A document by Yuanzhe Li. Click on the document to view its contents.

The nitrogen isotopic composition of nitrogen oxide (NOx) is useful for estimating its sources and sinks. Several methods have been developed to convert atmospheric nitric oxide (NO) and/or nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to nitrites and/or nitrates for collection. However, the collection efficiency and blanks are poorly evaluated for many collection methods. Here, we present a method for collecting ambient NOx (NO and NO2 simultaneously) with over 90 % efficiency collection of NOx and low blank (approximately 0.5 µM) using a 3 wt% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and 0.5 M sodium hydride (NaOH) solution. The 1σ uncertainty of the nitrogen isotopic composition was {plus minus} 1.0 ‰. The advantages of this method include its portability, simplicity, and the ability to collect the required amount of sample to analyze the nitrogen isotopic composition of ambient NOx in a short period of time. Using this method, we observed the nitrogen isotopic compositions of NOx (δ15N(NOx)) at the Tsukuba and Yoyogi sites in Japan. The averaged value and standard deviation (1σ) in the Yoyogi site was (−2.7 {plus minus} 1.8) ‰ and in the Tsukuba site was (−1.7 {plus minus} 0.9) ‰ during the sampling period. The main NOx source appears to be the vehicle exhaust in the two sites. If the developed method is used by many researchers in the future, the database of δ15N(NOx) values will be enriched and a deeper understanding of NOx behavior will be gained.

Long-term carbon dioxide (CO2) flux measurements between the atmosphere and the ecosystem have been made since 1993 at a cool-temperate deciduous forest site (Takayama) in Japan influenced by Asian Monsoon, constituting the longest dataset among all the AsiaFlux sites. Interannual variations (IAVs) and trends of the annual carbon budget components and their environmental factors were examined. Annual net ecosystem production (NEP) (mean ± 1σ) during the period of eddy covariance measurement in 1999-2021 was 265 ± 86 gC m-2 yr-1, and its IAV was dependent more on gross primary production (GPP) than on ecosystem respiration. IAVs in annual NEP and GPP were correlated with the IAVs of the monthly mean NEP, GPP and leaf area index (LAI) from June to September, as well as with that of the length of the net carbon uptake period. Significant increasing and decreasing trends in the annual NEP and GPP were detected during 2004-2013 and 2013-2021, respectively; the increasing trends were mainly caused by the vegetation recovery from typhoon disturbances while the decreasing trends were partly influenced by recent extreme weather events. Significant positive correlations of the IAVs between the start and the end of the net carbon uptake period, and between the leaf expansion and leaf fall were found. These may be attributed to biological functions and interseasonal relationship of meteorological parameters associated with ENSO events that can also influence IAVs in annual NEP and GPP.