Effects of earthworms and tree species (Fagus sylvatica L., Fraxinus excelsior L.) on greenhouse trace gas fluxes in mixed deciduous broad-leaved forests

by Klaus Schützenmeister
Doctoral thesis
Date of Examination:2014-04-09
Date of issue:2015-02-25
Advisor:PD Dr. Dirk Gansert
Referee:PD Dr. Dirk Gansert
Referee:Prof. Dr. Hermann Jungkunst
Persistent Address: http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-4950

 

 

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Abstract

English

Despite the large number of studies and the associated knowledge gain uncertainties on the determinants of greenhouse gas fluxes from terrestrial ecosystems still exist. It is important to bridge these gaps as land use and particularly land use change as the important driver of the feedback loops between the atmosphere and the land surface. One major process is the direct emission of greenhouse gases as land use and land use change is ranking second behind burning of fossil fuels. During the past decades, global land-use and land-cover changed dramatically and thus, the biogeochemical interactions were altered at similar dimensions between terrestrial biosphere, pedosphere, and atmosphere. To minimize or mitigate these feedbacks the underlying processes must be understood. One major gap of knowledge is the effect of biodiversity and species-specific effects on greenhouse gas fluxes from terrestrial ecosystems. In the present study, the main objective was to identify effects of earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris and Aporrectodea caliginosa) and European beech and European ash (Fagus sylvatica and Fraxinus excelsior) on the greenhouse gas fluxes of N2O, CH4 and CO2 between soil and atmosphere. A stepwise experimental approach was used to extent the knowledge of terrestrial forest ecosystems in their regulating function as net sink or source for greenhouse-gas fluxes.
Keywords: greenhouse gases; Lumbricus terrestris; Aporrectodea caliginosa; Fagus sylvatica L.; Fraxinus excelsior L.; root respiration; photosynthesis
 
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