Characteristics of soil-air CO2 exchange fluxes in intertidalite of Nantong

The CO2 flux was measured by a portable soil flux measurement system at a bare tidal flat, where is close to Xiexing Port of Nantong. The relationship between the characteristics of carbon flux and their determinants on a non-vegetation area was explored. The results showed that the abilities of carbon fixation for different intertidal zones are the high intertidal 2 absorbing ability. Meanwhile, the organic carbon contents and the CO2 emission fluxes esulting from microbial respiration in the high intertidal zone were the highest. It was a net CO2 fixation for the whole research area. In addition, CO2 net fixation fluxes decreased with the increase of organic carbon content in the soil and the duration of the ebb tide, closely related to the chlorophyll a content and the groundwater. Our findings highlight the importance of human activities in shaping the carbon cycling in the bare flats of the intertidal zones in Jiangsu province. © 2018, Editorial Board of China Environmental Science. All right reserved.