Importance of short‐term variations in greenhouse gas emission and cycling along agricultural riparian zone soils
Abstract Riparian zones and drainage ditch ecosystems are numerous in many agroecosystems throughout the world and provide ecosystem services including carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation. These features are important for sustainability goals and GHG accounting to help meet emis...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Vadose Zone Journal |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.70005 |
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| Summary: | Abstract Riparian zones and drainage ditch ecosystems are numerous in many agroecosystems throughout the world and provide ecosystem services including carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation. These features are important for sustainability goals and GHG accounting to help meet emission targets expected for the agricultural sector. Short‐term variations in GHG fluxes have been shown to be important but overall are not well quantified. In order to accurately perform GHG accounting, high‐temporal‐resolution gas effluxes must be quantified to capture true flux variability. In this study, carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations and surface effluxes were monitored with an average temporal resolution of 4 h. Measurements were taken from May to November 2021 at the shoulder and bank of an active, arborous, agricultural riparian zone in an experimental watershed in eastern Ontario, Canada. Shoulder and bank soils contributed similar total CO2 and CH4 surface fluxes, where the bank soils sequestered 1.16 g CH4 m−2 and emitted 19.51 kg CO2 m−2, and the shoulder sequestered 1.20 g CH4 m−2 and emitted 20.77 kg CO2 m−2. Statistical analyses reveal that irregular short‐term changes in subsurface concentrations are the stronger periodic components compared to long‐term changes and often result in changes in surface fluxes. Significant short‐term variations in GHG fluxes were observed associated with rewetting events after dry periods and with a rising water table. If these considerable short‐term variations are neglected in sampling, uncertainty will be introduced in measured surface fluxes and subsurface soil gas concentrations, which can influence the accuracy of GHG accounting. |
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| ISSN: | 1539-1663 |