Cp. Lund et al., The effects of chamber pressurization on soil-surface CO2 flux and the implications for NEE measurements under elevated CO2, GL CHANGE B, 5(3), 1999, pp. 269-281
Soil and ecosystem trace gas fluxes are commonly measured using the dynamic
chamber technique. Although the chamber pressure anomalies associated with
this method are known to be a source of error, their effects have not been
fully characterized. In this study, we use results from soil gas-exchange
experiments and a soil CO2 transport model to characterize the effects of c
hamber pressure on soil CO2 efflux in an annual California grassland. For g
reater than ambient chamber pressures, experimental data show that soil-sur
face CO2 flux decreases as a nonlinear function of increasing chamber press
ure; this decrease is larger for drier soils. In dry soil, a gauge pressure
of 0.5 Pa reduced the measured soil CO2 efflux by roughly 70% relative to
the control measurement at ambient pressure. Results from the soil CO2 tran
sport model show that pressurizing the flux chamber above ambient pressure
effectively flushes CO2 from the soil by generating a downward now of air t
hrough the soil air-filled pore space. This advective flow of air reduces t
he CO2 concentration gradient across the soil-atmosphere interface, resulti
ng in a smaller diffusive flux into the chamber head space. Simulations als
o show that the reduction in diffusive flux is a function of chamber pressu
re, soil moisture, soil texture, the depth distribution of soil CO2 generat
ion, and chamber diameter. These results highlight the need for caution in
the interpretation of dynamic chamber trace gas flux measurements. A portio
n of the frequently observed increase in net ecosystem carbon uptake under
elevated CO2 may be an artifact resulting from the impact of chamber pressu
rization on soil CO2 efflux.