Articles | Volume 22, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1529-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1529-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
20 Mar 2025
Research article |
| 20 Mar 2025
| 20 Mar 2025
Spatiotemporal variability of CO2, N2O and CH4 fluxes from a semi-deciduous tropical forest soil in the Congo Basin
Isotope Bioscience Laboratory (ISOFYS), Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Q-Forest lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Marijn Bauters
Q-Forest lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Matti Barthel
Department of Environmental System Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Emmanuel Bulonza
Ecole Régionale d'Aménagement et Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires tropicaux (ERAIFT), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Lodewijk Lefevre
Isotope Bioscience Laboratory (ISOFYS), Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Q-Forest lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
José Mbifo
Institut National pour l'Etude et la Recherche Agronomiques (INERA), Yangambi, Democratic Republic of Congo
Johan Six
Department of Environmental System Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
Land-CRAFT, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Benjamin Wolf
Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Ralf Kiese
Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Pascal Boeckx
Isotope Bioscience Laboratory (ISOFYS), Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Related authors
No articles found.
Samuel Franco-Luesma, María Alonso-Ayuso, Benjamin Wolf, Borja Latorre, and Jorge Álvaro-Fuentes
SOIL, 11, 523–533, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-523-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-523-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Agriculture may play a significant role in climate change mitigation. For this reason, it is necessary to have good estimations of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural activities. In this work, two different chamber systems to determine GHGs were compared. Our results highlighted that automated chamber systems, compared to manual chamber systems, are a powerful tool for quantifying GHG fluxes, allowing us to capture the large temporal variability that characterizes them.
Antoine de Clippele, Astrid C. H. Jaeger, Simon Baumgartner, Marijn Bauters, Pascal Boeckx, Clement Botefa, Glenn Bush, Jessica Carilli, Travis W. Drake, Christian Ekamba, Gode Lompoko, Nivens Bey Mukwiele, Kristof Van Oost, Roland A. Werner, Joseph Zambo, Johan Six, and Matti Barthel
Biogeosciences, 22, 3011–3027, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3011-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3011-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Tropical forest soils as a large terrestrial source of carbon dioxide (CO2) contribute to the global greenhouse gas budget. Despite this, carbon flux data from forested wetlands are scarce in tropical Africa. The study presents 3 years of semi-continuous measurements of surface CO2 fluxes within the Congo Basin. Although no seasonal patterns were evident, our results show a positive effect of soil temperature and moisture, while a quadratic relationship was observed with the water table.
Claude Raoul Müller, Johan Six, Daniel Mugendi Njiru, Bernard Vanlauwe, and Marijn Van de Broek
Biogeosciences, 22, 2733–2747, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2733-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2733-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We studied how different organic and inorganic nutrient inputs affect soil organic carbon (SOC) down to 70 cm in Kenya. After 19 years, all organic treatments increased SOC stocks compared with the control, but mineral nitrogen had no significant effect. Manure was the organic treatment that significantly increased SOC at the deepest soil depths, as its effect could be observed down to 60 cm. Manure was the best strategy to limit SOC loss in croplands and maintain soil quality after deforestation.
Derrick Muheki, Bas Vercruysse, Krishna Kumar Thirukokaranam Chandrasekar, Christophe Verbruggen, Julie M. Birkholz, Koen Hufkens, Hans Verbeeck, Pascal Boeckx, Seppe Lampe, Ed Hawkins, Peter Thorne, Dominique Kankonde Ntumba, Olivier Kapalay Moulasa, and Wim Thiery
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3779, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3779, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
Archives worldwide host vast records of observed weather data crucial for understanding climate variability. However, most of these records are still in paper form, limiting their use. To address this, we developed MeteoSaver, an open-source tool, to transcribe these records to machine-readable format. Applied to ten handwritten temperature sheets, it achieved a median accuracy of 74%. This tool offers a promising solution to preserve records from archives and unlock historical weather insights.
Marijn Van de Broek, Fiona Stewart-Smith, Moritz Laub, Marc Corbeels, Monicah Wanjiku Mucheru-Muna, Daniel Mugendi, Wycliffe Waswa, Bernard Vanlauwe, and Johan Six
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2287, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2287, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for SOIL (SOIL).
Short summary
Short summary
To improve soil health and increase crop yields, organic matter is commenly added to arable soils. Studying the effect of different organic amenmends on soil organic carbon sequestration in four long-term field trials in Kenya, we found that only a small portion (< 7 %) of added carbon was stabilised. Moreover, this was only observed in the top 15 cm of the soil. These results underline the challenges associated with increasing the organic carbon content of tropical arable soils.
Aurora Patchett, Louise Rütting, Tobias Rütting, Samuel Bodé, Sara Hallin, Jaanis Juhanson, C. Florian Stange, Mats P. Björkman, Pascal Boeckx, Gunhild Rosqvist, and Robert G. Björk
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2179, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2179, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores how different types of fungi and plant species affect nitrogen cycling in Arctic soils. By removing certain plants, we found that fungi associated with shrubs speed up nitrogen processes more than those with grasses. Dominant plant species enhance nitrogen recycling, while rare species increase nitrogen loss. These findings help predict how Arctic ecosystems respond to climate change, highlighting the importance of fungi and plant diversity in regulating ecosystem processes.
Inês Vieira, Félicien Meunier, Maria Carolina Duran Rojas, Stephen Sitch, Flossie Brown, Giacomo Gerosa, Silvano Fares, Pascal Boeckx, Marijn Bauters, and Hans Verbeeck
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1375, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1375, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We used a computer model to study how ozone pollution reduces plant growth in six European forests, from Finland to Italy. Combining field data and simulations, we found that ozone can lower carbon uptake by up to 6 % each year, especially in Mediterranean areas. Our study shows that local climate and forest type influence ozone damage and highlights the need to include ozone effects in forest and climate models.
Marijn Van de Broek, Gerard Govers, Marion Schrumpf, and Johan Six
Biogeosciences, 22, 1427–1446, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1427-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1427-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Soil organic carbon models are used to predict how soils affect the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. We show that equifinality – the phenomenon that different parameter values lead to correct overall model outputs, albeit with a different model behaviour – is an important source of model uncertainty. Our results imply that adding more complexity to soil organic carbon models is unlikely to lead to better predictions as long as more data to constrain model parameters are not available.
Mosisa Tujuba Wakjira, Nadav Peleg, Johan Six, and Peter Molnar
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 863–886, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-863-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-863-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we implement a climate, water, and crop interaction model to evaluate current conditions and project future changes in rainwater availability and its yield potential, with the goal of informing adaptation policies and strategies in Ethiopia. Although climate change is likely to increase rainfall in Ethiopia, our findings suggest that water-scarce croplands in Ethiopia are expected to face reduced crop yields during the main growing season due to increases in temperature.
Astrid Françoys, Orly Mendoza, Junwei Hu, Pascal Boeckx, Wim Cornelis, Stefaan De Neve, and Steven Sleutel
SOIL, 11, 121–140, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-121-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-121-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
To assess the impact of the groundwater table (GWT) depth on soil moisture and C mineralization, we designed a laboratory setup using 200 cm undisturbed soil columns. Surprisingly, the moisture increase induced by a shallower GWT did not result in enhanced C mineralization. We presume this upward capillary moisture effect was offset by increased C mineralization upon rewetting, particularly noticeable in drier soils when capillary rise affected the topsoil to a lesser extent due to a deeper GWT.
Fawad Khan, Samuel Franco Luesma, Frederik Hartmann, Michael Dannenmann, Rainer Gasche, Clemens Scheer, Andreas Gattinger, Wiebke Niether, Elizabeth Gachibu Wangari, Ricky Mwangada Mwanake, Ralf Kiese, and Benjamin Wolf
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-292, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-292, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Crop rotations with legumes and use of organic and mineral fertilizers show potential to reduce agricultural N losses. This study examined N losses, including direct N2 flux, on two adjacent sites with different management history: organic farming (OF) with legume cultivation and integrated farming (IF) using synthetic and organic N inputs. IF increased soil organic carbon and nitrogen content, 15N recovery and showed a balanced N budget, i.e., more efficient N cycling compared to OF.
Sophie Reinermann, Carolin Boos, Andrea Kaim, Anne Schucknecht, Sarah Asam, Ursula Gessner, Sylvia H. Annuth, Thomas M. Schmitt, Thomas Koellner, and Ralf Kiese
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4087, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4087, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Grasslands shape the landscape in many parts of the world and serve as the main source of fodder for livestock. There is a lack of comprehensive data on grassland yield, though highly valuable for authorities and research. By applying three approaches to estimate grassland yields, namely a satellite data model, a biogeochemical model and a field measurements approach, we provide annual grassland yield maps for the Ammer region in 2019 and highlight potentials and limitations of the approaches.
Flossie Brown, Gerd Folberth, Stephen Sitch, Paulo Artaxo, Marijn Bauters, Pascal Boeckx, Alexander W. Cheesman, Matteo Detto, Ninong Komala, Luciana Rizzo, Nestor Rojas, Ines dos Santos Vieira, Steven Turnock, Hans Verbeeck, and Alfonso Zambrano
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12537–12555, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12537-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12537-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ozone is a pollutant that is detrimental to human and plant health. Ozone monitoring sites in the tropics are limited, so models are often used to understand ozone exposure. We use measurements from the tropics to evaluate ozone from the UK Earth system model, UKESM1. UKESM1 is able to capture the pattern of ozone in the tropics, except in southeast Asia, although it systematically overestimates it at all sites. This work highlights that UKESM1 can capture seasonal and hourly variability.
Carolin Boos, Sophie Reinermann, Raul Wood, Ralf Ludwig, Anne Schucknecht, David Kraus, and Ralf Kiese
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2864, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2864, 2024
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
We applied a biogeochemical model on grasslands in the pre-Alpine Ammer region in Germany and analyzed the influence of soil and climate on annual yields. In drought affected years, total yields were decreased by 4 %. Overall, yields decrease with rising elevation, but less so in drier and hotter years, whereas soil organic carbon has a positive impact on yields, especially in drier years. Our findings imply, that adapted management in the region allows to mitigate yield losses from drought.
Vira Leng, Rémi Cardinael, Florent Tivet, Vang Seng, Phearum Mark, Pascal Lienhard, Titouan Filloux, Johan Six, Lyda Hok, Stéphane Boulakia, Clever Briedis, João Carlos de Moraes Sá, and Laurent Thuriès
SOIL, 10, 699–725, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-699-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-699-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We assessed the long-term impacts of no-till cropping systems on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics down to 1 m depth under the annual upland crop productions (cassava, maize, and soybean) in the tropical climate of Cambodia. We showed that no-till systems combined with rotations and cover crops could store large amounts of carbon in the top and subsoil in both the mineral organic matter and particulate organic matter fractions. We also question nitrogen management in these systems.
Moritz Laub, Magdalena Necpalova, Marijn Van de Broek, Marc Corbeels, Samuel Mathu Ndungu, Monicah Wanjiku Mucheru-Muna, Daniel Mugendi, Rebecca Yegon, Wycliffe Waswa, Bernard Vanlauwe, and Johan Six
Biogeosciences, 21, 3691–3716, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3691-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3691-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We used the DayCent model to assess the potential impact of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) on maize production, soil fertility, and greenhouse gas emission in Kenya. After adjustments, DayCent represented measured mean yields and soil carbon stock changes well and N2O emissions acceptably. Our results showed that soil fertility losses could be reduced but not completely eliminated with ISFM and that, while N2O emissions increased with ISFM, emissions per kilogram yield decreased.
Claude Raoul Müller, Johan Six, Liesa Brosens, Philipp Baumann, Jean Paolo Gomes Minella, Gerard Govers, and Marijn Van de Broek
SOIL, 10, 349–365, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-349-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-349-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Subsoils in the tropics are not as extensively studied as those in temperate regions. In this study, the conversion of forest to agriculture in a subtropical region affected the concentration of stabilized organic carbon (OC) down to 90 cm depth, while no significant differences between 90 cm and 300 cm were detected. Our results suggest that subsoils below 90 cm are unlikely to accumulate additional stabilized OC through reforestation over decadal periods due to declining OC input with depth.
Johan Six, Sebastian Doetterl, Moritz Laub, Claude R. Müller, and Marijn Van de Broek
SOIL, 10, 275–279, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-275-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-275-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Soil C saturation has been tested in several recent studies and led to a debate about its existence. We argue that, to test C saturation, one should pay attention to six fundamental principles: the right measures, the right units, the right dispersive energy and application, the right soil type, the right clay type, and the right saturation level. Once we take care of those six rights across studies, we find support for a maximum of C stabilized by minerals and thus soil C saturation.
Odysseas Sifounakis, Edwin Haas, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, and Maria P. Papadopoulou
Biogeosciences, 21, 1563–1581, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1563-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1563-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We performed a full assessment of the carbon and nitrogen cycles of a cropland ecosystem. An uncertainty analysis and quantification of all carbon and nitrogen fluxes were deployed. The inventory simulations include greenhouse gas emissions of N2O, NH3 volatilization and NO3 leaching from arable land cultivation in Greece. The inventory also reports changes in soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks in arable soils.
Armwell Shumba, Regis Chikowo, Christian Thierfelder, Marc Corbeels, Johan Six, and Rémi Cardinael
SOIL, 10, 151–165, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-151-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-151-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Conservation agriculture (CA), combining reduced or no tillage, permanent soil cover, and improved rotations, is often promoted as a climate-smart practice. However, our knowledge of the impact of CA on top- and subsoil soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in the low-input cropping systems of sub-Saharan Africa is rather limited. Using two long-term experimental sites with different soil types, we found that mulch could increase top SOC stocks, but no tillage alone had a slightly negative impact.
