Spatial variations in daily average CO2 concentrations above wetland surface of Xianghai National Nature Reserve, China

Horizontal and vertical variations of daily average CO2 concentration above the wetland surface were studied in Xianghai National Nature Reserve of China in August, 2000. The primary purpose was to study spatial distribution characteristics of CO2 concentration on the four levels of height(0.1 m, 0.6 m, 1.2 m and 2 m) and compare the differences of CO2 concentration under different land covers. Results showed that daily average CO2 concentration above wetland surface in Xianghai National Natural Reserve was lower than that above other wetlands in northeast China as well as the worldwide average, suggesting that Xianghai wetland absorbed CO2 in August and acted as "sink" of CO2. The horizontal variations on the four levels of height along the latitude were distinct, and had the changing tendency of "decreasing after increasing" with the increase of height. The areas with obvious variations were consistent on different levels of height, and those with the highest variations appeared above surface of shore, sloping field, Typha wetland and Phragmites wetland; the vertical variations were greatly different, with the higher variations in Phragmites wetland and Typha wetland, and the lands near the shore and the sloping field with the lower variations. Spatial variations of daily average CO2 concentrations above wetland surface were affected by surface qualities and land covers.