Nitrous oxide emissions from three ecosystems in tropical peatland of Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions were measured monthly over 1 year in three ecosystems on tropical peatland of Sarawak, Malaysia, using a closed-chamber technique. The three ecosystems investigated were mixed peat swamp forest, sago (Metroxylon sagu) and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantations. The highest annual N2O emissions were observed in the sago ecosystem with a production rate of 3.3 kg N ha−1 year−1, followed by the oil palm ecosystem at 1.2 kg N ha−1 year−1 and the forest ecosystem at 0.7 kg N ha−1 year−1. The N2O emissions ranged from –3.4 to 19.7 µg N m−2 h−1 for the forest ecosystem, from 1.0 to 176.3 µg N m−2 h−1 for the sago ecosystem and from 0.9 to 58.4 µg N m−2 h−1 for the oil palm ecosystem. Multiple regression analysis showed that N2O production in each ecosystem was regulated by different variables. The key factors influencing N2O emissions in the forest ecosystem were the water table and the NH+ 4 concentration at 25–50 cm, soil temperature at 5 cm and nitrate concentration at 0–25 cm in the sago ecosystem, and water-filled pore space, soil temperature at 5 cm and NH+ 4 concentrations at 0–25 cm in the oil palm ecosystem. R2 values for the above regression equations were 0.57, 0.63 and 0.48 for forest, sago and oil palm, respectively. The results suggest that the conversion of tropical peat swamp forest to agricultural crops, which causes substantial changes to the environment and soil properties, will significantly affect the exchange of N2O between the tropical peatland and the atmosphere. Thus, the estimation of net N2O production from tropical peatland for the global N2O budget should take into consideration ecosystem type.

[1]  R. Mulvaney,et al.  Mineral Nitrogen in the Plant-Soil System. , 1987 .

[2]  D. Bouldin,et al.  Emissions of nitrous oxide from soils , 1982, Nature.

[3]  J. Melillo,et al.  Nitrogen oxide emissions following wetting of dry soils in forest and pastures in Rondônia, Brazil , 2003 .

[4]  J. Melillo,et al.  Controls on soil nitrogen oxide emissions from forest and pastures in the Brazilian Amazon , 2001 .

[5]  M. Keller,et al.  Soil‐atmosphere exchange of nitrous oxide, nitric oxide, and methane under secondary succession of pasture to forest in the Atlantic lowlands of Costa Rica , 1994 .

[6]  M. Keller,et al.  Effects of pasture management on N2O and NO emissions from soils in the humid tropics of Costa Rica , 1998 .

[7]  D. Kleinbaum,et al.  Applied regression analysis and other multivariable methods, 3rd ed. , 1998 .

[8]  J. C. Ryden,et al.  Nitrous oxide evolution from irrigated land. , 1980 .

[9]  E. Paul,et al.  Gaseous nitrogen losses from soils under zero-till as compared with conventional-till management systems , 1984 .

[10]  G. Lamberti,et al.  Factors regulating nitrification in aquatic sediments: effects of organic carbon, nitrogen availability, and pH , 2002 .

[11]  J. Houghton,et al.  Climate change 2001 : the scientific basis , 2001 .

[12]  R. Bowden,et al.  Soil Fluxes of Carbon Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide, and Methane at a Productive Temperate Deciduous Forest , 2000 .

[13]  Klaus Butterbach-Bahl,et al.  Regional application of PnET‐N‐DNDC for estimating the N2O source strength of tropical rainforests in the Wet Tropics of Australia , 2005 .

[14]  A. Karam.  Chemical Properties of Organic Soils , 2007 .

[15]  J. Gilliam,et al.  Water Table Management Effects on Denitrification and Nitrous Oxide Evolution , 1995 .

[16]  J. Duxbury,et al.  THE EFFECT OF FLOODING ON NITROUS OXIDE EMISSIONS FROM AN ORGANIC SOIL , 1981 .

[17]  E. Davidson.  Sources of nitric oxide and nitrous oxide following wetting of dry soil , 1992 .

[18]  K. Stahr,et al.  Methane and nitrous oxide exchange in differently fertilised grassland in southern Germany , 2001, Plant and Soil.

[19]  D. Schimel,et al.  Atmospheric Chemistry and Greenhouse Gases , 1999 .

[20]  K. Inubushi,et al.  Effect of changing groundwater levels caused by land-use changes on greenhouse gas fluxes from tropical peat lands , 2004, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[21]  J. Munch,et al.  Effect of crop-specific field management and N fertilization on N2O emissions from a fine-loamy soil , 2001, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[22]  E. Davidson,et al.  Emissions of Nitrous Oxide and Nitric Oxide from Soils of Native and Exotic Ecosystems of the Amazon and Cerrado Regions of Brazil , 2001, TheScientificWorldJournal.

[23]  Elizabeth Pattey,et al.  Modelling variability in N2O emissions from fertilized agricultural fields , 2003 .