Moritz Laub, Sergey Blagodatsky, Marijn Van de Broek, Samuel Schlichenmaier, Benjapon Kunlanit, Johan Six, Patma Vityakon, and Georg Cadisch
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 931–956, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-931-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-931-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
To manage soil organic matter (SOM) sustainably, we need a better understanding of the role that soil microbes play in aggregate protection. Here, we propose the SAMM model, which connects soil aggregate formation to microbial growth. We tested it against data from a tropical long-term experiment and show that SAMM effectively represents the microbial growth, SOM, and aggregate dynamics and that it can be used to explore the importance of aggregate formation in SOM stabilization.
Elizabeth Gachibu Wangari, Ricky Mwangada Mwanake, Tobias Houska, David Kraus, Gretchen Maria Gettel, Ralf Kiese, Lutz Breuer, and Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
Biogeosciences, 20, 5029–5067, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5029-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5029-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Agricultural landscapes act as sinks or sources of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) CO2, CH4, or N2O. Various physicochemical and biological processes control the fluxes of these GHGs between ecosystems and the atmosphere. Therefore, fluxes depend on environmental conditions such as soil moisture, soil temperature, or soil parameters, which result in large spatial and temporal variations of GHG fluxes. Here, we describe an example of how this variation may be studied and analyzed.
Ricky Mwangada Mwanake, Gretchen Maria Gettel, Elizabeth Gachibu Wangari, Clarissa Glaser, Tobias Houska, Lutz Breuer, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, and Ralf Kiese
Biogeosciences, 20, 3395–3422, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3395-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3395-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Despite occupying <1 %; of the globe, streams are significant sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this study, we determined anthropogenic effects on GHG emissions from streams. We found that anthropogenic-influenced streams had up to 20 times more annual GHG emissions than natural ones and were also responsible for seasonal peaks. Anthropogenic influences also altered declining GHG flux trends with stream size, with potential impacts on stream-size-based spatial upscaling techniques.
Moritz Laub, Marc Corbeels, Antoine Couëdel, Samuel Mathu Ndungu, Monicah Wanjiku Mucheru-Muna, Daniel Mugendi, Magdalena Necpalova, Wycliffe Waswa, Marijn Van de Broek, Bernard Vanlauwe, and Johan Six
SOIL, 9, 301–323, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-301-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-301-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In sub-Saharan Africa, long-term low-input maize cropping threatens soil fertility. We studied how different quality organic inputs combined with mineral N fertilizer could counteract this. Farmyard manure was the best input to counteract soil carbon loss; mineral N fertilizer had no effect on carbon. Yet, the rates needed to offset soil carbon losses are unrealistic for farmers (>10 t of dry matter per hectare and year). Additional agronomic measures may be needed.
Kristof Van Oost and Johan Six
Biogeosciences, 20, 635–646, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-635-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-635-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The direction and magnitude of the net erosion-induced land–atmosphere C exchange have been the topic of a big scientific debate for more than a decade now. Many have assumed that erosion leads to a loss of soil carbon to the atmosphere, whereas others have shown that erosion ultimately leads to a carbon sink. Here, we show that the soil carbon erosion source–sink paradox is reconciled when the broad range of temporal and spatial scales at which the underlying processes operate are considered.
Joseph Okello, Marijn Bauters, Hans Verbeeck, Samuel Bodé, John Kasenene, Astrid Françoys, Till Engelhardt, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Ralf Kiese, and Pascal Boeckx
Biogeosciences, 20, 719–735, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The increase in global and regional temperatures has the potential to drive accelerated soil organic carbon losses in tropical forests. We simulated climate warming by translocating intact soil cores from higher to lower elevations. The results revealed increasing temperature sensitivity and decreasing losses of soil organic carbon with increasing elevation. Our results suggest that climate warming may trigger enhanced losses of soil organic carbon from tropical montane forests.
Charlotte Decock, Juhwan Lee, Matti Barthel, Elizabeth Verhoeven, Franz Conen, and Johan Six
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2022-221, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2022-221, 2022
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
One of the least well understood processes in the nitrogen (N) cycle is the loss of nitrogen gas (N2), referred to as total denitrification. This is mainly due to the difficulty of quantifying total denitrification in situ. In this study, we developed and tested a novel modeling approach to estimate total denitrification over the depth profile, based on concentrations and isotope values of N2O. Our method will help close N budgets and identify management strategies that reduce N pollution.
Friedrich Boeing, Oldrich Rakovec, Rohini Kumar, Luis Samaniego, Martin Schrön, Anke Hildebrandt, Corinna Rebmann, Stephan Thober, Sebastian Müller, Steffen Zacharias, Heye Bogena, Katrin Schneider, Ralf Kiese, Sabine Attinger, and Andreas Marx
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5137–5161, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5137-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5137-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, we deliver an evaluation of the second generation operational German drought monitor (https://www.ufz.de/duerremonitor) with a state-of-the-art compilation of observed soil moisture data from 40 locations and four different measurement methods in Germany. We show that the expressed stakeholder needs for higher resolution drought information at the one-kilometer scale can be met and that the agreement of simulated and observed soil moisture dynamics can be moderately improved.
Flossie Brown, Gerd A. Folberth, Stephen Sitch, Susanne Bauer, Marijn Bauters, Pascal Boeckx, Alexander W. Cheesman, Makoto Deushi, Inês Dos Santos Vieira, Corinne Galy-Lacaux, James Haywood, James Keeble, Lina M. Mercado, Fiona M. O'Connor, Naga Oshima, Kostas Tsigaridis, and Hans Verbeeck
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12331–12352, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12331-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12331-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Surface ozone can decrease plant productivity and impair human health. In this study, we evaluate the change in surface ozone due to climate change over South America and Africa using Earth system models. We find that if the climate were to change according to the worst-case scenario used here, models predict that forested areas in biomass burning locations and urban populations will be at increasing risk of ozone exposure, but other areas will experience a climate benefit.
Anne Schucknecht, Bumsuk Seo, Alexander Krämer, Sarah Asam, Clement Atzberger, and Ralf Kiese
Biogeosciences, 19, 2699–2727, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2699-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2699-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Actual maps of grassland traits could improve local farm management and support environmental assessments. We developed, assessed, and applied models to estimate dry biomass and plant nitrogen (N) concentration in pre-Alpine grasslands with drone-based multispectral data and canopy height information. Our results indicate that machine learning algorithms are able to estimate both parameters but reach a better level of performance for biomass.
Tegawende Léa Jeanne Ilboudo, Lucien NGuessan Diby, Delwendé Innocent Kiba, Tor Gunnar Vågen, Leigh Ann Winowiecki, Hassan Bismarck Nacro, Johan Six, and Emmanuel Frossard
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-209, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-209, 2022
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
Our results showed that at landscape level SOC stock variability was mainly explained by clay content. We found significant linear positive relationships between VC and SOC stocks for the land uses annual croplands, perennial croplands, grasslands and bushlands without soil depth restrictions until 110 cm. We concluded that in the forest-savanna transition zone, soil properties and topography determine land use, which in turn affects the stocks of SOC and TN and to some extent the VC stocks.
Matthias Mauder, Andreas Ibrom, Luise Wanner, Frederik De Roo, Peter Brugger, Ralf Kiese, and Kim Pilegaard
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7835–7850, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7835-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7835-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Turbulent flux measurements suffer from a general systematic underestimation. One reason for this bias is non-local transport by large-scale circulations. A recently developed model for this additional transport of sensible and latent energy is evaluated for three different test sites. Different options on how to apply this correction are presented, and the results are evaluated against independent measurements.
Caroline C. Clason, Will H. Blake, Nick Selmes, Alex Taylor, Pascal Boeckx, Jessica Kitch, Stephanie C. Mills, Giovanni Baccolo, and Geoffrey E. Millward
The Cryosphere, 15, 5151–5168, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5151-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5151-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Our paper presents results of sample collection and subsequent geochemical analyses from the glaciated Isfallsglaciären catchment in Arctic Sweden. The data suggest that material found on the surface of glaciers,
cryoconite, is very efficient at accumulating products of nuclear fallout transported in the atmosphere following events such as the Chernobyl disaster. We investigate how this compares with samples in the downstream environment and consider potential environmental implications.
Philipp Baumann, Juhwan Lee, Emmanuel Frossard, Laurie Paule Schönholzer, Lucien Diby, Valérie Kouamé Hgaza, Delwende Innocent Kiba, Andrew Sila, Keith Sheperd, and Johan Six
SOIL, 7, 717–731, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-717-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-717-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This work delivers openly accessible and validated calibrations for diagnosing 26 soil properties based on mid-infrared spectroscopy. These were developed for four regions in Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire, including 80 fields of smallholder farmers. The models can help to site-specifically and cost-efficiently monitor soil quality and fertility constraints to ameliorate soils and yields of yam or other staple crops in the four regions between the humid forest and the northern Guinean savanna.
Laura Summerauer, Philipp Baumann, Leonardo Ramirez-Lopez, Matti Barthel, Marijn Bauters, Benjamin Bukombe, Mario Reichenbach, Pascal Boeckx, Elizabeth Kearsley, Kristof Van Oost, Bernard Vanlauwe, Dieudonné Chiragaga, Aimé Bisimwa Heri-Kazi, Pieter Moonen, Andrew Sila, Keith Shepherd, Basile Bazirake Mujinya, Eric Van Ranst, Geert Baert, Sebastian Doetterl, and Johan Six
SOIL, 7, 693–715, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-693-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-693-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present a soil mid-infrared library with over 1800 samples from central Africa in order to facilitate soil analyses of this highly understudied yet critical area. Together with an existing continental library, we demonstrate a regional analysis and geographical extrapolation to predict total carbon and nitrogen. Our results show accurate predictions and highlight the value that the data contribute to existing libraries. Our library is openly available for public use and for expansion.
Heleen Deroo, Masuda Akter, Samuel Bodé, Orly Mendoza, Haichao Li, Pascal Boeckx, and Steven Sleutel
Biogeosciences, 18, 5035–5051, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5035-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5035-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We assessed if and how incorporation of exogenous organic carbon (OC) such as straw could affect decomposition of native soil organic carbon (SOC) under different irrigation regimes. Addition of exogenous OC promoted dissolution of native SOC, partly because of increased Fe reduction, leading to more net release of Fe-bound SOC. Yet, there was no proportionate priming of SOC-derived DOC mineralisation. Water-saving irrigation can retard both priming of SOC dissolution and mineralisation.
Sebastian Doetterl, Rodrigue K. Asifiwe, Geert Baert, Fernando Bamba, Marijn Bauters, Pascal Boeckx, Benjamin Bukombe, Georg Cadisch, Matthew Cooper, Landry N. Cizungu, Alison Hoyt, Clovis Kabaseke, Karsten Kalbitz, Laurent Kidinda, Annina Maier, Moritz Mainka, Julia Mayrock, Daniel Muhindo, Basile B. Mujinya, Serge M. Mukotanyi, Leon Nabahungu, Mario Reichenbach, Boris Rewald, Johan Six, Anna Stegmann, Laura Summerauer, Robin Unseld, Bernard Vanlauwe, Kristof Van Oost, Kris Verheyen, Cordula Vogel, Florian Wilken, and Peter Fiener
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4133–4153, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4133-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4133-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The African Tropics are hotspots of modern-day land use change and are of great relevance for the global carbon cycle. Here, we present data collected as part of the DFG-funded project TropSOC along topographic, land use, and geochemical gradients in the eastern Congo Basin and the Albertine Rift. Our database contains spatial and temporal data on soil, vegetation, environmental properties, and land management collected from 136 pristine tropical forest and cropland plots between 2017 and 2020.
Philipp Baumann, Anatol Helfenstein, Andreas Gubler, Armin Keller, Reto Giulio Meuli, Daniel Wächter, Juhwan Lee, Raphael Viscarra Rossel, and Johan Six
SOIL, 7, 525–546, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-525-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-525-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We developed the Swiss mid-infrared spectral library and a statistical model collection across 4374 soil samples with reference measurements of 16 properties. Our library incorporates soil from 1094 grid locations and 71 long-term monitoring sites. This work confirms once again that nationwide spectral libraries with diverse soils can reliably feed information to a fast chemical diagnosis. Our data-driven reduction of the library has the potential to accurately monitor carbon at the plot scale.
Mario Reichenbach, Peter Fiener, Gina Garland, Marco Griepentrog, Johan Six, and Sebastian Doetterl
SOIL, 7, 453–475, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-453-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-453-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In deeply weathered tropical rainforest soils of Africa, we found that patterns of soil organic carbon stocks differ between soils developed from geochemically contrasting parent material due to differences in the abundance of organo-mineral complexes, the presence/absence of chemical stabilization mechanisms of carbon with minerals and the presence of fossil organic carbon from sedimentary rocks. Physical stabilization mechanisms by aggregation provide additional protection of soil carbon.
Joseph Tamale, Roman Hüppi, Marco Griepentrog, Laban Frank Turyagyenda, Matti Barthel, Sebastian Doetterl, Peter Fiener, and Oliver van Straaten
SOIL, 7, 433–451, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-433-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-433-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes were measured monthly from nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), N and P, and control plots of the first nutrient manipulation experiment located in an African pristine tropical forest using static chambers. The results suggest (1) contrasting soil GHG responses to nutrient addition, hence highlighting the complexity of the tropical forests, and (2) that the feedback of tropical forests to the global soil GHG budget could be altered by changes in N and P availability.
