Response of CO2 Emissions to the Change of Major Environmental Factors in a Temperate Grassland Ecosystem

Using dark enclosed chamber technique, CO2 fluxes from meadow, Leymus chinensis grasslandand Stipa grandis grassland and major environmental factors were measured in Xilin RiverBasin of Inner Mongolia under abnormally dry circumstances during June to September2001, when rainfall was less than 1/6 of that in normal years. Results showed the diurnalvariation of CO2 flux was significantly positively correlated with the earths surfacetemperature and air temperature. As to the response of the fluxes of CO2 to annualprecipitation, the average CO2 emission decreased from 268.7, 211.6 to 181.4 mg m-2 h-1 inmeadow, Leymus chinensis grassland and Stipa grandis grassland, respectively, with adecrease in annual precipitation. Therefore precipitation was an important environmentalfactor influencing CO2 flux from grassland. We also found close positively correlationbetween CO2 emissions and soil water content, organic content and total nitrogen contentin different soil layers. However, there was little correlation between the monthlyfluctuation of CO2 emissions with air temperature, topsoil temperature and soil temperaturesat 5 and 10cm soil depth.