Characterizing CO_2 fluxes for growing and non-growing seasons in a shrub ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

To assess carbon budget for shrub ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, CO2flux was measured with an open-path eddy covariance system for an alpine shrub ecosystem during growing and non-growing seasons. CO2 flux dynamics was distinct between the two seasons. During the growing season from May to September, the ecosystem exhibited net CO2uptake from 08:00 to 19:00 (Beijing Standard Time), but net CO2 emission from 19:00 to 08:00.Maximum CO2 uptake appeared around 12:00 with values of 0.71, 1.19, 1.46 and 0.67 g CO2m-2 h-1 for June, July, August and September, respectively. Diurnal fluctuation of CO2 flux showed higher correlation with photosynthetic photon flux density than temperature. The maximum net CO2 influx occurred in August with a value of 247 g CO2 m-2. The total CO2 uptake by the ecosystem was up to 583 g CO2 m-2 for the growing season. During the non-growing season from January to April and from October to December, CO2 flux showed small fluctuation with the largest net CO2 efflux of 0.30 g CO2 m-2 h-1 in April. The diurnal CO2 flux was close to zero during most time of the day, but showed a small net CO2 efflux from 11:00 to 18:00. Diurnal CO2 flux, is significantly correlated to diurnal temperature in the non-growing season. The maximum monthly net CO2 efflux appeared in April, with a value of 105 g CO2 m-2. The total net CO2 efflux for the whole non-growing season was 356 g CO2 m-2.