Sophie F. von Fromm, Alison M. Hoyt, Markus Lange, Gifty E. Acquah, Ermias Aynekulu, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Stephan M. Haefele, Steve P. McGrath, Keith D. Shepherd, Andrew M. Sila, Johan Six, Erick K. Towett, Susan E. Trumbore, Tor-G. Vågen, Elvis Weullow, Leigh A. Winowiecki, and Sebastian Doetterl
SOIL, 7, 305–332, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-305-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-305-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated various soil and climate properties that influence soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations in sub-Saharan Africa. Our findings indicate that climate and geochemistry are equally important for explaining SOC variations. The key SOC-controlling factors are broadly similar to those for temperate regions, despite differences in soil development history between the two regions.
Jaber Rahimi, Expedit Evariste Ago, Augustine Ayantunde, Sina Berger, Jan Bogaert, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Bernard Cappelaere, Jean-Martial Cohard, Jérôme Demarty, Abdoul Aziz Diouf, Ulrike Falk, Edwin Haas, Pierre Hiernaux, David Kraus, Olivier Roupsard, Clemens Scheer, Amit Kumar Srivastava, Torbern Tagesson, and Rüdiger Grote
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 3789–3812, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-3789-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-3789-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
West African Sahelian and Sudanian ecosystems are important regions for global carbon exchange, and they provide valuable food and fodder resources. Therefore, we simulated net ecosystem exchange and aboveground biomass of typical ecosystems in this region with an improved process-based biogeochemical model, LandscapeDNDC. Carbon stocks and exchange rates were particularly correlated with the abundance of trees. Grass and crop yields increased under humid climatic conditions.
Anatol Helfenstein, Philipp Baumann, Raphael Viscarra Rossel, Andreas Gubler, Stefan Oechslin, and Johan Six
SOIL, 7, 193–215, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-193-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-193-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we show that a soil spectral library (SSL) can be used to predict soil carbon at new and very different locations. The importance of this finding is that it requires less time-consuming lab work than calibrating a new model for every local application, while still remaining similar to or more accurate than local models. Furthermore, we show that this method even works for predicting (drained) peat soils, using a SSL with mostly mineral soils containing much less soil carbon.
Simon Baumgartner, Marijn Bauters, Matti Barthel, Travis W. Drake, Landry C. Ntaboba, Basile M. Bazirake, Johan Six, Pascal Boeckx, and Kristof Van Oost
SOIL, 7, 83–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-83-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-83-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We compared stable isotope signatures of soil profiles in different forest ecosystems within the Congo Basin to assess ecosystem-level differences in N cycling, and we examined the local effect of topography on the isotopic signature of soil N. Soil δ15N profiles indicated that the N cycling in in the montane forest is more closed, whereas the lowland forest and Miombo woodland experienced a more open N cycle. Topography only alters soil δ15N values in forests with high erosional forces.
Lutz Merbold, Charlotte Decock, Werner Eugster, Kathrin Fuchs, Benjamin Wolf, Nina Buchmann, and Lukas Hörtnagl
Biogeosciences, 18, 1481–1498, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1481-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1481-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Our study investigated the exchange of the three major greenhouse gases (GHGs) over a temperate grassland prior to and after restoration through tillage in central Switzerland. Our results show that irregular management events, such as tillage, have considerable effects on GHG emissions in the year of tillage while leading to enhanced carbon uptake and similar nitrogen losses via nitrous oxide in the years following tillage to those observed prior to tillage.
Paula Alejandra Lamprea Pineda, Marijn Bauters, Hans Verbeeck, Selene Baez, Matti Barthel, Samuel Bodé, and Pascal Boeckx
Biogeosciences, 18, 413–421, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-413-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-413-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Tropical forest soils are an important source and sink of greenhouse gases (GHGs) with tropical montane forests having been poorly studied. In this pilot study, we explored soil fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O in an Ecuadorian neotropical montane forest, where a net consumption of N2O at higher altitudes was observed. Our results highlight the importance of short-term variations in N2O and provide arguments and insights for future, more detailed studies on GHG fluxes from montane forest soils.
Simon Baumgartner, Matti Barthel, Travis William Drake, Marijn Bauters, Isaac Ahanamungu Makelele, John Kalume Mugula, Laura Summerauer, Nora Gallarotti, Landry Cizungu Ntaboba, Kristof Van Oost, Pascal Boeckx, Sebastian Doetterl, Roland Anton Werner, and Johan Six
Biogeosciences, 17, 6207–6218, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6207-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6207-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Soil respiration is an important carbon flux and key process determining the net ecosystem production of terrestrial ecosystems. The Congo Basin lacks studies quantifying carbon fluxes. We measured soil CO2 fluxes from different forest types in the Congo Basin and were able to show that, even though soil CO2 fluxes are similarly high in lowland and montane forests, the drivers were different: soil moisture in montane forests and C availability in the lowland forests.
Hannes P. T. De Deurwaerder, Marco D. Visser, Matteo Detto, Pascal Boeckx, Félicien Meunier, Kathrin Kuehnhammer, Ruth-Kristina Magh, John D. Marshall, Lixin Wang, Liangju Zhao, and Hans Verbeeck
Biogeosciences, 17, 4853–4870, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4853-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4853-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The depths at which plants take up water is challenging to observe directly. To do so, scientists have relied on measuring the isotopic composition of xylem water as this provides information on the water’s source. Our work shows that this isotopic composition changes throughout the day, which complicates the interpretation of the water’s source and has been currently overlooked. We build a model to help understand the origin of these composition changes and their consequences for science.
Benjamin Fersch, Till Francke, Maik Heistermann, Martin Schrön, Veronika Döpper, Jannis Jakobi, Gabriele Baroni, Theresa Blume, Heye Bogena, Christian Budach, Tobias Gränzig, Michael Förster, Andreas Güntner, Harrie-Jan Hendricks Franssen, Mandy Kasner, Markus Köhli, Birgit Kleinschmit, Harald Kunstmann, Amol Patil, Daniel Rasche, Lena Scheiffele, Ulrich Schmidt, Sandra Szulc-Seyfried, Jannis Weimar, Steffen Zacharias, Marek Zreda, Bernd Heber, Ralf Kiese, Vladimir Mares, Hannes Mollenhauer, Ingo Völksch, and Sascha Oswald
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2289–2309, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2289-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2289-2020, 2020
Cited articles
Aguilar, E., Aziz Barry, A., Brunet, M., Ekang, L., Fernandes, A., Massoukina, M., Mbah, J., Mhanda, A., do Nascimento, D. J., Peterson, T. C., Thamba Umba, O., Tomou, M., and Zhang, X.: Changes in temperature and precipitation extremes in western central Africa, Guinea Conakry, and Zimbabwe, 1955–2006, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, D02115, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD011010, 2009.
Anderson-Teixeira, K. J., Wang, M. M. H., McGarvey, J. C., and LeBauer, D. S.: Carbon dynamics of mature and regrowth tropical forests derived from a pantropical database (TropForC-db), Glob. Change Biol., 22, 1690–1709, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13226, 2016.
Angle, J. C., Morin, T. H., Solden, L. M., Narrowe, A. B., Smith, G. J., Borton, M. A., Rey-Sanchez, C., Daly, R. A., Mirfenderesgi, G., Hoyt, D. W., Riley, W. J., Miller, C. S., Bohrer, G., and Wrighton, K. C.: Methanogenesis in oxygenated soils is a substantial fraction of wetland methane emissions, Nat. Commun., 8, 1567, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01753-4, 2017.
Arias-Navarro, C., Díaz-Pinés, E., Zuazo, P., Rufino, M. C., Verchot, L. V., and Butterbach-Bahl, K.: Quantifying the contribution of land use to N2O, NO and CO2 fluxes in a montane forest ecosystem of Kenya, Biogeochemistry, 134, 95–114, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-017-0348-3, 2017.
Baert, G., Van Ranst, E., Ngongo, M., Kasongo, E., Verdoodt, A., Mujinya, B. B., and Mukalay, J.: Guide des sols en République Démocratique du Congo, tome II: description et données physico-chimiques de profils types, UGent, HoGent, UNILU, DR Congo, ISBN 978-9-0767-6997-4, 2009.
Barthel, M., Bauters, M., Baumgartner, S., Drake, T. W., Bey, N. M., Bush, G., Boeckx, P., Botefa, C. I., Dériaz, N., Ekamba, G. L., Gallarotti, N., Mbayu, F. M., Mugula, J. K., Makelele, I. A., Mbongo, C. E., Mohn, J., Mandea, J. Z., Mpambi, D. M., Ntaboba, L. C., Rukeza, M. B., Spencer, R. G. M., Summerauer, L., Vanlauwe, B., Van Oost, K., Wolf, B., and Six, J.: Low N2O and variable CH4 fluxes from tropical forest soils of the Congo Basin, Nat. Commun., 13, 330, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-27978-6, 2022.
Barton, L., Wolf, B., Rowlings, D., Scheer, C., Kiese, R., Grace, P., Stefanova, K., and Butterbach-Bahl, K.: Sampling frequency affects estimates of annual nitrous oxide fluxes, Sci. Rep., 5, 15912, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep15912, 2015.
Baumgartner, S., Barthel, M., Drake, T. W., Bauters, M., Makelele, I. A., Mugula, J. K., Summerauer, L., Gallarotti, N., Cizungu Ntaboba, L., Van Oost, K., Boeckx, P., Doetterl, S., Werner, R. A., and Six, J.: Seasonality, drivers, and isotopic composition of soil CO2 fluxes from tropical forests of the Congo Basin, Biogeosciences, 17, 6207–6218, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6207-2020, 2020.
Birch, H. F.: The effect of soil drying on humus decomposition and nitrogen availability, Plant Soil, 10, 9–31, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01343734, 1958.
Brookshire, E. N. J., Gerber, S., Menge, D. N. L., and Hedin, L. O.: Large losses of inorganic nitrogen from tropical rainforests suggest a lack of nitrogen limitation, Ecol. Lett., 15, 9–16, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01701.x, 2012.
Butterbach-Bahl, K., Baggs, E. M., Dannenmann, M., Kiese, R., and Zechmeister-Boltenstern, S.: Nitrous oxide emissions from soils: How well do we understand the processes and their controls?, Philos. T. R. Soc. B, 368, 20130122, https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0122, 2013.
Calvin, K., Dasgupta, D., Krinner, G., Mukherji, A., Thorne, P. W., Trisos, C., Romero, J., Aldunce, P., Barrett, K., Blanco, G., Cheung, W.W. L., Connors, S., Denton, F., Diongue-Niang, A., Dodman, D., Garschagen, M., Geden, O., Hayward, B., Jones, C., Jotzo, F., Krug, T., Lasco, R., Lee, Y.Y., Masson-Delmotte, V., Meinshausen, M., Mintenbeck, K., Mokssit, A., Otto, F. E. L., Pathak, M., Pirani, A., Poloczanska, E., Pörtner, H.-O., Revi, A., Roberts, D. C., Roy, J., Ruane, A. C., Skea, J., Shukla, P. R., Slade, R., Slangen, A., Sokona, Y., Sörensson, A. A., Tignor, M., Van Vuuren, D., Wei, Y. M., Winkler, H., Zhai, P., and Zommers, Z.: IPCC, 2023: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, Lee, H. and Romero, J. (eds.)], Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Geneva, Switzerland, https://doi.org/10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647, 2023.
Calvo-Rodriguez, S., Kiese, R., and Sánchez-Azofeifa, G. A.: Seasonality and Budgets of Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions From a Tropical Dry Forest Successional Gradient in Costa Rica, J. Geophys. Res. Biogeo., 125, e2020JG005647, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JG005647, 2020.
Castaldi, S., Bertolini, T., Valente, A., Chiti, T., and Valentini, R.: Nitrous oxide emissions from soil of an African rain forest in Ghana, Biogeosciences, 10, 4179–4187, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-4179-2013, 2013.
Castaldi, S., Bertolini, T., Nicolini, G., and Valentini, R.: Soil Is a Net Source of Methane in Tropical African Forests, FORESTS, 11, 1157, https://doi.org/10.3390/f11111157, 2020.
Chaney, N. W., Sheffield, J., Villarini, G., and Wood, E. F.: Development of a High-Resolution Gridded Daily Meteorological Dataset over Sub-Saharan Africa: Spatial Analysis of Trends in Climate Extremes, J. Climate, 27, 5815–5835, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00423.1, 2014.
Courtois, E. A., Stahl, C., Van den Berge, J., Bréchet, L., Van Langenhove, L., Richter, A., Urbina, I., Soong, J. L., Peñuelas, J., and Janssens, I. A.: Spatial Variation of Soil CO2, CH4 and N2O Fluxes Across Topographical Positions in Tropical Forests of the Guiana Shield, Ecosystems, 21, 1445–1458, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-018-0232-6, 2018.
Courtois, E. A., Stahl, C., Burban, B., Van den Berge, J., Berveiller, D., Bréchet, L., Soong, J. L., Arriga, N., Peñuelas, J., and Janssens, I. A.: Automatic high-frequency measurements of full soil greenhouse gas fluxes in a tropical forest, Biogeosciences, 16, 785–796, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-785-2019, 2019.
