Carbon Sequestration and Energy Balance of Turf in the Denver Urban Ecosystem and Adjacent Tallgrass Prairie
Abstract
Urban ecosystems are currently characterized by rapid growth and are expected to continually expand. They represent an important driver of land use change. A significant component of urban ecosystems is lawns, potentially the single largest irrigated "crop" in the U.S. Between March and October of 2011 and 2012, eddy covariance measurements of net carbon dioxide exchange and evapotranspiration along with energy balance fluxes were conducted for an irrigated, fertilized lawn (rye-bluegrass-mix) in metropolitan Denver and for a nearby tallgrass prairie (big bluestem, switchgrass, cheatgrass, blue grama). Due to the semi-arid climate conditions of the Denver region, differences in management (i.e., irrigation and fertilization) are expected to have a discernible impact on ecosystem productivity and thus on carbon sequestration rates, evapotranspiration, and the partitioning of sensible and latent heat. Data for the 2011 season showed that cumulative evapotranspiration was approximately 600 mm for the urban lawn and 305 mm for the tallgrass prairie; cumulative carbon sequestration was calculated to be 172 and 85 g C/m2, respectively. Also, patterns of carbon exchange differed between the grasslands. In 2011, both sites showed daily net uptake of carbon starting in late May, but the urban lawn displayed greater diurnal variability as well as greater uptake rates in general, especially following fertilization in mid-June. In contrast, the trend of carbon uptake at the prairie site was occasionally reversed following strong convective precipitation events, resulting in a temporary net release of carbon. Preliminary data for the 2012 season (up to early July) indicated an earlier start of net carbon uptake and higher cumulative evapotranspiration for both locations, likely due to a warm spring. The continuing acquisition of data and investigation of these relations will help assess the potential impact of urban growth on regional carbon sequestration.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFM.B51B0522T
- Keywords:
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- 0426 BIOGEOSCIENCES / Biosphere/atmosphere interactions;
- 0438 BIOGEOSCIENCES / Diel;
- seasonal;
- and annual cycles;
- 0490 BIOGEOSCIENCES / Trace gases;
- 0493 BIOGEOSCIENCES / Urban systems