Carbon Dioxide Dynamics and Controls in a Deep-water Wetland on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

To initially characterize the dynamics and environmental controls of CO₂, ecosystem CO₂ fluxes were measured for different vegetation zones in a deep-water wetland on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau during the growing season of 2002. Four zones of vegetation along a gradient from shallow to deep water were dominated, respectively by the emergent species Carex allivescens V. Krez., Scirpus distigmaticus L., Hippuris vulgaris L., and the submerged species Potamogeton pectinatus L. Gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (Re), and net ecosystem production (NEP) were markedly different among the vegetation zones, with lower Re and GPP in deeper water. NEP was highest in the Scirpus-dominated zone with moderate water depth, but lowest in the Potamogeton-zone that occupied approximately 75% of the total wetland area. Diurnal variation in CO₂ flux was highly correlated with variation in light intensity and soil temperature. The relationship between CO₂ flux and these environmental variables varied among the vegetation zones. Seasonal CO₂ fluxes, including GPP, Re, and NEP, were strongly correlated with aboveground biomass, which was in turn determined by water depth. In the early growing season, temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) for Re varied from 6.0 to 8.9 depending on vegetation zone. Q₁₀ decreased in the late growing season. Estimated NEP for the whole deep-water wetland over the growing season was 24 g C m⁻². Our results suggest that water depth is the major environmental control of seasonal variation in CO₂ flux, whereas photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) controls diurnal dynamics.