Field measurements of soil CO2 efflux in Heteropogon contortus dominated grassland of semi-arid eco-system.

Seasonal changes in soil respiration (SR), soil temperature (ST) and soil moisture (SM) were compared between a barren land with no vegetation (control) and grassland dominated by Heteropogon contortus (L.) of a semi-arid eco-system during 2005-2006. A statistically significant (p<0.001) seasonal change in SR was observed between the two sites. The variation characteristics of soil CO2 effiux rates were observed during wet periods along precipitation gradients and it was consistently higher in grasslands than in control.A maximum soil CO2 efflux of 13.35 +/- 0.33 micromol m2 s-1 in grassland and 7.33 +/- 0.8 micromol m2 s- in control was observed during rainy season-ll, i.e., from October to December, a minimum of 1.27 +/- 0.2 micromol m-2 s-1 in grassland and 0.67 +/- 0.5 micromol m-2 s-1 in control during summer season, i.e., from March to June. A positive significant relation observed between soil respiration and soil moisture (r2above 0.8) and no significant relation was observed between soil CO2 efflux and soil temperature (r2 below 0.3). In water-limited semi-arid ecosystem, rewetting of the soil due to precipitation events triggered the increased pulses of soil respiration especially in grassland when compared to the barren land. The observed soil respiration rates during summer and after the subsequent precipitation events strongly indicated that the soil water-deficit conditions reduce the efflux both in barren land (control) and in grassland of semi-arid eco-system.