Isotopic and concentration analyses of CO2 and CH4 in association with
the eddy-covariance based measurements in a tropical forest of northeast
India
Abstract
Various sources emit greenhouse gases such as CO and CH. Among the
natural ecosystems, forests and wetlands emit a sizeable amount of these
gases by means of autotrophic, heterotrophic respiration and bacterial
activities. Additionally, a relatively new source has been detected; the
emission of CH by trees and plants. Growing evidence suggests that a
significant amount of CH is generated by the trees in forested
ecosystems. The net ecosystem exchange (NEE), measured by an eddy
covariance (EC) system, typically represents the net CO fluxes arising
due to the biosphere’s photosynthetic and respirative processes. The net
flux derived by this system is subsequently partitioned into two
components, the respired carbon, and the assimilated carbon. However,
the partitioning processes may have their shortcomings, which introduce
significant errors. To reduce the uncertainty, the NEE has been
constrained by measuring the isotopic values of the GHGs using a
real-time analyzer in a tropical forest of north-east India, the
Kaziranga National Park. The GHG analyzer provided CO and CH
concentrations, as well as their carbon isotopic ratios. The isotopic
data were used to partition the EC derived NEE records, which showed a
good agreement with the EC measurements within the limits of
experimental uncertainty. However, long-term observation is required to
establish the potential of this relatively new method in this endeavor.
Additionally, the isotopic data provided strong evidence of plant
generated CH, which was apparently not possible to identify by the
conventional means.