EGU23-8709, updated on 27 Jun 2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-8709
EGU General Assembly 2023
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Soil respiration in a traditional olive grove in the southeast of Spain

Sergio Aranda-Barranco1,2, Penelope Serrano-Ortiz1,2, Andrew Stephen Kowalski2,3, and Enrique P Sánchez-Cañete2,3
Sergio Aranda-Barranco et al.
  • 1Department of Ecology, University of Granada 18071, Granada, Spain.
  • 2Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación del Sistema Tierra en Andalucía, Centro Andaluz de Medio Ambiente (IISTA -CEAMA), 18006, Granada, Spain.
  • 3Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain.

Olive groves occupy a large area in the Mediterranean and their management has repercussions on the carbon cycle in this region.  Weed suppression is the most common management in this crop, but its implications for soil respiration (Rsoil) are not well estimated due to the lack in continuous Rsoil measurements. In this research we present a full year of Rsoil in an irrigated olive grove in which a glyphosate-based herbicide was applied to prevent spontaneous weeds (conventional management). For that, an automatic multi-chamber Rsoil system was used (LI-8100 + LI-8150 with 6 chambers, Li-Cor). In addition, soil temperature (Tsoil) and soil water content (SWC) were measured next to each chamber. To study the influence of olive trees on Rsoil, 3 chambers were placed near the olive trunk and another 3 in the middle of the alleys.

Results show seasonal and spatial variability, with higher Rsoil in warm months and lower Rsoil in cold months. Also, Rsoil near the trunk was always larger than in the alleys. The spatial difference increased in the cold months. Diurnal variability was observed with higher Rsoil as the soil temperature increased in the alleys, but this was not observed near the trunks. Under the canopy, a decrease in the Rsoil is observed as the VPD increases, suggesting a major contribution of autotrophic respiration under the canopy. In addition, there is no positive and negative relationship with temperature and SWC under the canopy, while in the alleys, a strong hysteresis occurs in some periods. Finally, rain events were followed by Rsoil peaks. However, low intensity and short duration rain pulses did not manifest on the ground under the olive canopy, so interception is inhibiting this process in part of the agrosystem.

This work was supported by the projects PID2020-117825GB-C21 & PID2020-117825GB-C22 (INTEGRATYON3), B-RNM-60-UGR20 (OLEAGEIs), P18-RT-3629 (ICAERSA) and PPJIB2022-08 funded by University of Granada.

How to cite: Aranda-Barranco, S., Serrano-Ortiz, P., Kowalski, A. S., and Sánchez-Cañete, E. P.: Soil respiration in a traditional olive grove in the southeast of Spain, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-8709, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-8709, 2023.