Effects of different soil types and soil management on greenhouse gas emissions 

Abstract

Soil is important in the carbon cycle and the dynamics of greenhouse gases (CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O). Key soil characteristics, such as organic matter content, texture, structure, pH and microbial activity, play a determining role in GHG emissions^[1]. The objective of the study is to delimit different types of soil, with different soil management and to be able to verify the differences in CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O emissions. The study was carried out in a vineyard of Bodegas Campo Viejo in Logroño (La Rioja), whose plant material is Vitis vinifera L. cv. Tempranillo. The methodology used was based on the zoning of a 40 ha plot using the Arcgis software, through which 3 different soil types were differentiated thanks to the multispectral information previously obtained from drone flights over the plot. The soil management of the study area is characterized by alternating vegetation cover and tillage, so for each soil type (3) and for each soil management method (2), 3 replicates have been established, making a total of 18 points where the different gases are analyzed. These emissions are measured by a portable gas analyzer using infrared spectroscopy technology (FTIR) that allows measuring the concentration of gases in the field in real time.

The results corroborated that the emissions of the different gases behave differently in each of the soil types, with differences of up to 10 g m^-2day^-1 of CO₂ between them. If we analyse the differences by soil management type, it is worth noting that areas with vegetation cover emit on average 13.9 g m^-2 day^-1 of CO₂, while ploughed areas have average CO₂ fluxes of 4.8 g m^-2day^-1 of CO₂.

Acknowledgements: The author would like to thank Bodegas Campo Viejo for making it possible for us to carry out the experiments in their vineyards. We would also like to thank the government of La Rioja for the industrial doctorate contract.

1)  O. T. Yu, R. F. Greenhut, A. T. O’Geen, B. Mackey, W. R. Horwath, and K. L. Steenwerth, “Precipitation Events, Soil Type, and Vineyard Management Practices Influence Soil Carbon Dynamics in a Mediterranean Climate (Lodi, California),” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., vol. 83, no. 3, pp. 772–779, 2019.