Carbon Dioxide Fluxes and Carbon Storage of a Tree Windbreak and Adjacent Field.

Tree windbreaks are utilized to enhance crop production in semi-arid regions by modifying the local microclimate. Windbreak effects on wind speed, water use, and air and soil temperature may also affect soil carbon dioxide fluxes, carbon storage, and soil health beneath the trees and in the adjacent crop fields. The objective of this study is to quantify the effect of a tree windbreak on carbon storage and cycling within the windbreak and in the adjoining field. The field site is located at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead and consists of an L-shaped field protected by windbreaks on three sides. Soil carbon dioxide fluxes are measured within a three-row, north-south eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana, L.) windbreak using a static chamber and soil gas analyzer. Fluxes are measured from four sets of four 10 cm-diameter collars placed mid-row and 18 collars in a transect across the windbreak. Preliminary measurements in 2016 indicated a consistent trend in soil moisture and temperature across the windbreak that produced small differences in carbon dioxide flux. Measurements of soil carbon dioxide flux in the field and supporting soil and meteorological sensors are being added to the study in 2017.