The study investigates the carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes, which are emitted from the soil-plant system to the atmosphere. CO2 fluxes were measured using an Automatic chamber deployed over periods (autumn and spring 2010) from an intensively grazed dairy farm in Methven, Canterbury, New Zealand. The respiratory losses will evaluated as a component of the overall carbon exchange, and the response of CO2 fluxes to the biophysical environment will investigated.
There has been a marked intensification of agriculture in Canterbury over recent years, mainly due to the conversion of mixed cropping/ grazing to dairy farming. This type of land use change involves conversion from dry land to irrigation and substantially higher inputs of nitrogen. Intensification of agriculture is generally associated with increased output of the greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide, but the implications for the overall carbon cycle are unclear.
Due to this the knowledge about carbon exchange on a paddock scale becomes increasingly important.
Farmers are interested in the quantity of carbon sequestered by pastoral systems, because there is a possibility that they could offset methane and nitrous oxide emissions liability by claiming carbon credits for soil organic carbon storage. Understanding the factors regulating respiratory losses of carbon are important for designing strategies that sequester more soil carbon. In terms of global warming it is necessary to understand how the respiration is regulated by the environment and how the carbon sequestration (of the agricultural ecosystem) may respond to a warming climate.
Furthermore, respiratory losses represent a loss of agricultural productivity. In reference to this, it is interesting to know in which extent biomass gain is determined in pasture by the respiratory losses to photosynthetic production.
The objective of this study are (i) to calculate the ecosystem respiration measured by the autochamber; (ii) evaluate its importance as part of the overall CO2 exchange measured by the eddy covariance system; and (iii) relate ecosystem respiration to environment drivers. It is expected that the respiratory fluxes will strongly respond to the environmental conditions. Therefore, we measured a suite of environmental variables that are likely to influence surface respiration, including soil temperature, soil moisture and relative humidity.
The measurements were performed during late autumn (May-June), a period of cooling temperatures and high rainfall, and during spring (October-November), a period of warming soil temperatures and almost constant irrigation.
Net ecosystem CO2 exchange was measured by an eddy covariance tower with an IRGA (LI-7500, LICOR Inc.), a 3D sonic anemometer (CSAT3, Campbell Scientific Inc.). The surface (soil and plants) respiration was measured with an automated dynamic closed chamber (8100 Autochamber, LICOR Inc.). Furthermore a meteorological and a soil station were established for recording important soil and temperature variables. The paddock is predominated by perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens).
By using an eddy covariance system to measure net ecosystem exchange (NEE), the overall net carbon flux between the paddock and the atmosphere is quantified. The autochamber measures the gross one way flux of CO2 from the paddock towards the atmosphere. This includes both, the heterotrophic component (soil micro- and macrofauna) and the autotrophic (plants) respiration component. Respiration is a very complex biological and physiological process, which is affected by a lot of environmental factors. Due to this it is difficult to measure the whole plant CO2 release (especially) for a day or year period. The ratio photosynthesis/ respiration for example can just be estimated and not exactly measured. Respiratory-related components are necessary for putting up a balance of the carbon exchange. This balance is essential for understanding the CO2 fluxes between soil and atmosphere.
The study will show the strong interaction between carbon fluxes and respiration in the context of a pastoral agroecosystem. The correlation between respiration and soil temperature will be analyzed including all responding factors. A C balance of the ecosystem dairy farm will be estimated by the seasonal respiration and photosynthesis values.