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Effects of Irrigation on Biomass and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Alpine Meadow in Northern Tibet
Received:December 19, 2014  
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KeyWord:irrigation;greenhouse gases;biomass;alpine meadow;northern Tibet
Author NameAffiliationE-mail
LIANG Yan Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081
Key Laboratory for Agro-Environment & Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100081, China 
 
HASBAGAN Ganjurjav Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081
Key Laboratory for Agro-Environment & Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100081, China 
 
ZHANG Wei-na Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081
Key Laboratory for Agro-Environment & Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100081, China 
 
CAO Xu-juan Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081
Key Laboratory for Agro-Environment & Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100081, China 
 
GAO Qing-zhu Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081
Key Laboratory for Agro-Environment & Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100081, China 
gaoqzh@ami.ac.cn 
WAN Yun-fan Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081
Key Laboratory for Agro-Environment & Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100081, China 
 
LI Yu-e Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081
Key Laboratory for Agro-Environment & Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100081, China 
 
DANJIU Luo-bu Nagqu Grassland Station, Nagqu, Tibet Autonomous Region 852100, China  
XIRAO Zhuo-ma Nagqu Grassland Station, Nagqu, Tibet Autonomous Region 852100, China  
BAIMA Yu-zhen Nagqu Grassland Station, Nagqu, Tibet Autonomous Region 852100, China  
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Abstract:
      In recent years, northern Tibet has experienced significant warming and precipitation rises. Greenhouse gases(GHGs) are not only the main cause of climate change, but they also have an important feedback effect on climate. In this study, we conducted an in situ irrigation experiment in an alpine meadow(4500 m above the sea level) to simulate the effects of future rainfall increases on GHG emissions and biomass in northern Tibet. Three treatments:control(CK), low water(DS), and high water(GS) were set up. A static chamber and gas chromatography method were used to measure the GHG emissions. Results showed that a increase in soil moisture led to significant increases in grassland biomass, carbon dioxide(CO2) emission, and nitrous dioxide(N2O) emission, but decrease in methane(CH4) uptake. A linear positive correlation between CO2/CH4 emissions and soil moisture was found(P<0.05). Nitrous oxide emissions had a significant quadratic relationship with soil moisture(P<0.05). However, there was no correlation between CO2/CH4/N2O emissions and soil temperature. Taken together, significantly increased GHG emissions will have a positive feedback effect on climate change in the alpine meadows of northern Tibet under future precipitation scenarios. A further research on the interaction between GHG fluxes and plant photosynthesis, soil carbon, and soil nitrogen is necessary to determine the contribution of alpine meadows to climate change.