Gebesee
The trace gas balance of a cropland in Thuringia near the village of Gebesee has been investigated since 2001. Lateral carbon fluxes due to harvest and fertilization have also been recorded on a routine basis. The research site is now part of the ICOS ecosystem network and is subject to a crop rotation scheme representative for the area.
Croplands can serve as a sink for atmospheric greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere through the photosynthesis of the plants and is stored in the plant biomass. Following harvest it becomes available as food or raw material and can substitute fossil fuels as renewable energy. However, simultaneously agricultural activities also emit greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and thus reduce the sink strength of croplands and the mitigation potential of agricultural products.
The graph is showing the long-term (pre-ICOS) greenhouse gas fluxes. Negative values correspond to an uptake of greenhouse gases by the ecosystem through CO2 assimilation and addition of organic fertilizer. Positive values indicate greenhouse gas sources. Apart from harvest these sources comprise N2O emissions due to nitrogen fertilization and emissions from agricultural machinery. On average, the annual harvest amounted to 440 g carbon per square meter and year, and the total greenhouse gas balance equaled 160 g carbon equivalents per square meter and year. In other words, about 40 % of the carbon fixed in the harvested products is already lost through emissions at the site.
A study based on nine similar observation stations across Europe found that the Gebesee site represented well the average of the Europe-wide observations. It can therefore be considered as a typical example of European croplands
More Information: Dr. Mathias Herbst, Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture
Publications referring to the Gebesee study site
Anthoni PM, Freibauer A, Kolle O, Schulze ED (2004) Winter wheat carbon exchange in Thuringia, Germany. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 121: 55-67
Anthoni PM, Knohl A, Rebmann C, Freibauer A, Mund M, Ziegler W, Kolle O, Schulze ED (2004) Forest and agricultural land-use-dependent CO2 exchange in Thuringia, Germany. Global Change Biology 10: 2005–2019
Kutsch WL, Aubinet M, Buchmann N, Smith P, Osborne B, Eugster W, Wattenbach M, Schulze ED, Tormellieri E, Ceschia E, Bernhofer C, Béziat, P, Carrara A, Di Tommasi P, Grünwald T, Jones M, Magliulo V, Marloie O, Olioso A, Sanz MJ, Saunders M, Søgaard H, Ziegler W (2010) The net biome production of full crop rotations in Europe. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment 139: 336-345
Ceschia E, Béziat P, Dejoux JF, Aubinet M, Bernhofer Ch, Bodson B, Buchmann N, Carrara A, Cellier P, Di Tomasi P, Elbers, JA, Eugster W, Grünwald T, Jacob CMJ, Jans WWP, Jones M, Kutsch W, Lanigan G, Magliulo E, Marloie O, Moors EJ, Moureaux C, Olioso A, Osborne B, Sanz MJ, Saunders M, Smith P, Søgaard H, Wattenbach M. (2010) Management effects on net ecosystem carbon and GHG budgets at European crop sites. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment 139: 363-383