Soil–Atmosphere Greenhouse Gas Fluxes Across a Land-Use Gradient in the Andes–Amazon Transition Zone: Insights for Climate Innovation

Armando Sterling (), Yerson D. Suárez-Córdoba, Natalia A. Rodríguez-Castillo and Carlos H. Rodríguez-León
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Armando Sterling: Models of Functioning and Sustainability Program, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas SINCHI, Florencia 180001, Colombia
Yerson D. Suárez-Córdoba: Sustainability and Intervention Program, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas SINCHI, Florencia 180001, Colombia
Natalia A. Rodríguez-Castillo: Sustainability and Intervention Program, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas SINCHI, Florencia 180001, Colombia
Carlos H. Rodríguez-León: Models of Functioning and Sustainability Program, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas SINCHI, Florencia 180001, Colombia

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-23

Abstract: This study evaluated the seasonal variability of soil–atmosphere greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes—carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O)—across a land-use gradient in the Andean–Amazon transition zone of Colombia. The gradient included five land-use types incorporating at least one innovative climate-smart practice—improved pasture (IP), cacao agroforestry system (CaAS), copoazu agroforestry system (CoAS), secondary forest with agroforestry enrichment (SFAE), and moriche palm swamp ecosystem (MPSE)—alongside the dominant regional land uses, old-growth forest (OF) and degraded pasture (DP). Soil GHG fluxes varied markedly among land-use types and between seasons. CO 2 fluxes were consistently higher during the dry season, whereas CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes peaked in the rainy season. Agroecological and restoration systems exhibited substantially lower CO 2 emissions (7.34–9.74 Mg CO 2 -C ha −1 yr −1 ) compared with DP (18.85 Mg CO 2 -C ha −1 yr −1 ) during the rainy season, and lower N 2 O fluxes (0.21–1.04 Mg CO 2 -C ha −1 yr −1 ) during the dry season. In contrast, the MPSE presented high CH 4 emissions in the rainy season (300.45 kg CH 4 -C ha −1 yr −1 ). Across all land uses, CO 2 was the dominant contributor to the total GWP (>95% of emissions). The highest global warming potential (GWP) occurred in DP, whereas CaAS, CoAS and MPSE exhibited the lowest values. Soil temperature, pH, exchangeable acidity, texture, and bulk density play a decisive role in regulating GHG fluxes, whereas climatic factors, such as air temperature and relative humidity, influence fluxes indirectly by modulating soil conditions. These findings underscore the role of diversified agroforestry and restoration systems in mitigating GHG emissions and the need to integrate soil and climate drivers into regional climate models.

Keywords: carbon dioxide (CO 2 ); methane (CH 4 ); nitrous oxide (N 2 O); static chambers; global warming potential; soil–climate interactions; climate-smart tropical agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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