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Quantifying the contribution of land use to N2O, NO and CO2 fluxes in a montane forest ecosystem of Kenya

Biogeochemistry volume 134, pages 95–114 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Increasing demand for food and fibre by the growing human population is driving significant land use (LU) change from forest into intensively managed land systems in tropical areas. But empirical evidence on the extent to which such changes affect the soil-atmosphere exchange of trace gases is still scarce, especially in Africa. We investigated the effect of LU on soil trace gas production in the Mau Forest Complex region, Kenya. Intact soil cores were taken from natural forest, commercial and smallholder tea plantations, eucalyptus plantations and grazing lands, and were incubated in the lab under different soil moisture conditions. Soil fluxes of nitrous oxide (N2O), nitric oxide (NO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) were quantified, and we approximated annual estimates of soil N2O and NO fluxes using soil moisture values measured in situ. Forest and eucalyptus plantations yielded annual fluxes of 0.3–1.3 kg N2O–N ha−1 a−1 and 1.5–5.2 kg NO–N ha−1 a−1. Soils of commercial tea plantations, which are highly fertilized, showed higher fluxes (0.9 kg N2O–N ha−1 a−1 and 4.3 kg NO–N ha−1 a−1) than smallholder tea plantations (0.1 kg N2O–N ha−1 a−1 and 2.1 kg NO–N ha−1 a−1) or grazing land (0.1 kg N2O–N ha−1 a−1 and 1.1 kg NO–N ha−1 a−1). High soil NO fluxes were probably the consequence of long-term N fertilization and associated soil acidification, likely promoting chemodenitrification. Our experimental approach can be implemented in understudied regions, with the potential to increase the amount of information on production and consumption of trace gases from soils.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Research program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS), which is carried out with support from CGIAR Fund Donors and through bilateral funding agreements. CAN acknowledges financial support by The Climate Food and Farming Research Network (CLIFF) and by The Helmholtz Research School MICMoR. EDP and KBB received additional funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Förderzeichnen 01DG13012). Authors are grateful to the technical support received by the Mazingira Centre, Environmental Research and Educational facility (https://mazingira.ilri.org). We greatly thank the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) for access to the sites and field assistance.

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  1. E. Díaz-Pinés

    Present address: Institute of Soil Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Peter-Jordan-Strasse 82, 1190, Vienna, Austria

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Kreuzeckbahnstr. 19, 82467, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

    C. Arias-Navarro, E. Díaz-Pinés, P. Zuazo & K. Butterbach-Bahl

  2. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), P.O. Box 30677, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya

    C. Arias-Navarro

  3. Mazingira Centre, Environmental Research and Educational Facility, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya

    C. Arias-Navarro & K. Butterbach-Bahl

  4. Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK

    M. C. Rufino

  5. International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Km 17, Recta Cali–Palmira CP 763537, Apartado Aéreo 6713, Cali, Colombia

    L. V. Verchot

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Arias-Navarro, C., Díaz-Pinés, E., Zuazo, P. et al. Quantifying the contribution of land use to N2O, NO and CO2 fluxes in a montane forest ecosystem of Kenya. Biogeochemistry 134, 95–114 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-017-0348-3

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Keywords

  • Carbon dioxide
  • Land use change
  • Nitric oxide
  • Nitrous oxide
  • Soils
  • Tropical forests