Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Production of CO2 in Soil Profiles of a California Annual Grassland

  • Original Articles
  • Published:
Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Soils play a key role in the global cycling of carbon (C), storing organic C, and releasing CO2 to the atmosphere. Although a large number of studies have focused on the CO2 flux at the soil–air interface, relatively few studies have examined the rates of CO2 production in individual layers of a soil profile. Deeper soil horizons often have high concentrations of CO2 in the soil air, but the sources of this CO2 and the spatiotemporal dynamics of CO2 production throughout the soil profile are poorly understood. We studied CO2 dynamics in six soil profiles arrayed across a grassland hillslope in coastal southern California. Gas probes were installed in each profile and gas samples were collected weekly or biweekly over a three-year period. Using soil air CO2 concentration data and a model based on Fick’s law of diffusion, we modeled the rates of CO2 production with soil profile depth. The CO2 diffusion constants were checked for accuracy using measured soil air 222Rn activities. The modeled net CO2 production rates were compared with CO2 fluxes measured at the soil surface. In general, the modeled and measured net CO2 fluxes were very similar although the model consistently underestimated CO2 production rates in the surficial soil horizons when the soils were moist. Profile CO2 production rates were strongly affected by the inter- and intra-annual variability in rainfall; rates were generally 2–10 times higher in the wet season (December to May) than in the dry season (June to November). The El Niño event of 1997–1998, which brought above-average levels of rainfall to the study site, significantly increased CO2 production in both the surface and subsurface soil horizons. Whole profile CO2 production rates were approximately three times higher during the El Niño year than in the following years of near-average rainfall. During the dry season, when the net rates of CO2 flux from the soil profiles are relatively low (4–11 mg C– CO2 m−2 h−1), 20%–50% of the CO2 diffusing out of the profiles appears to originate in the relatively moist soil subsurface (defined here as those horizons below 40 cm in depth). The natural abundance 14C signatures of the CO2 and soil organic C suggest that the subsurface CO2 is derived from the microbial mineralization of recent organic C, possibly dissolved organic C transported to the subsurface horizons during the wet season.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • HA Ajwa CW Rice D Sotomayor (1998) ArticleTitleCarbon and nitrogen mineralization in tallgrass prairie and agricultural soil profiles Soil Sci Soc Am J 62 942–51

    Google Scholar 

  • R Amundson E Davidson (1990) ArticleTitleCarbon dioxide and nitrogenous gases in the soil atmosphere J Geochem Explor 38 13–41 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0375-6742(90)90091-N

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Amundson L Stern T Baisden Y Wang (1998) ArticleTitleThe isotopic composition of soil and soil-respired CO2 Geoderma 82 83–114 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0016-7061(97)00098-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • JA Andrews WH Schlesinger (2001) ArticleTitleSoil CO2 dynamics, acidification, and chemical weathering in a temperate forest with experimental CO2 enrichment Global Biogeochem Cycles 15 149–62 Occurrence Handle10.1029/2000GB001278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NH Batjes (1996) ArticleTitleTotal carbon and nitrogen in the soils of the world Eur J Soil Sci 47 151–63 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.1365-2389.1996.tb01386.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • W Billings (1995) What we need to know: Some priorities for research on biotic feedbacks in a changing biosphere G Woodwell F MacKenzie (Eds) Biotic feedbacks in the global climatic system: will warming feed the warming? Oxford University Press New York 377–392

    Google Scholar 

  • SA Billings DD Richter J Yarie (1998) ArticleTitleSoil carbon dioxide fluxes and profile concentrations in two boreal forests Can J For Res J 28 1773–83 Occurrence Handle10.1139/cjfr-28-12-1773

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DL Burton EG Beauchamp (1994) ArticleTitleProfile nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide concentrations in a soil subject to freezing Soil Sci Soc Am J 58 115–22

    Google Scholar 

  • T Cerling D Solomon J Quade J Bowman (1991) ArticleTitleOn the isotopic composition of carbon in soil carbon dioxide Geochim Cosmochim Acta 55 3404–5 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0016-7037(91)90498-T

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • F Chamran P Gessler O Chadwick (2002) ArticleTitleSpatially explicit treatment of soil–water dynamics along a semiarid catena Soil Sci Soc Am J 66 1571–83

    Google Scholar 

  • F Chapin P Matson H Mooney (2002) Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology Springer New York

