BGD Biogeosciences Discussions BGD Biogeosciences Discuss. 1810-6285 Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/bgd-7-6847-2010 Temporal and spatial variations of soil carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide fluxes in a Southeast Asian tropical rainforest Itoh M. 1 2 Kosugi Y. 3 Takanashi S. 4 Hayashi Y. 3 Kanemitsu S. 3 5 Osaka K. 6 Tani M. 3 Nik A. R. 7 Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Shiga 520-2113, Japan Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo 102-8471, Japan Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan Sumitomo Forestry Co. Ltd., Tokyo 100-8270, Japan International Research Center for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi 400-8501, Japan Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur 52109, Malaysia 09 09 2010 7 5 6847 6887 Copyright: © 2010 M. Itoh et al. 2010 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is available from https://bg.copernicus.org/preprints/7/6847/2010/bgd-7-6847-2010.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://bg.copernicus.org/preprints/7/6847/2010/bgd-7-6847-2010.pdf

To clarify the factors controlling temporal and spatial variations of soil carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>), methane (CH<sub>4</sub>), and nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O) fluxes, we investigated these gas fluxes and environmental factors in a tropical rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia. Temporal variation of CO<sub>2</sub> flux in a 2-ha plot was positively related to soil water condition and rainfall history. Spatially, CO<sub>2</sub> flux was negatively related to soil water condition. When CO<sub>2</sub> flux hotspots were included, no other environmental factors such as soil C or N concentrations showed any significant correlation. Although the larger area sampled in the present study complicates explanations of spatial variation of CO<sub>2</sub> flux, our results support a previously reported bipolar relationship between the temporal and spatial patterns of CO<sub>2</sub> flux and soil water condition observed at the study site in a smaller study plot. Flux of CH<sub>4</sub> was usually negative with little variation, resulting in the soil at our study site functioning as a CH<sub>4</sub> sink. Both temporal and spatial variations of CH<sub>4</sub> flux were positively related to the soil water condition. Soil N concentration was also related to the spatial distribution of CH<sub>4</sub> flux. Some hotspots were observed, probably due to CH<sub>4</sub> production by termites, and these hotspots obscured the relationship between both temporal and spatial variations of CH<sub>4</sub> flux and environmental factors. Temporal variation of N<sub>2</sub>O flux and soil N<sub>2</sub>O concentration was large and significantly related to the soil water condition, or in a strict sense, to rainfall history. Thus, the rainfall pattern controlled wet season N<sub>2</sub>O production in soil and its soil surface flux. Spatially, large N<sub>2</sub>O emissions were detected in wet periods at wetter and anaerobic locations, and were thus determined by soil physical properties. Our results showed that, even in Southeast Asian rainforests where distinct dry and wet seasons do not exist, variation in the soil water condition related to rainfall history controlled the temporal variations of soil CO<sub>2</sub> flux, CH<sub>4</sub> uptake, and N<sub>2</sub>O emission. The soil water condition associated with soil hydraulic properties was also the important controlling factor of the spatial distributions of these gas fluxes.

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