[24]  E. Davidson,et al.  Nitrogen Oxide Fluxes and Nitrogen Cycling during Postagricultural Succession and Forest Fertilization in the Humid Tropics , 2001, Ecosystems.

[25]  P. Vitousek,et al.  Sources of variation in nitrous oxide flux from Amazonian ecosystems , 1990 .

[26]  K. Butterbach‐Bahl,et al.  Seasonal variability of N2O emissions and CH4 uptake by tropical rainforest soils of Queensland, Australia , 2003 .

[27]  P. Martikainen,et al.  Nitrous oxide emissions from boreal organic soil under different land-use , 2003 .

[28]  K. Butterbach‐Bahl,et al.  N2O emission from tropical forest soils of Australia , 2000 .

[29]  F. Beese,et al.  Nitrous oxide emission and methane consumption following compaction of forest soils , 2004 .

[30]  T. Callaghan,et al.  Spatial variation in high‐latitude methane flux along a transect across Siberian and European tundra environments , 1995 .

[31]  Stanley C. Solomon,et al.  Stratospheric ozone depletion: A review of concepts and history , 1999 .

[32]  Elizabeth Pattey,et al.  Mathematical modeling of nitrous oxide emissions from an agricultural field during spring thaw , 1999 .

[33]  P. Vitousek,et al.  Nitrogen transformations and nitrous oxide flux in a tropical deciduous forest in México , 1991, Oecologia.

[34]  R. Cicerone.  Changes in Stratospheric Ozone , 1987, Science.

[35]  J. M. Bremner.  Sources of nitrous oxide in soils , 2004, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[36]  S. Limin,et al.  Effects of agricultural land-use change and forest fire on N2O emission from tropical peatlands, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia , 2006 .

[37]  J. Pfadenhauer,et al.  Nitrous oxide and methane fluxes from organic soils under agriculture , 1998 .

[38]  E. Davidson,et al.  Fluxes of nitrous oxide and nitric oxide from terrestrial ecosystems. , 1991 .

[39]  A. Mosier,et al.  Nitrous oxide and methane fluxes in six different land use systems in the Peruvian Amazon , 2002 .

[40]  K. Butterbach‐Bahl,et al.  N2O and CO2 emissions from three different tropical forest sites in the wet tropics of Queensland, Australia , 2002 .

[41]  E. Davidson,et al.  Land use change and biogeochemical controls of nitrogen oxide emissions from soils in eastern Amazonia , 1999 .

[42]  R. C. Izaurralde,et al.  Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Agricultural Soils of the Boreal and Parkland Regions of Alberta , 1998 .

[43]  K. Dobbie,et al.  The effects of temperature, water‐filled pore space and land use on N2O emissions from an imperfectly drained gleysol , 2001 .

[44]  D. Keeney,et al.  Effect of Temperature on the Gaseous Nitrogen Products of Denitrification in a Silt Loam Soil1 , 1979 .

[45]  K. Regina,et al.  Fluxes of N2O from farmed peat soils in Finland , 2004 .

[46]  John M. Norman,et al.  A comparison of six methods for measuring soil‐surface carbon dioxide fluxes , 1997 .

[47]  Shuguang Liu,et al.  Model simulation of changes in N2O and NO emissions with conversion of tropical rain forests to pastures in the Costa Rican Atlantic Zone , 1999 .

[48]  C. Johnston,et al.  Environmental and substrate controls over carbon and nitrogen mineralization in northern wetlands , 1995 .

[49]  E. Beauchamp,et al.  Nitrous oxide emission from agricultural soils , 1997 .

[50]  E. Paul,et al.  Factors influencing the stability of labelled microbial materials in soils , 1974 .

[51]  K. Robertson.  Nitrous oxide emission in relation to soil factors at low to intermediate moisture levels. , 1994 .

[52]  Christopher Potter,et al.  Process modeling of controls on nitrogen trace gas emissions from soils worldwide , 1996 .

[53]  Harada,et al.  Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition(2009) , 2009 .

[54]  A. Bouwman,et al.  Uncertainties in the global source distribution of nitrous oxide , 1995 .

[55]  R. Hatano,et al.  Dissolved N2O, CH4, and CO2 in pipe drainage, seepage, and stream water in a livestock farm in Hokkaido, Japan , 2002 .

[56]  M. Šimek,et al.  The influence of soil pH on denitrification: progress towards the understanding of this interaction over the last 50 years , 2002 .

[57]  E. Davidson,et al.  Soil emissions of nitric oxide in a seasonally dry tropical forest of México , 1991 .

[58]  M. Keller,et al.  Nitrogen oxide emissions from a banana plantation in the humid tropics , 1997 .

[59]  D. Kleinbaum,et al.  Applied Regression Analysis and Other Multivariate Methods , 1978 .

[60]  P. Martikainen,et al.  Emissions of CH4, N20 and CO2 from a virgin fen and a fen drained for grassland in Finland , 1995 .

