Low N₂O and variable CH₄ fluxes from tropical forest soils of the Congo Basin.

ABSTRACT: Globally, tropical forests are assumed to be an important source of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N₂O) and sink for methane (CH₄). Yet, although the Congo Basin comprises the second largest tropical forest and is considered the most pristine large basin left on Earth, in situ N₂O and CH₄ flux measurements are scarce. Here, we provide multi-year data derived from on-ground soil flux (n = 1558) and riverine dissolved gas concentration (n = 332) measurements spanning montane, swamp, and lowland forests. Each forest type core monitoring site was sampled at least for one hydrological year between 2016 - 2020 at a frequency of 7-14 days. We estimate a terrestrial CH₄ uptake (in kg CH₄-C ha^-1 yr^-1) for montane (-4.28) and lowland forests (-3.52) and a massive CH₄ release from swamp forests (non-inundated 2.68; inundated 341). All investigated forest types were a N₂O source (except for inundated swamp forest) with 0.93, 1.56, 3.5, and -0.19 kg N₂O-N ha^-1 yr^-1 for montane, lowland, non-inundated swamp, and inundated swamp forests, respectively.

SUBMITTER: Barthel M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8764088 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature