The methane flux along topographical gradients on a glacier foreland in the High Arctic, Ny-Alesund, Svalbard

In order to examine the relationship between the methane (CH_4) flux and soil factors and vegetation in High Arctic tundra, we investigated the CH_4 flux along topographical gradients on a glacier foreland in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard (79°N, 12°E). The CH4 flux rates varied widely among sites even within the same vegetation type, ranging from positive (emission) to negative (absorption) values. High CH_4 emission rates were detected on ridges and in sites with a low soil water content, but there was no significant relationship between CH_4 flux rates and soil factors including soil moisture, pH, soil carbon and nitrogen content. Mean values of CH_4 emission and CH_4 absorption were 0.30±0.33 mg m^(-2) h^(-1) (n=12) and 0.11±0.06 mg m^(-2) h^(-1) (n=11), respectively. These findings suggest that the study area is a small source of CH_4 with a mean flux of 0.11 mg CH_4 m^(-2) h^(-1) (0.083 mg C m^(-2) h^(-1)). It was concluded that carbon flux derived from CH_4 accounts for an extremely small proportion of the total carbon flux from soil in this area

Effects of Vegetation Type and Management Practice on Soil Respiration of Grassland in Northern Japan

Soil respiration rate in two types of grassland dominated with Zoysia japonica and Miscanthus sinensis, respectively, and under two management practices (undisturbed and intentionally burned) for the M. sinensis grassland was investigated for understanding the effects of grassland vegetation type and management practices on the relationship between soil temperature and soil respiration in northern Japan. Soil temperatures at depth of 1 cm in the Z. japonica (ZJ) and burned M. sinensis (MSb) plots had a larger temporal variation than that in the control M. sinensis (MSc) plot prior to early July. However, the coefficient of temperature sensitivity () values, based on soil respiration rates and soil temperatures at 5 cm depth in the ZJ and MSb plots, were 1.3 and 2.9. These rates were lower than that in the MSc plot (4.3), meaning that soil respiration showed lower activity to an increase in soil temperature in the ZJ and MSb plots. In addition, monthly carbon fluxes from soil in these plots were smaller than that in the MSc plot. These results suggested that artificial disturbance would decrease soil microbial or/and plant root respiration, and it would contribute to the plant productivity. Future studies should examine the effects of the intensity and period of management on the soil respiration rate

Effective use of high CO₂ efflux at the soil surface in a tropical understory plant.

Many terrestrial plants are C3 plants that evolved in the Mesozoic Era when atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) were high. Given current conditions, C3 plants can no longer benefit from high ambient [CO2]. Kaempferia marginata Carey is a unique understory ginger plant in the tropical dry forests of Thailand. The plant has two large flat leaves that spread on the soil surface. We found a large difference in [CO2] between the partly closed space between the soil surface and the leaves (638 µmol mol(-1)) and the atmosphere at 20 cm above ground level (412 µmol mol(-1)). This finding indicates that the plants capture CO2 efflux from the soil. Almost all of the stomata are located on the abaxial leaf surface. When ambient air [CO2] was experimentally increased from 400 to 600 μmol mol(-1), net photosynthetic rates increased by 45 to 48% under near light-saturated conditions. No significant increase was observed under low light conditions. These data demonstrate that the unique leaf structure enhances carbon gain by trapping soil CO2 efflux at stomatal sites under relatively high light conditions, suggesting that ambient air [CO2] can serve as an important selective agent for terrestrial C3 plants