Gross Primary Productivity of Four European Ecosystems Constrained by Joint CO2 and COS Flux Measurements.

Gross primary productivity (GPP), the gross uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) by plant photosynthesis, is the primary driver of the land carbon sink, which presently removes around one quarter of the anthropogenic CO2 emissions each year. GPP, however, cannot be measured directly and the resulting uncertainty undermines our ability to project the magnitude of the future land carbon sink. Carbonyl sulfide (COS) has been proposed as an independent proxy for GPP as it diffuses into leaves in a fashion very similar to CO2, but in contrast to the latter is generally not emitted. Here we use concurrent ecosystem-scale flux measurements of CO2 and COS at four European biomes for a joint constraint on CO2 flux partitioning. The resulting GPP estimates generally agree with classical approaches relying exclusively on CO2 fluxes but indicate a systematic underestimation under low light conditions, demonstrating the importance of using multiple approaches for constraining present-day GPP.

Assessing soil respiration by means of near-infrared diode laser spectroscopy.

High-resolution diode laser spectroscopy in the near-infrared region is applied to the accurate measurement of soil respiration. In particular, the use of a diode-laser-based spectrometer has allowed the implementation, for the first time, of a static accumulation method capable of measuring soil respiration from continuous measurements of CO(2) concentrations, with minor perturbation on soil respiration as well as on CO(2) transport and emission. The system has been tested in a laboratory experiment by detection of CO(2) production from sandy matrices, inoculated with active soil microbes and supplied with different amounts of decomposable plant material. Respiration rates of all samples were then retrieved using a diffusion model. The results of the laboratory tests are in agreement with those expected on the basis of sample composition. Examples of operation with real soil samples are also reported. We discuss the possible field application of the system, in conjunction with closed static soil chambers.

Application of biochar on mine tailings: effects and perspectives for land reclamation.

Mine tailings represent a source of toxic pollutants, mainly heavy metals, which may spread to the surrounding areas. Phytostabilization, a long-term and cost-effective rehabilitation strategy, can be achieved by promoting the establishment of vegetation to reduce the risk of pollutant transfer. In this work, the application of pyrolyzed biomass (biochar) was studied to evaluate the amelioration of the mine tailings properties for potential use as a phytostabilization technology. Four substrates were obtained by mixing the mine tailings from a dumping site in Cave del Predil (NE, Italy) with biochar from orchard prune residues at four dosages (0%, 1%, 5% and 10% biochar in the mine tailings). The physical and chemical properties were determined and the bioavailability and leachability of the contaminants were estimated. The pH, the nutrient retention in terms of cation exchange capacity and the water-holding capacity increased as the biochar content increased in the substrates and the bioavailability of Cd, Pb, Tl and Zn of the mine tailings decreased. The changes promoted by the biochar seem to be in favor of its use on mine wastes to help the establishment of a green cover in a phytostabilization process.

Spatial and temporal performance of the miniface (free air CO2 enrichment) system on Bog Ecosystems in northern and Central Europe.

The Bog Ecosystem Research Initiative (BERI) project was initiated to investigate, at five climatically different sites across Europe, the effects of elevated CO2 and N deposition on the net exchange of CO2 and CH4 between bogs and the atmosphere, and to study the effects of elevated CO2 and N deposition on the plant biodiversity of bog communities. A major challenge to investigate the effects of elevated CO2 on vegetation and ecosystems is to apply elevated CO2 concentrations to growing vegetation without changing the physical conditions like climate and radiation. Most available CO2 enrichment methods disturb the natural conditions to some degree, for instance closed chambers or open top chambers. Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) systems have proven to be suitable to expose plants to elevated CO2 concentrations with minimal disturbance of their natural environment. The size and spatial scale of the vegetation studied within the BERI project allowed the use of a modified version of a small FACE system called MiniFACE. This paper describes the BERI MiniFACE design as well as its temporal and spatial performance at the five BERI field locations. The temporal performance of the MiniFACE system largely met the quality criteria defined by the FACE Protocol. One minute average CO2 concentrations measured at the centre of the ring stayed within 20% of the pre-set target for more than 95% of the time. Increased wind speeds were found to improve the MiniFACE system's temporal performance. Spatial analyses showed no apparent CO2 gradients across a ring during a 4 day period and the mean differences between each sampling point and the centre of the ring did not exceed 10%. Observations made during a windy day, causing a CO2 concentration gradient, and observations made during a calm day indicated that short term gradients tend to average out over longer periods of time. On a day with unidirectional strong winds, CO2 concentrations at the upwind side of the ring centre were higher than those made at the centre and at the downwind side of the ring centre, but the bell-shaped distribution was found basically the same for the centre and the four surrounding measurement points, implying that the short term (1 sec) variability of CO2 concentrations across the MiniFACE ring is almost the same at any point in the ring. Based on gas dispersion simulations and measured CO2 concentration profiles, the possible interference between CO2-enriched and control rings was found to be negligible beyond a centre-to-centre ring distance of 6 m.