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Alkylamines are important precursors in secondary aerosol formation in the boreal forest atmosphere. To better understand the behaviour and sources of two alkylamines, dimethylamine (DMA) and diethylamine (DEA), we estimated the magnitudes of soil-atmosphere fluxes of DMA and DEA using a gradient-diffusion approximation based on measured concentrations in soil solution and in the canopy air space. To compute the amine fluxes, we first estimated the soil air space concentration from the measured soil solution amine concentration using soil physical (temperature, soil water content) and chemical (pH) state variables. Then, we used the resistance analogy to account for gas transport mechanisms in the soil, in soil boundary layer and in the canopy air space. The resulting flux estimates revealed that the boreal forest soil with a typical long-term mean pH 5.3 is a possible source of DMA (170 ± 51 nmol m-2 d-1) and a sink of DEA (-1.2 ± 1.2 nmol m-2 d-1). We also investigated the potential role of fungi as a reservoir for alkylamines in boreal forest soil. We found high DMA and DEA concentrations both in fungal hyphae collected from field humus samples and in fungal pure cultures. The highest DMA and DEA concentrations were found in fungal strains belonging to decay and ectomycorrhizal fungal groups, indicating that boreal forest soil, and in particular, fungal biomass may be an important reservoir for these alkylamines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A prescribed burning of a boreal forest was conducted on 26 June 2009 in Hyytiälä, Finland, to study aerosol and trace gas emissions from wildfires and the effects of fire on soil properties in a controlled environment. A 0.8 ha forest near the SMEAR II was cut clear; some tree trunks, all tree tops and branches were left on the ground and burned. The amount of burned organic material was ~ 46.8 t (i.e., ~ 60 tha-1). The flaming phase lasted 2 h 15 min, the smoldering phase 3 h. Measurements were conducted on the ground with both fixed and mobile instrumentation, and from a research aircraft. In the middle of the burning area, CO2 concentration peaks were around 2000-3000 ppm above the baseline and peak vertical flow velocities were 6±3ms-1, as measured a 10-Hz 3-D sonic anemometer placed within the burn area. Peak particle number concentrations were approximately 1-2x106 cm-3 in the plume at a distance of 100-200m from the burn area. The geometric mean diameter of the mode with the highest concentration was at 80±1nm during the flaming phase and in the middle of the smoldering phase but at the end of the smoldering phase the largest mode was at 122 nm. In the volume size distributions geometric mean diameter of the largest volume mode was at 153nm during the flaming phase and at 300nm during the smoldering phase. The lowest single-scattering albedo of the ground-level measurents was 0.7 in the flaming-phase plume and ~ 0.9 in the smoldering phase. The radiative forcing efficiency was negative above dark surfaces, in other words, the particles cool the atmosphere. Elevated concentrations of several VOCs (including acetonitrile which is a biomass burning marker) were observed in the smoke plume at ground level. The forest floor (i.e., richly organic layer of soil and debris, characteristic of forested land) measurements showed that VOC fluxes were generally low and consisted mainly of monoterpenes, but a clear peak of VOC flux was observed after the burning. After one year, the fluxes were nearly stabilised close to the level before the burning. The clearcutting and burning of slash increased the total long-term CO2 release from the soil, altered the soil's physical, chemical and biological properties such as increased the available nitrogen contents of the soil, which in turn, affected the level of the long-term fluxes of greenhouse gases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The productivity of boreal forests is considered to be limited by low nitrogen (N) availability. Increased atmospheric N deposition has altered the functioning and N cycling of these N-sensitive ecosystems. The most important components of N pools and fluxes were measured in a boreal Scots pine stand in Hyyti älä, Southern Finland. The measurement at the site allowed direct estimations of nutrient pools in the soil and biomass, inputs from the atmosphere and outputs as drainage flow and gaseous losses from two micro-catchments. N was accumulating to the system with a rate of 7 kgNha-1 yr-1. Nitrogen input as atmospheric deposition was 7.4 kgNha-1 yr-1. Dry deposition and organic N in wet deposition contributed over half of the input in deposition. Total out- puts were 0.4 kgNha-1 yr-1 , the most important outputs being N2O emission to the atmosphere and organic N flux in drainage flow. Nitrogen uptake and retranslocation were as important sources of N for plant growth. Most of the uptaken N originated from decomposition of organic matter, and the fraction of N that could originate directly from deposition was about 30%. In conclusion, atmospheric N deposition fertilizes the site considerably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluxes of greenhouse gases (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) were measured during a two month campaign at a drained peatland forest in Finland by the eddy covariance (EC) technique (CO2 and N2O), and automatic and manual chambers (CO2, CH4 and N2O). In addition, GHG concentrations and soil parameters (mineral nitrogen, temperature, moisture content) in the peat profile were measured. The aim of the measurement campaign was to quantify the GHG fluxes before, during and after thawing of the peat soil, a time period with potentially high GHG fluxes, and to compare different flux measurement methods. The forest was a net CO2 sink during the two months and the fluxes of CO2 dominated the GHG exchange. The peat soil was a small sink of atmospheric CH4 but a small source of N2O. Both CH4 oxidation and N2O production took place in the top-soil whereas CH4 was produced in the deeper layers of the peat. During the thawing of the peat distinct peaks in CO2 and N2O emissions were observed. The CO2 peak followed tightly the increase in soil temperature, whereas the N2O peak occurred with an approx. one week delay after soil thawing. CH4 fluxes did not respond to the thawing of the peat soil. The CO2 and N2O emission peaks were not captured by the manual chambers and hence we conclude that automatic chamber measurements or EC are necessary to quantify fluxes during peak emission periods. Sub-canopy EC measurements and chamber-based fluxes of CO2 and N2O were comparable, although the fluxes of N2O measured by EC were close to the detection limit of the EC system. We conclude that if fluxes are high enough, i.e. greater than 5-10 μgNm-2 h-1, the EC method is a good alternative to measure N2O and CO2 fluxes at ecosystem scale, thereby minimizing problems with chamber enclosures and spatial representativeness of the measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]