title: Long-term effects of clear-cutting and selective cutting on soil methane fluxes in a temperate spruce forest in southern Germany.
abstract: Based on multi-year measurements of CH(4) exchange in sub-daily resolution we show that clear-cutting of a forest in Southern Germany increased soil temperature and moisture and decreased CH(4) uptake. CH(4) uptake in the first year after clear-cutting (-4.5 ± 0.2 μg C m(-2) h(-1)) was three times lower than during the pre-harvest period (-14.2 ± 1.3 μg C m(-2) h(-1)). In contrast, selective cutting did not significantly reduce CH(4) uptake. Annual mean uptake rates were -1.18 kg C ha(-1) yr(-1) (spruce control), -1.16 kg C ha(-1) yr(-1) (selective cut site) and -0.44 kg C ha(-1) yr(-1) (clear-cut site), respectively. Substantial seasonal and inter-annual variations in CH(4) fluxes were observed as a result of significant variability of weather conditions, demonstrating the need for long-term measurements. Our findings imply that a stepwise selective cutting instead of clear-cutting may contribute to mitigating global warming by maintaining a high CH(4) uptake capacity of the soil.
authors.affiliation: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research, IMK-IFU, Kreuzeckbahnstrasse 19, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Brüggemann
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gasche
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Papen
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Willibald
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Butterbach-Bahl
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D016468:Forestry / Q000379:methods*; D005858:Germany; D008697:Methane / Q000032:analysis*; D028222:Picea; D012621:Seasons; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D013995:Time; D014197:Trees; D014887:Weather
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D012987:Soil; D008697:Methane