dc.contributor.author | DO Otieno, GO K'Otuto, JN Maina, Y Kuzyakov, JC Onyango | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-08-13T09:19:20Z | |
dc.date.available | 2020-08-13T09:19:20Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2010-11-01 | |
dc.identifier.citation | 22 | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | https://repository.maseno.ac.ke/handle/123456789/2070 | |
dc.description.abstract | act: Measurements were conducted within a fence-exclosure between February 2008 and July 2009 to
investigate the influence of soil moisture on ecosystem CO2 fluxes in a Themeda irifl/idra-dominated grassland of a humid
Kenyan savanna. Rainout shelters were constructed to reduce ambient rainfall by 0%, 10% and 20% respectively to
attain variable soil water content (SWC) during plant growth. SWC within the top 30 cm layer, above-ground biomass,
soil and plant nitrogen (N) concentrations were assessed monthly alongside CO2 fluxes. Net ecosystem CO2 exchange
(NEE) and ecosystem respiration (Reco) were measured with closed chambers while carbon (C) partitioning during
the wet and dry seasons were assessed through pulse 13C labelling. There were significant seasonal and between plot
differences in SWC, above-ground biomass, canopy light utilization efficiency (a), CO2 fluxes and C allocation pattern
resulting from differences in SWC. The ecosystem was a net C sink during the wet and C neutral during the dry seasons.
The study showed strong seasonal fluctuations in ecosystem CO2 fluxes and underscores the significant role of the
savanna grasslands in regional C balance due to its expansive nature. The savanna grassland is however vulnerable
to low soil moisture, with significant reduction in CO2 upta | en_US |
dc.publisher | Cambridge University Press | en_US |
dc.subject | rds: 813C, Africa, biomass, CO2 chambers, ecosystem respiration, gross primary production, humid savanna, net ecosystem exchange, nitrogen, soil moisture, Th | en_US |
dc.title | Responses of ecosystem carbon dioxide fluxes to soil moisture fluctuations in a moist Kenyan savanna | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |