Effect of mowing on N₂O and CH₄ fluxes emissions from the meadow-steppe grasslands of Inner Mongolia

Abstract

To assess the impacts of mowing on N₂O and CH₄ fluxes emissions from the meadow-steppe grasslands of Inner Mongolia, China, two regimes were investigated: unmown since 2005 (UM), and mown once every three years since 2009 (M3). On-site measurements were conducted continuously during a year-round period (August 2011 to August 2012). During the observation period, three diurnal cycles were also measured. In addition, a targeted laboratory experiment was conducted to make up for the few measurements in winter. A large pulse of N₂O emissions related to freeze-thaw cycles was observed at M3 during the spring thaw. Results showed that the meadow-steppes played a role as a sink for CH₄ and a source for N₂O. Significantly lower mean CH₄ uptake at UM (40.3 μg C·m^-2·h^-1) as compared to M3 (70.5 μg C ·m^-2·h^-1) (p<0.01), and significantly higher mean N₂O efflux at UM (6.3 μg N·m^-2·h^-1) as compared to M3 (4.3 μg N·m^-2·h^-1) (p<0.05) were found. The laboratory experiment results revealed that mowing changed the soil conditions that favor the activity of denitrifiers during thawing periods. The CH₄ and N₂O fluxes were significantly correlated with soil temperature (p<0.05). Mowing affected CH₄ uptake and N₂O emission mainly through its effect on vegetation types and some soil properties, such as soil inorganic N content, soil temperature, and soil moisture content, while soil inorganic N and moisture were not leading factors. Our results also suggested that mowing could mitigate the potential global warming in terms of CH₄ uptake and N₂O emissions.

Keywords

mowing / meadow-steppe / methane / nitrous oxide / freeze-thaw cycles / global warming

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Program No. XDA0520402). The authors thank members of the National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station for their support.

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