Cusack, D. F., Dietterich, L. H., and Sulman, B. N.: Soil Respiration Responses to Throughfall Exclusion Are Decoupled From Changes in Soil Moisture for Four Tropical Forests, Suggesting Processes for Ecosystem Models, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 37, e2022GB007473, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GB007473, 2023.
Daelman, R.: Congo Basin forest soil CO2, CH4 and N2O flux data, Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12200453, 2024.
Dalal, R. C. and Allen, D. E.: Greenhouse gas fluxes from natural ecosystems, Aust. J. Bot., 56, 369, https://doi.org/10.1071/BT07128, 2008.
Dezfuli, A.: Climate of Western and Central Equatorial Africa, in: Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science, Oxford University Press, https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.511, 2017.
Dutaur, L. and Verchot, L. V.: A global inventory of the soil CH4 sink, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 21, GB4013, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GB002734, 2007.
Gilson, R., Van Wambeke, A., and Gutzwiller, R.: Carte Des Sols Et De La Vegetation Du Congo Belge Et Du Ruanda-Urundi, L'Institut National pour l'Etude Agronomique du Congo Belge (I. N. E. A. C.), Brussels, Belgium, 1956.
Hedin, L. O., Brookshire, E. N. J., Menge, D. N. L., and Barron, A. R.: The Nitrogen Paradox in Tropical Forest Ecosystems, Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. S., 40, 613–635, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.37.091305.110246, 2009.
Hensen, A., Skiba, U., and Famulari, D.: Low cost and state of the art methods to measure nitrous oxide emissions, Environ. Res. Lett., 8, 025022, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/025022, 2013.
Iddris, N. A.-A., Corre, M. D., Yemefack, M., van Straaten, O., and Veldkamp, E.: Stem and soil nitrous oxide fluxes from rainforest and cacao agroforest on highly weathered soils in the Congo Basin, Biogeosciences, 17, 5377–5397, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5377-2020, 2020.
Jiang, Y., Zhou, L., Tucker, C. J., Raghavendra, A., Hua, W., Liu, Y. Y., and Joiner, J.: Widespread increase of boreal summer dry season length over the Congo rainforest, Nat. Clim. Change, 9, 617–622, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0512-y, 2019.
Karam, S., Seidou, O., Nagabhatla, N., Perera, D., and Tshimanga, R. M.: Assessing the impacts of climate change on climatic extremes in the Congo River Basin, Climatic Change, 170, 40, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-022-03326-x, 2022.
Kasongo Yakusu, E., Van Acker, J., Van deVyver, H., Bourland, N., Ndiapo, J., Likwela, T., Kipifo, M., Kankolongo, A., Van den Bulcke, J., Beeckman, H., Bauters, M., Boeckx, P., Verbeeck, H., Jacobsen, K., Demarée, G., Gellens-Meulenberghs, F., and Hubau, W.: Ground-based climate data show evidence of warming and intensification of the seasonal rainfall cycle during the 1960–2020 period in Yangambi, central Congo Basin, Climatic Change, 176, 142, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-023-03606-0, 2023.
Kendon, E. J., Stratton, R. A., Tucker, S., Marsham, J. H., Berthou, S., Rowell, D. P., and Senior, C. A.: Enhanced future changes in wet and dry extremes over Africa at convection-permitting scale, Nat. Commun., 10, 1794, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09776-9, 2019.
Kiese, R. and Butterbach-Bahl, K.: N2O and CO2 emissions from three different tropical forest sites in the wet tropics of Queensland, Australia, Soil Biol. Biochem., 34, 975–987, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(02)00031-7, 2002.
Kiese, R., Hewett, B., Graham, A., and Butterbach-Bahl, K.: Seasonal variability of N2O emissions and CH4 uptake by tropical rainforest soils of Queensland, Australia: SEASONALITY OF N2O AND CH4 FLUXES IN TROPICAL RAINFORESTS, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 17, 1043, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GB002014, 2003.
Lacroix, E. M., Aeppli, M., Boye, K., Brodie, E., Fendorf, S., Keiluweit, M., Naughton, H. R., Noël, V., and Sihi, D.: Consider the Anoxic Microsite: Acknowledging and Appreciating Spatiotemporal Redox Heterogeneity in Soils and Sediments, ACS Earth Space Chem., 7, 1592–1609, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00032, 2023.
Likoko, B. A., Mbifo, N., Besango, L., Totiwe, T., Badjoko, D. H., Likoko, A. G., Botoma, A. D., Litemandia, Y. N., Posho, N. B., Alongo, L. S., and Boyemba, B. F.: Climate Change for Yangambi Forest Region, DR Congo, J. Aqua. Sci. Oceanography, 1, 203, 2019.
Macdonald, J. A., Eggleton, PauL., Bignell, D. E., Forzi, F., and Fowler, D.: Methane emission by termites and oxidation by soils, across a forest disturbance gradient in the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve, Cameroon, Glob. Change Biol., 4, 409–418, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.1998.00163.x, 1998.
Malhi, Y., Adu-Bredu, S., Asare, R. A., Lewis, S. L., and Mayaux, P.: African rainforests: past, present and future, Philos. T. R. Soc. B, 368, 20120312, https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0312, 2013.
Marthews, T. R., Riutta, T., Oliveras Menor, I., Urrutia, R., Moore, S., Metcalfe, D., Malhi, Y., Phillips, O., Huaraca Huasco, W., Ruiz Jaén, M., Girardin, C., Butt, N., and Cain, R.: Measuring Tropical Forest Carbon Allocation and Cycling: A RAINFOR-GEM Field Manual for Intensive Census Plots (v3.0), Global Ecosystems Monitoring network, http://gem.tropicalforests.ox.ac.uk/ (last acces: 13 March 2025), 2014.
Nakagawa, S. and Schielzeth, H.: A general and simple method for obtaining R2 from generalized linear mixed-effects models, Methods Ecol. Evol., 4, 133–142, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-210x.2012.00261.x, 2013.
Ni, X. and Groffman, P. M.: Declines in methane uptake in forest soils, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 115, 8587–8590, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807377115, 2018.
Pendall, E., Schwendenmann, L., Rahn, T., Miller, J. B., Tans, P. P., and White, J. W. C.: Land use and season affect fluxes of CO2, CH4, CO, N2O, H2 and isotopic source signatures in Panama: evidence from nocturnal boundary layer profiles, Glob. Change Biol., 16, 2721–2736, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02199.x, 2010.
Petitjean, C., Le Gall, C., Pontet, C., Fujisaki, K., Garric, B., Horth, J.-C., Hénault, C., and Perrin, A.-S.: Soil N2O, CH4, and CO2 Fluxes in Forest, Grassland, and Tillage/No-Tillage Croplands in French Guiana (Amazonia), Chambre d'Agriculture de Guyane, 97333 Cayenne CEDEX, Guyane française, Tillage Crop. Fr. Guiana Amazon, Soil Systems, 3, 29, https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems3020029, 2019.
Pinheiro, J., Bates, D., DebRoy, S., Sarkar, D., Heisterkamp, S., Van Willigen, B., and Ranke, J.: nlme: Linear and Nonlinear Mixed Effects Models, CRAN [code], https://svn.r-project.org/R-packages/trunk/nlme/ (last access: 13 March 2025), 2023.
Raich, J. W., Potter, C. S., and Bhagawati, D.: Interannual variability in global soil respiration, 1980–94, Glob. Change Biol., 8, 800–812, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2002.00511.x, 2002.
Savage, K., Davidson, E. A., and Tang, J.: Diel patterns of autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration among phenological stages, Glob. Change Biol., 19, 1151–1159, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12108, 2013.
Serca, D., Delmas, R., Jambert, C., and Labroue, L.: Emissions of nitrogen oxides from equatorial rain forest in central Africa, Tellus B, 46, 243–254, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v46i4.15795, 1994.
Shapiro, A. C., Grantham, H. S., Aguilar-Amuchastegui, N., Murray, N. J., Gond, V., Bonfils, D., and Rickenbach, O.: Forest condition in the Congo Basin for the assessment of ecosystem conservation status, Ecol. Indic., 122, 107268, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107268, 2021.
Sibret, T., Bauters, M., Bulonza, E., Lefevre, L., Cerutti, P. O., Lokonda, M., Mbifo, J., Michel, B., Verbeeck, H., and Boeckx, P.: CongoFlux – The First Eddy Covariance Flux Tower in the Congo Basin, Front. Soil Sci., 2, 883236, https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoil.2022.883236, 2022.
Sotta, E. D., Veldkamp, E., Schwendenmann, L., Guimarães, B. R., Paixão, R. K., Ruivo, M. de L. P., LOLA da COSTA, A. C., and Meir, P.: Effects of an induced drought on soil carbon dioxide (CO2) efflux and soil CO2 production in an Eastern Amazonian rainforest, Brazil, Glob. Change Biol., 13, 2218–2229, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01416.x, 2007.
Sousa Neto, E., Carmo, J. B., Keller, M., Martins, S. C., Alves, L. F., Vieira, S. A., Piccolo, M. C., Camargo, P., Couto, H. T. Z., Joly, C. A., and Martinelli, L. A.: Soil-atmosphere exchange of nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide in a gradient of elevation in the coastal Brazilian Atlantic forest, Biogeosciences, 8, 733–742, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-8-733-2011, 2011.
Stoffel, M. A., Nakagawa, S., and Schielzeth, H.: partR2: partitioning R2 in generalized linear mixed models, PeerJ, 9, e11414, https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11414, 2021.
Tchiofo Lontsi, R., Corre, M. D., Iddris, N. A., and Veldkamp, E.: Soil greenhouse gas fluxes following conventional selective and reduced-impact logging in a Congo Basin rainforest, Biogeochemistry, 151, 153–170, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00718-y, 2020.
Teh, Y. A., Silver, W. L., and Conrad, M. E.: Oxygen effects on methane production and oxidation in humid tropical forest soils, Glob. Change Biol., 11, 1283–1297, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2005.00983.x, 2005.
Tian, H., Xu, R., Canadell, J. G., Thompson, R. L., Winiwarter, W., Suntharalingam, P., Davidson, E. A., Ciais, P., Jackson, R. B., Janssens-Maenhout, G., Prather, M. J., Regnier, P., Pan, N., Pan, S., Peters, G. P., Shi, H., Tubiello, F. N., Zaehle, S., Zhou, F., Arneth, A., Battaglia, G., Berthet, S., Bopp, L., Bouwman, A. F., Buitenhuis, E. T., Chang, J., Chipperfield, M. P., Dangal, S. R. S., Dlugokencky, E., Elkins, J. W., Eyre, B. D., Fu, B., Hall, B., Ito, A., Joos, F., Krummel, P. B., Landolfi, A., Laruelle, G. G., Lauerwald, R., Li, W., Lienert, S., Maavara, T., MacLeod, M., Millet, D. B., Olin, S., Patra, P. K., Prinn, R. G., Raymond, P. A., Ruiz, D. J., van der Werf, G. R., Vuichard, N., Wang, J., Weiss, R. F., Wells, K. C., Wilson, C., Yang, J., and Yao, Y.: A comprehensive quantification of global nitrous oxide sources and sinks, Nature, 586, 248–256, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2780-0, 2020.
Vargas, R., Carbone, M. S., Reichstein, M., and Baldocchi, D. D.: Frontiers and challenges in soil respiration research: from measurements to model-data integration, Biogeochemistry, 102, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-010-9462-1, 2011.
Verchot, L. V., Davidson, E. A., Cattânio, J. H., Ackerman, I. L., Erickson, H. E., and Keller, M.: Land use change and biogeochemical controls of nitrogen oxide emissions from soils in eastern Amazonia, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 13, 31–46, https://doi.org/10.1029/1998GB900019, 1999.
Wangari, E. G., Mwanake, R. M., Kraus, D., Werner, C., Gettel, G. M., Kiese, R., Breuer, L., Butterbach-Bahl, K., and Houska, T.: Number of Chamber Measurement Locations for Accurate Quantification of Landscape-Scale Greenhouse Gas Fluxes: Importance of Land Use, Seasonality, and Greenhouse Gas Type, J. Geophys. Res. Biogeo., 127, e2022JG006901, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG006901, 2022.
Werner, C., Zheng, X., Tang, J., Xie, B., Liu, C., Kiese, R., and Butterbach-Bahl, K.: N2O, CH4 and CO2 emissions from seasonal tropical rainforests and a rubber plantation in Southwest China, Plant Soil, 289, 335–353, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-006-9143-y, 2006.
Werner, C., Kiese, R., and Butterbach-Bahl, K.: Soil-atmosphere exchange of N2O, CH4 and CO2 and controlling environmental factors for tropical rain forest sites in western Kenya, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 112, D03308, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD007388, 2007.
Winnick, M. J., Lawrence, C. R., McCormick, M., Druhan, J. L., and Maher, K.: Soil Respiration Response to Rainfall Modulated by Plant Phenology in a Montane Meadow, East River, Colorado, USA, J. Geophys. Res. Biogeo., 125, e2020JG005924, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JG005924, 2020.
Short summary
The increase in atmospheric concentrations of several greenhouse gases (GHGs) since 1750 is attributed to human activity. However, natural ecosystems, such as tropical forests, also contribute to GHG budgets. The Congo Basin hosts the second largest tropical forest and is understudied. In this study, measurements of soil GHG exchange were carried out during 16 months in a tropical forest in the Congo Basin. Overall, the soil acted as a major source of CO2 and N2O and a minor sink of CH4.
The increase in atmospheric concentrations of several greenhouse gases (GHGs) since 1750 is...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint