Carbon balance of a grazed grassland in Belgium

in Communications in Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences (2012, February 10)

This work seeks to analyze the carbon balance of a managed permanent grassland grazed by the “Blanc Bleu Belge” breed of cattle. The study site is located at Dorinne. The experimental field was equipped ... [more ▼]

This work seeks to analyze the carbon balance of a managed permanent grassland grazed by the “Blanc Bleu Belge” breed of cattle. The study site is located at Dorinne. The experimental field was equipped with an eddy covariance system that measured CO2 fluxes and with a micrometeorological station. Carbon exported through mowing, imported through compost application or through complementary feeds for cattle was also measured. Carbon lost through CH4 emissions was finally estimated, allowing the establishment of a full C budget. In addition, the vegetation development was followed in order to estimate herbage production and dry matter intake by grazing animals. First year full carbon budget is presented and discussed, in relation with climate conditions and management practices. [less ▲]

Impact of cultivation practices on soil respiration

Poster (2012, February 08)

In addition to its, evident, food supply function, agriculture is subjected to various pressures and has to respond to many challenges like reducing its CO2 emissions, maintaining or improving the soil ... [more ▼]

In addition to its, evident, food supply function, agriculture is subjected to various pressures and has to respond to many challenges like reducing its CO2 emissions, maintaining or improving the soil quality, maintaining productivity, sequestrating of the carbon stock in soil... Cultivation practices are known to induce a modification of soil organic matter quantity, quality and spatial distribution, which may impact dry matter decomposition kinetics. In order to bring answers to these questions, a multidisciplinary project (SOLRESIDUS) was set up by the University of Liege, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech in collaboration with Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (CRA-W). The aim was to investigate the impact of cultivation practices (tillage and residue restitution) on crop growth, yield and environment, as well as on soil properties and on activities. In the present study, we focused on the impacts on soil CO2 fluxes. The experimental site is situated in Gembloux, in the Belgian loamy region. The plot is divided into 4 latin squares where two tillage modalities (plough after 2 stubble breaking vs only 2 stubble breaking) and two straw management practices (restitution vs. exportation) were compared. For 3 years, soil respiration was measured with automatic and manual dynamic soil chambers. Moreover, soil respiration was measured as well in cropping zone (total respiration) as in root exclusion zones created with root exclusion cylinders (heterotrophic respiration). As first results, we observed: -a significantly higher flux in plots with residue restitution, which is clearly explained by the larger amount of organic carbon prone to decomposition; -a decrease of standardized heterotrophic respiration (linked with residue decomposition) during growing seasons; -no significant differences in soil respiration between tillage modalities after 3 growing seasons. The experiment is still in progress, more years being necessary in order to evaluate the long-term impacts of cultivation practices on soil respiration. [less ▲]

Diurnal CO2 flux responses in cultivated savanna in Benin (West Africa)

Scientific conference (2012, February 08)

Projet D31-1235: Etablissement du bilan de carbone d'une exploitation agricole wallonne pratiquant le système allaitant: effets du climat et de la gestion du pâturage. Rapport de synthèse: Janvier 2010 - Décembre 2011

Report (2012)

Eddy Covariance: A Practical Guide to Measurement and Data Analysis

Book published by Springer (2012)

Chapter 3: Data Acquisition and Flux Calculations

in Aubinet, Marc; Vesala, Timo; Papale, Dario (Eds.) Eddy Covariance: A Practical Guide to Measurement and Data Analysis (2012)

Chapter 5: Night time Flux correction

in Aubinet, Marc; Vesala, Timo; Papale, Dario (Eds.) Eddy Covariance: A Practical Guide to Measurement and Data Analysis (2012)

Thermal optimality of net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide and underlying mechanisms

in New Phytologist (2012), 194

• It is well established that individual organisms can acclimate and adapt to temperature to optimize their functioning. However, thermal optimization of ecosystems, as an assemblage of organisms, has not ... [more ▼]

• It is well established that individual organisms can acclimate and adapt to temperature to optimize their functioning. However, thermal optimization of ecosystems, as an assemblage of organisms, has not been examined at broad spatial and temporal scales. • Here, we compiled data from 169 globally distributed sites of eddy covariance and quantified the temperature response functions of net ecosystem exchange (NEE), an ecosystem- level property, to determine whether NEE shows thermal optimality and to explore the underlying mechanisms. • We found that the temperature response of NEE followed a peak curve, with the optimum temperature (corresponding to the maximum magnitude of NEE) being positively correlated with annual mean temperature over years and across sites. Shifts of the optimum temperature of NEE were mostly a result of temperature acclimation of gross primary productivity (upward shift of optimum temperature) rather than changes in the temperature sensitivity of ecosystem respiration. • Ecosystem-level thermal optimality is a newly revealed ecosystem property, presumably reflecting associated evolutionary adaptation of organisms within ecosystems, and has the potential to significantly regulate ecosystem–climate change feedbacks. The thermal optimality of NEE has implications for understanding fundamental properties of ecosystems in changing environments and benchmarking global models. [less ▲]

Apport de l'approche multicouche et du signal isotopique pour la compréhension de la respiration du sol en écosystème forestier

in Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Société et Environnement = Biotechnology, Agronomy, Society and Environment [=BASE] (2011), 15(4), 575-584

Le flux de dioxyde de carbone émanant du sol participe de manière prépondérante au cycle du carbone. On estime son amplitude à 68 ± 4 Pg C/an. En forêt tempérée, il représente approximativement 60-80% des ... [more ▼]

Le flux de dioxyde de carbone émanant du sol participe de manière prépondérante au cycle du carbone. On estime son amplitude à 68 ± 4 Pg C/an. En forêt tempérée, il représente approximativement 60-80% des émissions totales de CO2 de l’écosystème (respiration de l’écosystème). Compte tenu de l’ampleur de ce flux et des conséquences qu’aurait une quelconque modification de son amplitude sur le chargement en dioxyde de carbone de l’atmosphère, il est primordial d’améliorer la connaissance des mécanismes qui le régissent et de connaître précisément l’influence des variables du milieu (édaphiques et climatiques). Cet article vise à montrer l’intérêt d’effectuer des analyses multicouches des mécanismes à l’origine de ce flux (transport et production) plutôt que de restreindre les études à la surface du sol. De plus, cet article souligne le bénéfice apporté par l’outil isotopique pour améliorer la compréhension mécaniste de ce flux. [less ▲]

Clear link between drought stress, photosynthesis and biogenic volatile organic compounds in Fagus sylvatica L.

in Atmospheric Environment (2011), 45(30), 5254-5259

Direct plant stress sensing is the key for a quantitative understanding of drought stress effects on biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions. A given level of drought stress might have a ... [more ▼]

Direct plant stress sensing is the key for a quantitative understanding of drought stress effects on biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions. A given level of drought stress might have a fundamentally different effect on the BVOC emissions of different plants. For the first time, we continuously quantified the level of drought stress in a young potted beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) with a linear variable displacement transducer (LVDT) installed at stem level in combination with simultaneous measurements of BVOC emissions and photosynthesis rates at leaf level. This continuous set of measurements allowed us to examine how beech alters its pattern of photosynthesis and carbon allocation to BVOC emissions (mainly monoterpenes, MTs) and radial stem growth during the development of drought stress. We observed an increasing-decreasing trend in the MT emissions as well as in the fraction of assimilated carbon re-emitted back into the atmosphere (ranging between 0.14 and 0.01%). We were able to link these dynamics to pronounced changes in radial stem growth, which served as a direct plant stress indicator. Interestingly, we detected a sudden burst in emission of a non-identified, non-MT BVOC species when drought stress was acute (i.e. pronounced negative stem growth). This burst might have been caused by a certain stress-related green leaf volatile, which disappeared immediately upon re-watering and thus the alleviation of drought stress. These results highlight that direct plant stress sensing creates opportunities to understand the overall complexity of stress-related BVOC emissions. [less ▲]