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Article

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

by
Armando Sterling
1,2,*,
Yerson D. Suárez-Córdoba
2,
Natalia A. Rodríguez-Castillo
2 and
Carlos H. Rodríguez-León
1
1
Models of Functioning and Sustainability Program, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas SINCHI, Florencia 180001, Colombia
2
Sustainability and Intervention Program, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas SINCHI, Florencia 180001, Colombia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Land 2025, 14(10), 1980; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14101980
Submission received: 21 August 2025 / Revised: 27 September 2025 / Accepted: 29 September 2025 / Published: 1 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use Effects on Carbon Storage and Greenhouse Gas Emissions)

Abstract

This study evaluated the seasonal variability of soil–atmosphere greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes—carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)—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. CO2 fluxes were consistently higher during the dry season, whereas CH4 and N2O fluxes peaked in the rainy season. Agroecological and restoration systems exhibited substantially lower CO2 emissions (7.34–9.74 Mg CO2-C ha−1 yr−1) compared with DP (18.85 Mg CO2-C ha−1 yr−1) during the rainy season, and lower N2O fluxes (0.21–1.04 Mg CO2-C ha−1 yr−1) during the dry season. In contrast, the MPSE presented high CH4 emissions in the rainy season (300.45 kg CH4-C ha−1 yr−1). Across all land uses, CO2 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 (CO2); methane (CH4); nitrous oxide (N2O); static chambers; global warming potential; soil–climate interactions; climate-smart tropical agriculture carbon dioxide (CO2); methane (CH4); nitrous oxide (N2O); static chambers; global warming potential; soil–climate interactions; climate-smart tropical agriculture

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Sterling, A.; Suárez-Córdoba, Y.D.; Rodríguez-Castillo, N.A.; Rodríguez-León, C.H. Soil–Atmosphere Greenhouse Gas Fluxes Across a Land-Use Gradient in the Andes–Amazon Transition Zone: Insights for Climate Innovation. Land 2025, 14, 1980. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14101980

AMA Style

Sterling A, Suárez-Córdoba YD, Rodríguez-Castillo NA, Rodríguez-León CH. Soil–Atmosphere Greenhouse Gas Fluxes Across a Land-Use Gradient in the Andes–Amazon Transition Zone: Insights for Climate Innovation. Land. 2025; 14(10):1980. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14101980

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sterling, Armando, Yerson D. Suárez-Córdoba, Natalia A. Rodríguez-Castillo, and Carlos H. Rodríguez-León. 2025. "Soil–Atmosphere Greenhouse Gas Fluxes Across a Land-Use Gradient in the Andes–Amazon Transition Zone: Insights for Climate Innovation" Land 14, no. 10: 1980. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14101980

APA Style

Sterling, A., Suárez-Córdoba, Y. D., Rodríguez-Castillo, N. A., & Rodríguez-León, C. H. (2025). Soil–Atmosphere Greenhouse Gas Fluxes Across a Land-Use Gradient in the Andes–Amazon Transition Zone: Insights for Climate Innovation. Land, 14(10), 1980. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14101980

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