and respiration rate. Oecologia 22:153178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NIIYAMA, K., KASSIM, A.R., IIDA, S., KIMURA, K., AZIZI, R. & APPANAH, S. 2003. Regeneration of clear-cut plot in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia. Pp. 559568 in Okuda, T., Niiyama, K., Thomas, S. C. & Ashton, P. S. (eds.). Pasoh: Ecology of a lowland rain forest in southeast Asia. Springer, Tokyo.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NIIYAMA, K., KAJIMOTO, T., MATSUURA, Y., YAMASHITA, T., MATSUO, N., YASHIRO, Y., RIPIN, A., KASSIM, A. R. & NOOR, N. S. 2010. Estimation of root biomass based on excavation of individual root systems in a primary dipterocarp forest in Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia. Journal of Tropical Ecology 26:271284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NOGUCHI, S., ABDUL RAHIM, N., KASRAN, B., TANI, M., SAMMORI, T. & MORISADA, K. 1997. Soil physical properties and preferential flow pathways in tropical rain forest, Bukit Tarek, Peninsular Malaysia. Journal of Forest Research 2:115120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NOGUCHI, S., ABDUL RAHIM, N. & TANI, M. 2003. Rainfall characteristics of tropical rainforest at Pasoh Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan, Peninsular Malaysia. Pp. 5158 in Okuda, T., Niiyama, K., Thomas, S. C. & Ashton, P. S. (eds.). Pasoh: Ecology of a lowland rain forest in southeast Asia. Springer, Tokyo.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NUNES, L., BIGNELL, D. E., LO, N. & EGGLETON, P. 1997. On the respiratory quotient (RQ) of termites (Insect: Isoptera). Journal of Insect Physiology 43:749758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OHASHI, M., KUME, T., YAMANE, S. & SUZUKI, M. 2007. Hot spots of soil respiration in an Asian tropical rainforest. Geophysical Research Letters 34: L08705.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OHKUBO, S., KOSUGI, Y., TAKANASHI, S., MITANI, T. & TANI, M. 2007. Comparison of the eddy covariance and automated closed chamber methods for evaluating nocturnal CO2 exchange in a Japanese cypress forest. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 142:5065.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRASOLOVA, N. V., XU, Z. H., SAFFIGNA, P. G. & DIETERS, M. 2000. Spatial-temporal variability of soil moisture, nitrogen availability indices and other chemical properties in hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) plantations of subtropical Australian forest plantations. Forest Ecology and Management 136:110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ROBERTSON, G. P., KLINGENSMITH, K. M., KLUG, M. J., PAUL, E. A., CRUM, J. R. & ELLIS, B. G. 1997. Soil resources, microbial activity, and primary production across an agricultural ecosystem. Ecological Applications 7:158170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SANDERSON, M. G. 1996. Biomass of termites and their emissions of methane and carbon dioxide: a global database. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 10:543557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SANER, P., LIM, R., BURLA, B., ONG, R. C., SCHERER-LORENZEN, M. & HECTOR, A. 2009. Reduced soil respiration in gaps in logged lowland dipterocarp forests. Forest Ecology and Management 258:20072012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SCHWENDENMANN, L., VELDKAMP, E., BRENES, T., O'BRIEN, J. & MACKENSEN, J. 2003. Spatial and temporal variation in soil CO2 efflux in an old-growth neotropical rain forest, La Selva, Costa Rica. Biogeochemistry 64:111128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SCOTT-DENTON, L. E., SPARKS, L. L. & MONSON, R. K. 2003. Spatial and temporal controls of soil respiration rate in a high-elevation, subalpine forest. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 35:525534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SINGH, J. S. & GUPTA, S. R. 1977. Plant decomposition and soil respiration in terrestrial ecosystems. Botanical Review 43:449528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SOEPADMO, E. 1978. Introduction to the Malaysian I.B.P. Synthesis Meetings. The Malayan Nature Journal 30:119124.Google Scholar
SUGIMOTO, A., INOUE, T., TAYASU, I., MILLER, L., TAKEICHI, S. & ABE, T. 1998a. Methane and hydrogen production in a termite-symbiont system. Ecological Research 13:241257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SUGIMOTO, A., INOUE, T., KIRTIBUTR, N. & ABE, T. 1998b. Methane oxidation by termite mounds estimated by the carbon isotopic composition of methane. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 12:595605.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TANI, M., ABDUL RAHIM, N., OHTANI, Y., YASUDA, Y., SAHAT, M. M., BAHARUDDIN, K., TAKANASHI, S., NOGUCHI, S., ZULKIFLI, Y. & WATANABE, T. 2003. Characteristics of energy exchange and surface conductance of a tropical rain forest in Peninsular Malaysia. Pp. 7388 in Okuda, T., Niiyama, K., Thomas, S. C. & Ashton, P. S. (eds.). Pasoh: Ecology of a lowland rain forest in southeast Asia. Springer, Tokyo.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VASCONCELOS, S. S., ZARIN, D. J., CAPANU, M., LITTELL, R., DAVIDSON, E. A., ISHIDA, F. Y., SANTOS, E. B., ARAUJO, M. M., ARAGAO, D. V., RANGEL-VASCONCELOS, L. G. T., OLIVEIRA, F. A., MCDOWELL, W. H. & CARVALHO, C. J. R. 2004. Moisture and substrate availability constrain soil trace gas fluxes in an eastern Amazonian regrowth forest. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 18:GB2009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WERNER, C., KIESE, R. & BUTTERBACH-BAHL, K. 2007. Soil-atmosphere exchange of N2O, CH4, and CO2 and controlling environmental factors for tropical rain forest sites in western Kenya. Journal of Geophysical Research 112:D03308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
YAMADA, A., INOUE, T., WIWATWITAYA, D., OHKUMA, M., KUDO, T., ABE, T. & SUGIMOTO, A. 2005. Carbon mineralization by termites in tropical forests, with emphasis on fungus combs. Ecological Research 20:453460.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
YAMASHITA, T., KASUYA, N., WAN, R. K., SUHAIMI, W. C., QUAH, E. S. & OKUDA, T. 2003. Soil and belowground characteristics of Pasoh Forest Reserve. Pp. 89109 in Okuda, T., Niiyama, K., Thomas, S. C. & Ashton, P. S. (eds.). Pasoh: Ecology of a lowland rain forest in southeast Asia. Springer, Tokyo.CrossRefGoogle Scholar