Photosynthetica, 2015 (vol. 53), issue 4

Photosynthetica 2015, 53(4):527-536 | DOI: 10.1007/s11099-015-0142-1

Ecosystem carbon exchange under different land use on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

C. Y. Luo1, X. X. Zhu1,4, S. P. Wang2,3,*, S. J. Cui1,4, Z. H. Zhang1,4, X. Y. Bao4, L. Zhao1, Y. Li1, X. Q. Zhao1
1 Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, China
2 Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
3 CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Science, Beijing, China
4 University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

There is a great uncertainty about the effect of land use change on grassland ecosystem in the Tibetan Plateau. Net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) was measured for native alpine meadow with winter grazing (NAM), abandoned cropland/pasture (APL), perennial Elymus nutans (PEN), and annual oat pasture (AO) on the Tibetan plateau, during the growing seasons in 2009 and 2010 using a transparent chamber technique (Licor-6400). AO significantly decreased annual average NEE by 21.6, 23.7, and 15.7% compared to PEN, NAM, and APL during the growing season in 2010. Compared to PEN, NAM, and APL, AO significantly decreased average ecosystem respiration (Re) by 21.1, 52.3, and 39.3%, respectively, during the growing season in 2009. Soil moisture and total aboveground and belowground biomass together explained 39.6% of NEE variation and 71% in gross primary productivity variation. Soil moisture and belowground biomass explained about 83.1% of the Re variation. Our results indicated that it is possible to convert APL to PEN in the region because it could result in a higher NEE together with higher forage production compared to AO.

Keywords: ecosystem carbon exchange; land use; Tibetan plateau

Received: June 7, 2014; Accepted: March 2, 2015; Published: December 1, 2015Show citation

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Luo, C.Y., Zhu, X.X., Wang, S.P., Cui, S.J., Zhang, Z.H., Bao, X.Y., ... Zhao, X.Q. (2015). Ecosystem carbon exchange under different land use on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Photosynthetica, 53(4), 527-536. doi: 10.1007/s11099-015-0142-1.
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