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The Carbon Balance of Two Contrasting Mountain Forest Ecosystems in Switzerland: Similar Annual Trends, but Seasonal Differences

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Abstract

Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of two contrasting mountain forest types in Switzerland was measured by eddy covariance (EC) measurements at a montane mixed forest, the Lägeren forest, over 5 years (2005–2009), and at a subalpine coniferous forest, the Seehornwald in Davos, over 12 years (1997–2009). NEE was validated against annual carbon (C) storage estimates, based on biometric and soil respiration measurements as well as soil C modeling. Three different approaches were used: (1) calculation of net ecosystem production by quantifying C pools and fluxes, (2) assessment of change in wood biomass and soil C storage (ΔC), and (3) application of biomass expansion factors. Although biometric estimates were sensitive to assumptions made for each method applied, they agreed well with measured NEE. Comparing 5 years of EC measurements available at both sites during 2005 and 2009 revealed that NEE, gross primary production (GPP), and total ecosystem respiration (TER) were larger at the Lägeren forest compared to the Davos forest, whereas soil respiration and soil C sequestration were of similar magnitudes. Both sites showed similar annual trends for NEE, GPP and TER, but different seasonal courses, due to different responses to environmental conditions (temperature, soil moisture, and radiation). Differences in the magnitude as well as in the seasonality of ecosystem CO2 exchange could mainly be attributed to tree phenology, productivity, and carbon allocation patterns, which are combined effects of tree type (broad-leaved vs. coniferous trees) and site-specific climatic conditions. Flux differences between the two mountain sites highlight the importance of considering the role of altitude in ecological studies and modeling.

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Acknowledgments

Meteorological data were made available through MeteoSwiss, Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, Switzerland and the Swiss air quality monitoring network (NABEL). We thank the forester Philip Vock for enabling and supporting the studies at the Lägeren forest, Johannes Böhm, Roger Süess, Arnold Streule and Thomas Baur for maintaining the EC infrastructure at Davos, as well as Lydia Gentsch for continuing the soil respiration measurements at the Lägeren in 2008. The study was funded by the ETH Zurich, Switzerland (ETH research grant TH-1006-02), and the Swiss Federal Office for Environment (BAFU Contract-No. 04.1140.PJ/I153-2413 and 06.0091.PZ/I153-2518).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Sophia Etzold, Peter Pluess, Werner Eugster & Nina Buchmann

  2. Department of Forest Ecosystems & Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA

    Nadine K. Ruehr

  3. Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    Sophia Etzold, Roman Zweifel, Matthias Dobbertin, Andreas Zingg & Rudolf Häsler

Authors
  1. Sophia Etzold
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  2. Nadine K. Ruehr
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  3. Roman Zweifel
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  4. Matthias Dobbertin
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  5. Andreas Zingg
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  6. Peter Pluess
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  7. Rudolf Häsler
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  8. Werner Eugster
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  9. Nina Buchmann
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sophia Etzold.

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Author Contributions

SE, NKR, WE, and NB conceived or designed the study. SE, NKR, RZ, MD, AZ, and RH performed research. SE, NKR, RZ, and RH analyzed data. RZ, MD, AZ, PP, and RH contributed new methods or models. SE and NKR wrote the article.

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Etzold, S., Ruehr, N.K., Zweifel, R. et al. The Carbon Balance of Two Contrasting Mountain Forest Ecosystems in Switzerland: Similar Annual Trends, but Seasonal Differences. Ecosystems 14, 1289–1309 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-011-9481-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-011-9481-3

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