Register      Login
Soil Research Soil Research Society
Soil, land care and environmental research
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > SR > SR08151
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 47(5)

Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from soil are reduced following afforestation of pasture lands in three contrasting climatic zones

D. E. Allen A E , D. S. Mendham B , Bhupinderpal-Singh C , A. Cowie C , W. Wang A , R. C. Dalal A and R. J. Raison D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Natural Resources and Water, 80 Meiers Rd, Indooroopilly, Qld 4068, Australia.

B CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Private Bag 5, Wembley, WA 6913, Australia.

C NSW Department of Primary Industries, PO Box 100, Beecroft, NSW 2119, Australia.

D CSIRO Forest Biosciences, PO Box E4008, Kingston, ACT 2604, Australia.

E Corresponding author. Email: Diane.Allen@nrw.qld.gov.au

Australian Journal of Soil Research 47(5) 443-458 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR08151
Submitted: 2 July 2008  Accepted: 26 March 2009   Published: 18 August 2009

Abstract

Land use change from agriculture to forestry offers potential opportunities for carbon (C) sequestration and thus partial mitigation of increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. The effects of land use change of grazed pastures on in situ fluxes of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) from soil were examined across 3 forest types in Australian temperate, Mediterranean, and subtropical regions, using a network of paired pasture−forest sites, representing 3 key stages of forest stand development: establishment, canopy-closure, and mid to late rotation. During the 12-month study, soil temperature ranged from –6° to 40°C and total rainfall from 487 to 676 mm. Rates of N2O flux ranged between 1 and 100 μg/m2.h in pasture soils and from –5 to 50 μg/m2.h in forest soils; magnitudes were generally similar across the 3 climate zones. Rates of CH4 flux varied from –1 to –50 μg/m2.h in forest soil and from +10 to –30 μg/m2.h in pasture soils; CH4 flux was highest at the subtropics sites and lowest at the Mediterranean sites.

In general, N2O emissions were lower, and CH4 consumption was higher, under forest than pasture soils, suggesting that land use change from pasture to forest can have a positive effect on mitigation of non-CO2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soil as stands become established. The information derived from this study can be used to improve the capacity of models for GHG accounting (e.g. FullCAM, which underpins Australia’s National Carbon Accounting System) to estimate N2O and CH4 fluxes resulting from land use change from pasture to forest in Australia. There is still, however, a need to test model outputs against continuous N2O and CH4 measurements over extended periods of time and across a range of sites with similar land use, to increase confidence in spatial and temporal estimates at regional levels.

Additional keywords: N2O, CH4, GHG balance, afforestation, forest, paired sites, grassland, pasture, plantation, temperate, tropics, Mediterranean.


Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Qld DNR&W, NSW DPI, and CSIRO. We thank Neil Halpin from DPI Forestry for Qld site selection, Jeff Baldock and Kris Broos from CSIRO for project advice, and David Mayer for statistical advice. We thank Forests NSW, Qld DPI Forestry and Timbercorp Limited for site access, Satvinder Bawa, David Giles, and Kamaljeet Kaur (Forestry NSW DPI), Steven Reeves, Iain Gibson, Judy Brady, and Linda Chrabaszcz (Qld DNRW), and Jessie Rutter and Scott Walker (CSIRO) for skilled technical support. We also thank the several farmers who allowed us access to their properties, including Iain Mckean and Graham Gilmore (NSW), Colin Marshall, Libby Lieu, Craig Jones and Lori McCarthy (Qld), Todd and Jane Stan-Bishop, Michael and Phillipa Murphy, and Peter Drygan (WA).


References


Adviento-Borbe MAA, Doran JW, Drijber RA, Dobermann A (2006) Soil electrical conductivity and water content affect nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions in intensively managed soils. Journal of Environmental Quality 35, 1999–2010.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Allen DE, Dalal RC, Rennenberg H, Meyer RL, Reeves S, Schmidt S (2007) Spatial and temporal variation of nitrous oxide and methane flux between subtropical mangrove sediments and the atmosphere. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 39, 622–631.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Ball BC, Dobbie KE, Parker JP, Smith KA (1997) The influence of gas transport and porosity on methane oxidation in soils. Journal of Geophysical Research 102, 23 301–23 308.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Ball T, Smith KA, Moncrieff JB (2007) Effect of stand age on greenhouse gas fluxes from a Sitka spruce [Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.] chronosequence on a peaty gley soil. Global Change Biology 13, 2128–2142.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Barton L, McLay CDA, Schipper LA, Smith CT (1999) Annual denitrification rates in agricultural and forest soils: a review. Australian Journal of Soil Research 37, 1073–1093.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bedard C, Knowles R (1989) Physiology, biochemistry and specific inhibitors of CH4, NH4 +, and CO oxidation by methanotrophs and nitrifiers. Microbiological Reviews 53, 68–84.
|  CAS | PubMed |
open url image1

Best EK (1976) An automated method for the determination of nitrate nitrogen in soil extracts. Queensland Journal of Agriculture and Animal Science 33, 161–166.
|  CAS |
open url image1

Bodelier PLE, Laanbroek HJ (2004) Nitrogen as a regulatory factor of methane oxidation in soils and sediments. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 47, 265–277.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Boeckx P, VanCleemput O (1996) Methane oxidation in neutral landfill cover soil: Influence of moisture content, temperature, and nitrogen-turnover. Journal of Environmental Quality 25, 178–183.
|  CAS |
open url image1

Bremner JM (1965) Inorganic forms of nitrogen. In ‘Methods of soil analysis’. Agronomy No. 9, Part 2. Ch. 84. (Ed. CA Black) (American Society of Agronomy Inc.: Madison, WI)

Breuer L, Papen H, Butterbach-Bahl K (2000) N2O emission from tropical forest soils of Australia. Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres 105, 26 353–26 367.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Bureau of Rural Sciences (2006) ‘Australia’s plantations 2006.’ (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry: Canberra, ACT)

Burford JR, Bremner JM (1975) Relationships between the denitrification capacities of soils and total, water-soluble and readily decomposable soil organic matter. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 7, 389–394.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Butterbach-Bahl K, Kock M, Willibald G, Hewett B, Buhagiar S, Papen H, Kiese R (2004) Temporal variations of fluxes of NO, NO2, N2O, CO2, and CH4 in a tropical rain forest ecosystem. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 18, GB3012.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Chang C, Janzen HH, Cho CM, Nakonechny EM (1998) Nitrous oxide emission through plants. Soil Science Society of America Journal 62, 35–38.
|  CAS |
open url image1

Conant RT, Paustian K, Del Grosso SJ, Parton WJ (2005) Nitrogen pools and fluxes in grassland soils sequestering carbon. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 71, 239–248.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Dalal RC, Allen DE, Livesley SJ, Richards G (2008) Magnitude and biophysical regulators of methane emission and consumption in the Australian agricultural, forest, and submerged landscapes: a review. Plant and Soil 309, 43–76.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Dalal RC, Wang W, Robertson GP, Parton WJ (2003) Nitrous oxide emissions from Australian agricultural lands and mitigation options: a review. Australian Journal of Soil Research 41, 165–195.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Dang YP, Dalal RC, Mayer DG, McDonald M, Routley R, Schwenke GD, Buck SR, Daniells IG, Singh DK, Manning W, Ferguson N (2008) High subsoil chloride concentrations reduce soil water extraction and crop yield on Vertosols in north-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 59, 321–330.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Davis M, Nordmeyer A, Henley D, Watt M (2007) Ecosystem carbon accretion 10 years after afforestation of depleted subhumid grassland planted with three densities of Pinus nigra. Global Change Biology 13, 1414–1422.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Davis MR, Condron LM (2002) Impact of grassland afforestation on soil carbon in New Zealand: a review of paired-site studies. Australian Journal of Soil Research 40, 675–690.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Denier van der Gon HAC, Neue HU (1995) Methane emission from a wetland rice field as affected by salinity. Plant and Soil 170, 307–313.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Dueck TA, de Visser R, Poorter H, Persijn S, Gorissen A, de Visser W, Schapendonk A, Verhagen J, Snel J, Harren FJM, Ngai AKY, Verstappen F, Bouwmeester H, Voesnek LACJ, van der Werf A (2007) No evidence for substantial aerobic methane emission by terrestrial plants: a 13C-labelling approach. New Phytologist 175, 29–35.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Eckard RJ, Chen D, White RE, Chapman DF (2003) Gaseous nitrogen loss from temperate perennial grass and clover dairy pastures in south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 54, 561–570.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Erickson H, Keller M, Davidson E (2001) Nitrogen oxide fluxes and nitrogen cycling during postagricultural succession and forest fertilization in the humid tropics. Ecosystems 4, 67–84.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Ferretti DF, Miller JB, White JWC, Lassey KR, Lowe DC, Etheridge DM (2007) Stable isotopes provide revised global limits of atmospheric methane emission from plants. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 7, 237–241.
|  CAS |
open url image1

Fest B , Livesley SJ , Drösler M , Butterbach-Bahl K , Leuning R , Arndt S (2007) Spatial and temporal variation of soil based greenhouse gas emissions in a cool temperate eucalyptus forest in SE Australia. In ‘Non-CO2 greenhouse gas fluxes in Australian–New Zealand Landscapes’. Research Forum. 15–16 May 2007. (University of Melbourne: Parkville, Vic.)

Forster P , Ramaswamy V , Artaxo P , Bernsten T , Betts R , Fahey DW , Haywood J , Lean J , Lowe DC , Myhre G , Nganga J , Prinn R , Raga G , Schutz M , Van Dorland R (2007) Changes in atmospheric constituents and in radiative forcing. In ‘Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis’. Contribution of Working Group 1 to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (Eds S Solomon, D Qin, M Manning, Z Chen, M Marquis, KB Averyt, M Tignor, HL Miller) pp. 129–234. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK)

Galbally IE , Meyer CP , Wang YP , Weeks IA , Elsworth CM , Smith C , Robertson F , Shang S , Kirstine W (1996) Greenhouse gas exchange and land use change in the Mallee in north-western Victoria. Final Report to the Greenhouse Program, Environment Protection Authority, Victoria.

Grove TS , O’Connell AM , Mendham DS , Barrow NJ , Vance SJ (2001) ‘Sustaining the productivity of tree crops on agricultural land in south-western Australia.’ Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Publication No. 01/09. (RIRDC: Canberra, ACT)

Isbell RF (1996) ‘The Australian soil classification.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood, Vic.)

Janik LJ, Skjemstad JO, Raven MD (1995) Characterisation and analysis of soils using mid-infra red partial least squares. I. Correlations with XRF-determined major element composition. Australian Journal of Soil Research 33, 621–636.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Keppler F, Hamilton JTG, Brass M, Rockmann T (2006) Methane emissions from terrestrial plants under aerobic conditions. Nature 439, 187–191.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Khalil MAK, Rasmussen RA, French JRJ, Holt JA (1990) The influence of termites on atmospheric trace gases – CH4, CO2, CHCl3, N2O, CO, H2, and light hydrocarbons. Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres 95, 3619–3634.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Kiese R, Butterbach-Bahl K (2002) N2O and CO2 emissions from three different tropical forest sites in the wet tropics of Queensland, Australia. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 34, 975–987.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Kiese R, Hewett B, Graham A, Butterbach-Bahl K (2003) Seasonal variability of N2O-emissions and CH4-uptake from/by a tropical rainforest soil of Queensland, Australia. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 17(2), 1043.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Kirschbaum MUF, Bruhn D, Etheridge DM, Evans JR, Farquhar GD, Gifford RM, Paul KI, Winters AJ (2006) A comment on the quantitative significance of aerobic methane release by plants. Functional Plant Biology 33, 521–530.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Klemedtsson L, von Arnold K, Weslien P, Gundersen P (2005) Soil CN ratio as a scalar parameter to predict nitrous oxide emissions. Global Change Biology 11, 1142–1147.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Le Mer J, Roger P (2001) Production, oxidation, emission and consumption of methane by soils: a review. European Journal of Soil Biology 37, 25–50.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Li C, Frolking S, Butterbach-Bahl K (2005) Carbon sequestration in arable soils is likely to increase nitrous oxide emissions, offsetting reductions in climate radiative forcing. Climatic Change 72, 321–338.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Li Z, Kelliher FM (2005) Determining nitrous oxide emissions from subsurface measurements in grazed pasture: a field trial of alternative technology. Australian Journal of Soil Research 43, 677–687.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Lima AMN, Silva IR, Neves JCL, Novais RF, Barros NF, Mendonça ES, Smyth TJ, Moreira MS, Leite FP (2006) Soil organic carbon dynamics following afforestation of degraded pastures with eucalyptus in southeastern Brazil. Forest Ecology and Management 235, 219–231.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Mendham DS, O’Connell AM, Grove TS (2003) Change in soil carbon after land clearing or afforestation in highly weathered lateritic and sandy soils of south-western Australia. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 95, 143–156.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Merino A, Pérez-Batallón P, Macías F (2004) Responses of soil organic matter and greenhouse gas fluxes to soil management and land use changes in a humid temperate region of southern Europe. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 36, 917–925.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Meyer CP , Galbally IE , Wang YP , Weeks IA , Tolhurst KG , Tomkins IB (1997) The enhanced emission of greenhouse gases from soil following prescribed burning in a southern eucalyptus forest. Final Report to the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Committee, CSIRO, Division of Atmospheric Research, Aspendale, Vic. pp. 1–66.

Mutuo PK, Cadisch G, Albrecht A, Palm CA, Verchot L (2005) Potential of agroforestry for carbon sequestration and mitigation of greenhouse gas emission from soils in the tropics. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 71, 43–54.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Niklaus PA, Wardle DA, Tate KR (2006) Effects of plant species diversity and composition on nitrogen cycling and the trace gas balance of soils. Plant and Soil 282, 83–98.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

O’Connell AM, Grove TS, Mendham DS, Rance SJ (2003) Changes in soil N status and N supply rates in agricultural land afforested with eucalypts in south-western Australia. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 35, 1527–1536.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Paul KI, Polglase PJ, Nyakuengama JG, Khanna PK (2002) Change in soil carbon following afforestation. Forest Ecology and Management 168, 241–257.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Phillips FA, Leuning R, Baigent R, Kelly KB, Denmead OT (2007) Nitrous oxide flux measurements from an intensively managed irrigated pasture using micrometeorological techniques. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 143, 92–105.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Pilegaard K, Skiba U, Ambus P, Beier C, Brüggermann N, Butterbach-Bahl K, Dick J, Dorsey J, Duyzer J, Gallagher M, Gasche R, Horvath L, Kitzler B, Leip A, Pihlatie MK, Rosenkranz P, Seufert G, Vesala T, Westrate H, Zechmeister-Boltenstern S (2006) Factors controlling regional differences in forest soil emission of nitrogen oxides (NO and N2O). Biogeosciences 3, 651–661.
|  CAS |
open url image1

Povellato A, Bosello F, Giupponi C (2007) Cost-effectiveness of greenhouse gas mitigation measures in the European agro-forestry sector: a literature survey. Environmental Science & Policy 10, 474–490.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Price SJ, Sherlock RR, Kelliher FM, McSeveny TM, Tate KR, Condron LM (2003) Pristine New Zealand forest soil is a strong methane sink. Global Change Biology 10, 16–26.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Prieme A, Christensen S, Dobbie KE, Smith KA (1997) Slow increase in rate of methane oxidation in soils with time following land use change from arable agriculture to woodland. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 29, 1269–1273.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Pu GX, Saffingna PG, Strong WM (1999) Potential for denitrification in cereal soils of northern Australia after legume or grass–legume pastures. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 31, 667–675.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Reay DS, Nedwell DB, McNamara N, Ineson P (2005) Effect of tree species on methane and ammonium oxidation capacity of forest soils. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 37, 719–730.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Rusch H, Rennenberg H (1998) Black alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.) trees mediate methane and nitrous oxide emission from the soil to the atmosphere. Plant and Soil 201, 1–7.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Saggar S, Andrew RM, Tate KR, Hedley CB, Rodda NJ, Townsend JA (2004) Modelling nitrous oxide emissions from dairy-grazed pastures. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 68, 243–255.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Saggar S, Hedley CB, Giltrap DL, Lambie SM (2007) Measured and modelled estimates of nitrous oxide emission and methane consumption from a sheep-grazed pasture. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 122, 357–365.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Sanhueza E, Donoso L (2006) Methane emissions from tropical savanna Trachypogon sp. grasses. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 6, 5315–5319.
|  CAS |
open url image1

Searle PL (1974) Automated colorimetric determination of ammonium ions in soil extracts with ‘Technicon AutoAnalyzer II’ equipment. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 18, 183–187. open url image1

Silver WL, Kueppers LM, Lugo AE, Ostertag R, Matzedk V (2004) Carbon sequestration and plant community dynamics following reforestation of tropical pasture. Ecological Applications 14, 1115–1127.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Smith KA, Ball T, Conen F, Dobbie KE, Massheder J, Rey A (2003) Exchange of greenhouse gases between soil and atmosphere: interactions of soil physical factors and biological processes. European Journal of Soil Science 54, 779–791.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Suwanwaree P, Robertson GP (2005) Methane oxidation in forest, successional, and no-till agricultural ecosystems: effects of nitrogen and soil disturbance. Soil Science Society of America Journal 69, 1722–1729.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Tate KR, Ross DJ, Saggar S, Hedley CB, Dando J, Singh BK, Lambie SM (2007) Methane uptake in soils from Pinus radiata plantations, a reverting shrubland and adjacent pasture: effects of land-use change, and soil texture, water and mineral nitrogen. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 39, 1437–1449.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Tate KR, Ross DJ, Scott NA, Rodda NJ, Rownsend JA, Arnold GC (2006) Post-harvest patterns of carbon dioxide production, methane uptake and nitrous oxide production in a Pinus radiata D. Don plantation. Forest Ecology and Management 228, 40–50.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Veldkamp E, Purbopuspito J, Corre MD, Brumme R, Murdiyarso D (2008) Land use change effects on trace gas fluxes in the forest margins of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences 113, G02003.
| Crossref |
open url image1

Waterworth RM, Richards GP (2008) Implementing Australian forest management practices into a full carbon accounting model. Forest Ecology and Management 255, 2434–2443.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1