    Google Scholar 

  • M Collin A Rasmuson (1988) ArticleTitleA comparison of gas diffusivity models for unsaturated porous media Soil Sci Soc Am J 52 1559–65

    Google Scholar 

  • EA Davidson SE Trumbore (1995) ArticleTitleGas diffusivity and production of CO2 in deep soils of the eastern Amazon Tellus Ser B Chem Phys Meteorol 47 550–65 Occurrence Handle10.1034/j.1600-0889.47.issue5.3.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • E deJong H Schappert (1972) ArticleTitleCalculation of soil respiration and activity from CO2 profiles in the soil Soil Sci 113 328–33

    Google Scholar 

  • T Dibblee (1966) Santa Ynez Mountains: Geology of the Central Santa Ynez Mountains Santa Barbara County California Division of Mines and Geology, Department of Conservation California

    Google Scholar 

  • H Dorr K Munnich (1990) ArticleTitle222Rn flux and soil air concentration profiles in West Germany. Soil 222Rn as tracer for gas transport in the unsaturated soil zone Tellus Ser B Chem Phys Meteorol 42 20–8 Occurrence Handle10.1034/j.1600-0889.1990.t01-1-00003.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • JR Ehleringer N Buchmann LB Flanagan (2000) ArticleTitleCarbon isotope ratios in belowground carbon cycle processes Ecol Appl 10 412–22

    Google Scholar 

  • B Elberling (2003) ArticleTitleSeasonal trends of soil CO2 dynamics in a soil subject to freezing J Hydrol 276 159–75 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0022-1694(03)00067-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • H Eswaran EVD Berg P Reich (1993) ArticleTitleOrganic carbon in soils of the world Soil Sci Soc Am J 57 192–4

    Google Scholar 

  • N Fierer J Schimel P Holden (2003) ArticleTitleVariations in microbial community composition through two soil depth profiles Soil Biol Biochem 35 167–76 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0038-0717(02)00251-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • JB Gaudinski SE Trumbore EA Davidson S Zheng (2000) ArticleTitleSoil carbon cycling in a temperate forest: Radiocarbon-based estimates of residence times, sequestration rates and partitioning of fluxes Biogeochemistry (Dordrecht) 51 33–69

    Google Scholar 

  • PE Gessler OA Chadwick F Chamran L Althouse K Holmes (2000) ArticleTitleModeling soil-landscape and ecosystem properties using terrain attributes Soil Sci Soc Am J 64 2046–56

    Google Scholar 

  • M Hendry C Mendoza R Kirkland J Lawrence (1999) ArticleTitleQuantification of transient CO2 production in a sandy unsaturated zone Water Resources Res 35 2189–98 Occurrence Handle10.1029/1999WR900060

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillel D. 1998. Environmental Soil Physics. San Diego: Academic Press. Hooper B. 2003. Spatial and temporal analysis of moisture and temperature as controls on soil respiration at the hillslope scale in California oak savanna [M.S. dissertation]. University of California, Santa Barbara

  • CK Keller D Bacon (1998) ArticleTitleSoil respiration and georespiration distinguished by transport analyses of vadose CO2, 13CO2, and 14CO2 Global Biogeochem Cycles 12 361–72 Occurrence Handle10.1029/98GB00742

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M Khalil R Rasmussen M Shearer (1998) ArticleTitleFlux measurements and sampling strategies: Applications to methane emissions from rice fields J Geophys Res 103 25211–9 Occurrence Handle10.1029/98JD00690

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Millington R Shearer (1971) ArticleTitleDiffusion in aggregated porous media Soil Sci 111 372–8

    Google Scholar 

  • W Nazaroff (1992) ArticleTitleRadon transport from soil to air Rev Geophys 30 137–60

    Google Scholar 

  • J Pumpanen H Ilvesniemi P Hari (2003) ArticleTitleA process-based model for predicting soil carbon dioxide efflux and concentration Soil Sci Soc Am J 67 402–13

    Google Scholar 

  • JW Raich WH Schlesinger (1992) ArticleTitleThe global carbon dioxide flux in soil respiration and its relationship to vegetation and climate Tellus Ser B Chem Phys Meteorol 44 81–99 Occurrence Handle10.1034/j.1600-0889.1992.t01-1-00001.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S Rambal G. Debussche (1995) Water balance of Mediterranean ecosystems under a changing climate J Moreno W Oechel (Eds) Global Change and Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems Springer-Verlag New York 386–407

