Audet, Joachim and Bastviken, David and Audet, Joachim and Bundschuh, Mirco and Buffam, Ishi and Feckler, Alexander and Klemedtsson, Leif and Laudon, Hjalmar and Löfgren, Stefan and Natchimuthu, Sivakiruthika and Öquist, Mats and Peacock, Michael and Wallin, Marcus B.
(2020).
Forest streams are important sources for nitrous oxide emissions - Nitrous oxide emissions from Swedish streams.
Global Change Biology. 26
, 629-641
[Research article]
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Abstract
Streams and river networks are increasingly recognized as significant sources for the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). N2O is a transformation product of nitrogenous compounds in soil, sediment and water. Agricultural areas are considered a particular hotspot for emissions because of the large input of nitrogen (N) fertilizers applied on arable land. However, there is little information on N2O emissions from forest streams although they constitute a major part of the total stream network globally. Here, we compiled N2O concentration data from low-order streams (~1,000 observations from 172 stream sites) covering a large geographical gradient in Sweden from the temperate to the boreal zone and representing catchments with various degrees of agriculture and forest coverage. Our results showed that agricultural and forest streams had comparable N2O concentrations of 1.6 +/- 2.1 and 1.3 +/- 1.8 mu g N/L, respectively (mean +/- SD) despite higher total N (TN) concentrations in agricultural streams (1,520 +/- 1,640 vs. 780 +/- 600 mu g N/L). Although clear patterns linking N2O concentrations and environmental variables were difficult to discern, the percent saturation of N2O in the streams was positively correlated with stream concentration of TN and negatively correlated with pH. We speculate that the apparent contradiction between lower TN concentration but similar N2O concentrations in forest streams than in agricultural streams is due to the low pH (<6) in forest soils and streams which affects denitrification and yields higher N2O emissions. An estimate of the N2O emission from low-order streams at the national scale revealed that ~1.8 x 10(9) g N2O-N are emitted annually in Sweden, with forest streams contributing about 80% of the total stream emission. Hence, our results provide evidence that forest streams can act as substantial N2O sources in the landscape with 800 x 10(9) g CO2-eq emitted annually in Sweden, equivalent to 25% of the total N2O emissions from the Swedish agricultural sector.
Authors/Creators: | Audet, Joachim and Bastviken, David and Audet, Joachim and Bundschuh, Mirco and Buffam, Ishi and Feckler, Alexander and Klemedtsson, Leif and Laudon, Hjalmar and Löfgren, Stefan and Natchimuthu, Sivakiruthika and Öquist, Mats and Peacock, Michael and Wallin, Marcus B. | ||||||
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Title: | Forest streams are important sources for nitrous oxide emissions - Nitrous oxide emissions from Swedish streams | ||||||
Series Name/Journal: | Global Change Biology | ||||||
Year of publishing : | 2020 | ||||||
Volume: | 26 | ||||||
Page range: | 629-641 | ||||||
Number of Pages: | 13 | ||||||
Publisher: | Wiley | ||||||
Associated Programs and Other Stakeholders: | SLU - Environmental assessment > Programme Eutrophication SLU - Environmental assessment > Programme Forest SLU - Environmental assessment > Programme Climate SLU - Environmental assessment > Data from Environmental Assesment (FoMA) is used | ||||||
ISSN: | 1354-1013 | ||||||
Language: | English | ||||||
Publication Type: | Research article | ||||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||||
Version: | Published version | ||||||
Copyright: | Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 | ||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 1 Natural sciences > 105 Earth and Related Environmental Sciences > Geochemistry (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 1 Natural sciences > 105 Earth and Related Environmental Sciences > Climate Research (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 1 Natural sciences > 105 Earth and Related Environmental Sciences > Environmental Sciences (social aspects to be 507) | ||||||
Keywords: | agriculture, forest, greenhouse gas, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, river, stream | ||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-103074 | ||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-103074 | ||||||
Additional ID: |
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ID Code: | 16746 | ||||||
Faculty: | NJ - Fakulteten för naturresurser och jordbruksvetenskap S - Faculty of Forest Sciences | ||||||
Department: | (NL, NJ) > Dept. of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment (S) > Dept. of Forest Ecology and Management | ||||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||||
Deposited On: | 14 Apr 2020 11:52 | ||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 09 Aug 2020 17:57 |
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