(Article)
a Institute of Landscape Ecology, Climatology Research Group, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
b Institute of Earth Science, Physical Geography and Geoecology Department, Tyumen State University, Tyumen, Russian Federation
c Institute of Landscape Ecology, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
b Institute of Earth Science, Physical Geography and Geoecology Department, Tyumen State University, Tyumen, Russian Federation
c Institute of Landscape Ecology, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
Abstract
The growing demand for agricultural products has been leading to an expansion and intensification of agriculture around the world. More and more unused land is currently reclaimed in the regions of the former Soviet Union. Driven by climate change, the Western Siberian grain belt might, in a long-term, even expand into the drained peatland areas to the North. It is crucial to study the consequences of this land-use change with respect to the carbon cycling as this is still a major knowledge gap.We present for the first time data on the atmosphere-ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide and methane of an arable field and a neighboring unused grassland on peat soil in Western Siberia. Eddy covariance measurements were performed over one vegetation period. No directed methane fluxes were found due to an effective drainage of the study sites. The carbon dioxide fluxes appeared to be of high relevance for the global carbon and greenhouse gas cycles. They showed very site-specific patterns resulting from the development of vegetation: the persistent plants of the grassland were able to start photosynthesizing soon after snow melt, while the absence of vegetation on the managed field lead to a phase of emissions until the oat plants started to grow in June. The uptake peak of the oat field is much later than that of the grassland, but larger due to a rapid plant growth. Budgeting the whole measurement period, the grassland served as a carbon sink, whereas the oat field was identified to be a carbon source. The conversion from non-used grasslands on peat soil to cultivated fields in Western Siberia is therefore considered to have a positive feedback on climate change. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.
Author keywords
Agricultural sustainable intensification; Carbon balance; Eddy covariance; Former soviet union; Greenhouse gas fluxes; Land conversion
Indexed keywords
Engineering controlled terms: Agricultural products; Agriculture; Budget control; Carbon dioxide; Cultivation; Feedback; Forestry; Greenhouse gases; Knowledge management; Land use; Methane; Peat; Soils; Vegetation; Wetlands
Agricultural sustainable intensification; Carbon balance; Eddy covariance; Greenhouse gas fluxes; Land conversion; Soviet Union
Engineering main heading: Climate change
EMTREE drug terms: carbon dioxide; methane
GEOBASE Subject Index: agricultural intensification; alternative agriculture; carbon balance; carbon cycle; carbon dioxide; carbon flux; climate change; eddy covariance; greenhouse gas; land use change; methane; peatland
EMTREE medical terms: Article; biotransformation; carbon sink; carbon source; climate change; controlled study; grassland; greenhouse gas; land use; nonhuman; oat; peatland; photosynthesis; plant growth; priority journal; Russian Federation; vegetation
Regional Index: Siberia
Chemicals and CAS Registry Numbers: carbon dioxide, 124-38-9, 58561-67-4; methane, 74-82-8