[61]  G. Velthof,et al.  Nitrous oxide fluxes from grassland in the Netherlands: II. Effects of soil type, nitrogen fertilizer application and grazing , 1995 .

[62]  P. Martikainen,et al.  Effect of a lowered water table on nitrous oxide fluxes from northern peatlands , 1993, Nature.

[63]  Kah Joo Goh,et al.  Soil CO 2 flux from three ecosystems in tropical peatland of Sarawak , Malaysia , 2005 .

[64]  J. Rydén.  N2O exchange between a grassland soil and the atmosphere , 1981, Nature.

[65]  P. Martikainen,et al.  Fluxes of N2O, CH4 and CO2 on afforested boreal agricultural soils , 2001, Plant and Soil.

[66]  Keith A. Smith,et al.  Nitrous oxide emissions from intensive agricultural systems: Variations between crops and seasons, key driving variables, and mean emission factors , 1999 .

[67]  H. Gucinski.  Microbial Production and Consumption of Greenhouse Gases: Methane, Nitrogen Oxides, and Halomethanes , 1994 .

[68]  W. Parton,et al.  Generalized model for NOx and N2O emissions from soils , 2001 .

[69]  W. Parton,et al.  Impact of agriculture on soil consumption of atmospheric CH4 and a comparison of CH4 and N2O flux in subarctic, temperate and tropical grasslands , 1997, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[70]  K. Inubushi,et al.  Seasonal changes of CO(2), CH(4) and N(2)O fluxes in relation to land-use change in tropical peatlands located in coastal area of South Kalimantan. , 2003, Chemosphere.

[71]  J. Rydén.  Denitrification loss from a grassland soil in the field receiving different rates of nitrogen as ammonium nitrate , 1983 .

[72]  P. Martikainen,et al.  Short‐term effects of changing water table on N2O fluxes from peat monoliths from natural and drained boreal peatlands , 1999 .

[73]  G. S. Campbell,et al.  Theory and Measurement of Water Potential , 1981 .

[74]  E. Davidson,et al.  Processes Regulating Soil Emissions of NO and N^2O in a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest , 1993 .

[75]  Paul C Smithson,et al.  Guidelines for quality management in soil and plant laboratories. FAO Soils Bulletin 74. L.P. van Reeuwijk, with a contribution by V.J.G. Houba. FAO/ISRIC, Rome/Wageningen, 1998 Softcover, vi+143 pp. U$20. ISBN 92 5 104 065 6. , 2000 .

[76]  Christopher Potter,et al.  Ecosystem modeling and dynamic effects of deforestation on trace gas fluxes in Amazon tropical forests , 2001 .

[77]  K. Yagi,et al.  Estimations of emission factors for fertilizer-induced direct N2O emissions from agricultural soils in Japan: Summary of available data , 2006 .

[78]  J. R. Simpson,et al.  Nitrous Oxide Emission During Denitrification in a Flooded Field1 , 1979 .

[79]  K. Inubushi,et al.  Effect of land-use changes on nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from tropical peatlands , 2000 .

[80]  P. Vitousek,et al.  Ecosystem approach to a global nitrous oxide budget , 1990 .

[81]  Bijay-Singh,et al.  Nitrogen losses and fertilizer N use efficiency in irrigated porous soils , 1996, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[82]  D. Jenkinson.  Cycles of Soil: Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Sulfur, Micronutrients , 1987 .

[83]  R. Hatano,et al.  Three years of nitrous oxide and nitric oxide emissions from silandic andosols cultivated with maize in Hokkaido, Japan , 2006 .

[84]  Keith A. Smith,et al.  Exchange of greenhouse gases between soil and atmosphere: interactions of soil physical factors and biological processes , 2003 .

[85]  E. Davidson,et al.  Microbiological basis of NO and N2O production and consumption in soil. , 1989 .

[86]  P. Crill.  Seasonal patterns of methane uptake and carbon dioxide release by a temperate woodland soil , 1991 .

[87]  Jean Charles Munch,et al.  Integrated evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O) from two farming systems in southern Germany , 2002 .

[88]  J. Augustin,et al.  Factors influencing nitrous oxide and methane emissions from minerotrophic fens in northeast Germany , 1998, Biology and Fertility of Soils.

[89]  F. J. Stevenson.  Cycles of soil : carbon, nitrogem, phosphorus, sulfur, micronutrients , 1986 .

[90]  G. Velthof,et al.  Seasonal variations in nitrous oxide losses from managed grasslands in The Netherlands , 1996, Plant and Soil.

[91]  H. Tian,et al.  Nitrous oxide emissions from forests and pastures of various ages in the Brazilian Amazon , 2001 .

[92]  D. Schimel,et al.  Greenhouse Gases: Sources and Sinks , 1992 .

[93]  Hannu Nykänen,et al.  Fluxes of nitrous oxide from boreal peatlands as affected by peatland type, water table level and nitrification capacity , 1996 .