    Google Scholar 

  • D Richter D Markewitz (1995) ArticleTitleHow deep is soil? Bioscience 45 600–9

    Google Scholar 

  • P Rovira VR Vallejo (1997) ArticleTitleOrganic carbon and nitrogen mineralization under Mediterranean climatic conditions: The effects of incubation depth Soil Biol Biochem 29 1509–20 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0038-0717(97)00052-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LE Rustad TG Huntington RD Boone (2000) ArticleTitleControls on soil respiration: Implications for climate change Biogeochem 48 1–6 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1006255431298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DS Schimel (1995) ArticleTitleTerrestrial ecosystems and the carbon cycle Global Change Biol 1 77–91

    Google Scholar 

  • DS Schimel BH Braswell EA Holland R McKeown DS Ojima TH Painter WJ Parton AR Townsend (1994) ArticleTitleClimatic, edaphic, and biotic controls over storage and turnover of carbon in soils Global Biogeochem Cycles 8 279–93 Occurrence Handle10.1029/94GB00993

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • W Schlesinger (1991) Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of Global Change Academic Press New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Shipman GE. 1972. Soil Survey of Santa Barbara County, USDA Soil Conservation Service.

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameSoil Survey Staff (1996a) Keys to Soil Taxonomy EditionNumber7 USDA-NRCS Lincoln, NE

    Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameSoil Survey Staff (1996b) Soil survey laboratory methods manual, version 3.0 USDA-NRCS Lincoln, NE

    Google Scholar 

  • DK Solomon TE Cerling (1987) ArticleTitleThe annual carbon dioxide cycle in a montane soil: observations, modeling, and implications for weathering Water Resources Res 23 2257–65

    Google Scholar 

  • E Stranden A Kolstad B Lind (1984) ArticleTitleThe influence of moisture and temperature on radon exhalation Radiat Protect Dosim 7 55–8

    Google Scholar 

  • M Stuiver H Polach (1977) ArticleTitleReporting of 14C data Radiocarbon 19 355–63

    Google Scholar 

  • W Stumm J Morgan (1981) Aquatic Chemistry: An Introduction Emphasizing Chemical Equilibria in Natural Waters EditionNumber2 John Wiley & Sons New York

    Google Scholar 

  • D Thorstenson D Pollock (1989) ArticleTitleGas transport in unsaturated zones: Multicomponent systems and the adequacy of Fick’s law Water Resources Res 25 477–507

    Google Scholar 

  • S Trumbore (2000) ArticleTitleAge of soil organic matter and soil respiration: Radiocarbon constraints on belowground C dynamics Ecol Appl 10 399–411

    Google Scholar 

  • J Vogel (1992) ArticleTitleA rapid method for preparation of biomedical targets for AMS Radiocarbon 34 344–50

    Google Scholar 

  • W Wood M Petraitis (1984) ArticleTitleOrigin and distribution of carbon dioxide in the unsaturated zone of the southern high plains of Texas Water Resources Res 20 1193– 208

    Google Scholar 

  • B Wood C Keller D Johnstone (1993) ArticleTitleIn situ measurement of microbial activity and controls on microbial CO2 production in the unsaturated zone Water Resources Res 29 647–59 Occurrence Handle10.1029/92WR02315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • JB Yavitt TJ Fahey JA Simmons (1995) ArticleTitleMethane and carbon dioxide dynamics in a northern hardwood ecosystem Soil Sci Soc Am J 59 796–804

    Google Scholar 

  • S Yoshikawa S Hasegawa (2000) ArticleTitleDiurnal and seasonal changes in CO2 concentration and flux in an Andisol and simulation based on changes in CO2 production rate and gas diffusivity Jpn Agric Res 34 1–13

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

We would like to thank Faraneh Chamran, Barry Hooper, Lynne Dee Althouse, Carrie Masiello, Karen Holmes, and Paul Gessler for their considerable assistance with this project. We would also like to thank Dan Richter for his thorough and thoughtful review of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 27708, USA

    Noah Fierer

  2. Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA

    Oliver A. Chadwick

  3. Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, California, 92697, USA

    Susan E. Trumbore

Authors
  1. Noah Fierer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Oliver A. Chadwick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Susan E. Trumbore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Noah Fierer .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fierer , N., Chadwick, O.A. & Trumbore, S.E. Production of CO2 in Soil Profiles of a California Annual Grassland. Ecosystems 8, 412–429 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-003-0151-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-003-0151-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation