N20 emission rates were measured during a 13-month period from July 1981 till August 1982 with a frequency of once every two weeks at six different forest sites in the vicinity of Mainz, Germany. The sites were selected on the basis of soil types typical for many of the Central European forest ecosystems. The individual N20 emission rates showed a high degree of temporal and spatial variabilities which, however, were not significantly correlated to variabilities in soil moisture content or soil temperatures. However, the N20 emission rates followed a general seasonal trend with relatively high values during spring and fall. These maxima coincided with relatively high soil moisture contents, but may also have been influenced by the leaf fall in autumn. In addition, there was a brief episode of relatively high NxO emission rates immediately after thawing of the winter snow. The individual N20 emission rates measured during the whole season ranged between 1 and 92 ~tg N20-N m -2 h -I . The average values were in the range of 3-11 jag N20-N m -2 h -1 and those with a 50% probability were in the range of 2-8 Izg N20-N m -2 h -l . The total source strength of temperate forest soils for atmospheric NxO may be in the range of 0.7-1.5 Tg N yr -1 .
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