Characteristics of Soil Profile Greenhouse Gas Concentrations and Fluxes of Alpine Grassland as Affected by Livestock Grazing
Previous research has investigated the effects of different grazing intensities on soil surface greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, whereas the dynamics of GHG production and consumption within the soil profile and their responses to different grazing intensities remain unclear. In this study, a field e...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Agronomy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/1/243 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832589373919461376 |
|---|---|
| author | Mingyuan Yin Xiaopeng Gao Yanyan Li Yufeng Wu Wennong Kuang Fanjiang Zeng |
| author_facet | Mingyuan Yin Xiaopeng Gao Yanyan Li Yufeng Wu Wennong Kuang Fanjiang Zeng |
| author_sort | Mingyuan Yin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Previous research has investigated the effects of different grazing intensities on soil surface greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, whereas the dynamics of GHG production and consumption within the soil profile and their responses to different grazing intensities remain unclear. In this study, a field experiment was conducted in 2017 and 2018 to evaluate the influences of three grazing intensities (none, light, heavy) on both soil surface and subsurface (0–60 cm) GHG fluxes estimated using chamber-based and concentration gradient-based methods, respectively. Results showed that soil at lower depths (30–60 cm) had higher carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) concentrations but lower methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) concentrations. In contrast, soil profile nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O) concentration did not vary with depth, possibly resulting from the relatively low soil moisture in the semiarid grassland, which increased air diffusivity across the soil profile. Grassland soil acted as a source of N<sub>2</sub>O and CO<sub>2</sub> production but as a sink for CH<sub>4</sub> uptake, which mainly attributed to the topsoil (0–5 cm for N<sub>2</sub>O, and 0–15 cm for CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub>). The estimated soil surface GHG flux rates based on the concentration gradient method did not align well with those directly measured using the chamber method. Furthermore, the cumulative N<sub>2</sub>O flux over the study period was significantly higher for the concentration gradient method than the chamber method, whereas a contrary result was observed for CO<sub>2</sub> emission and CH<sub>4</sub> uptake. This study confirms that the grassland soil serves as an important source of CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub>O emissions and a weak sink for CH<sub>4</sub> consumption, playing a crucial role in the annual carbon budget of livestock-grazed grassland ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-02d119e9c2754036a6940a74d122ec7d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj-art-02d119e9c2754036a6940a74d122ec7d2025-01-24T13:17:18ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952025-01-0115124310.3390/agronomy15010243Characteristics of Soil Profile Greenhouse Gas Concentrations and Fluxes of Alpine Grassland as Affected by Livestock GrazingMingyuan Yin0Xiaopeng Gao1Yanyan Li2Yufeng Wu3Wennong Kuang4Fanjiang Zeng5Liaoning Key Laboratory of Urban Integrated Pest Management and Ecological Security, College of Life Science and Engineering, Shenyang University, Shenyang 110044, ChinaDepartment of Soil Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, CanadaKey Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region and Changsha Research Station for Agricultural & Environmental Monitoring, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, ChinaCollege of Life Science, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, ChinaResearch Center of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaPrevious research has investigated the effects of different grazing intensities on soil surface greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, whereas the dynamics of GHG production and consumption within the soil profile and their responses to different grazing intensities remain unclear. In this study, a field experiment was conducted in 2017 and 2018 to evaluate the influences of three grazing intensities (none, light, heavy) on both soil surface and subsurface (0–60 cm) GHG fluxes estimated using chamber-based and concentration gradient-based methods, respectively. Results showed that soil at lower depths (30–60 cm) had higher carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) concentrations but lower methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) concentrations. In contrast, soil profile nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O) concentration did not vary with depth, possibly resulting from the relatively low soil moisture in the semiarid grassland, which increased air diffusivity across the soil profile. Grassland soil acted as a source of N<sub>2</sub>O and CO<sub>2</sub> production but as a sink for CH<sub>4</sub> uptake, which mainly attributed to the topsoil (0–5 cm for N<sub>2</sub>O, and 0–15 cm for CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub>). The estimated soil surface GHG flux rates based on the concentration gradient method did not align well with those directly measured using the chamber method. Furthermore, the cumulative N<sub>2</sub>O flux over the study period was significantly higher for the concentration gradient method than the chamber method, whereas a contrary result was observed for CO<sub>2</sub> emission and CH<sub>4</sub> uptake. This study confirms that the grassland soil serves as an important source of CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub>O emissions and a weak sink for CH<sub>4</sub> consumption, playing a crucial role in the annual carbon budget of livestock-grazed grassland ecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/1/243concentration gradient-based methodgrazinggreenhouse gas emissionsubsurface gas fluxalpine grassland |
| spellingShingle | Mingyuan Yin Xiaopeng Gao Yanyan Li Yufeng Wu Wennong Kuang Fanjiang Zeng Characteristics of Soil Profile Greenhouse Gas Concentrations and Fluxes of Alpine Grassland as Affected by Livestock Grazing Agronomy concentration gradient-based method grazing greenhouse gas emission subsurface gas flux alpine grassland |
| title | Characteristics of Soil Profile Greenhouse Gas Concentrations and Fluxes of Alpine Grassland as Affected by Livestock Grazing |
| title_full | Characteristics of Soil Profile Greenhouse Gas Concentrations and Fluxes of Alpine Grassland as Affected by Livestock Grazing |
| title_fullStr | Characteristics of Soil Profile Greenhouse Gas Concentrations and Fluxes of Alpine Grassland as Affected by Livestock Grazing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characteristics of Soil Profile Greenhouse Gas Concentrations and Fluxes of Alpine Grassland as Affected by Livestock Grazing |
| title_short | Characteristics of Soil Profile Greenhouse Gas Concentrations and Fluxes of Alpine Grassland as Affected by Livestock Grazing |
| title_sort | characteristics of soil profile greenhouse gas concentrations and fluxes of alpine grassland as affected by livestock grazing |
| topic | concentration gradient-based method grazing greenhouse gas emission subsurface gas flux alpine grassland |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/1/243 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mingyuanyin characteristicsofsoilprofilegreenhousegasconcentrationsandfluxesofalpinegrasslandasaffectedbylivestockgrazing AT xiaopenggao characteristicsofsoilprofilegreenhousegasconcentrationsandfluxesofalpinegrasslandasaffectedbylivestockgrazing AT yanyanli characteristicsofsoilprofilegreenhousegasconcentrationsandfluxesofalpinegrasslandasaffectedbylivestockgrazing AT yufengwu characteristicsofsoilprofilegreenhousegasconcentrationsandfluxesofalpinegrasslandasaffectedbylivestockgrazing AT wennongkuang characteristicsofsoilprofilegreenhousegasconcentrationsandfluxesofalpinegrasslandasaffectedbylivestockgrazing AT fanjiangzeng characteristicsofsoilprofilegreenhousegasconcentrationsandfluxesofalpinegrasslandasaffectedbylivestockgrazing |