Effects of tilling methods on soil penetration resistance,organic carbon and water stable aggregates in a vineyard of semiarid Mediterranean environment

Tillage, especially in semiarid Mediterranean environment, enhances the mineralization process of soil organic matter (SOM) and, in turn, decreases aggregate stability. Furthermore, continuous tillage leads to the formation of plough pan beneath the tilled layer. In the present study, we investigated the effect of an innovative self-propelled machine (spading machine, SM) for shallow tillage on SOM, water stable aggregates (WSA) and soil penetration resistance (PR). Such effects were compared to those of chisel plough (CP), rotary tiller (RT) and no tillage (NT). Each tilling method was applied up to a depth of 15 cm, whereas in NT only a brush cutter was used for weed control. Soil analyses were performed at the start of the experiment (March 2009, T0), in April 2010 (T1), May 2012 (T3), and June 2014 (T5) at both 0–15 and 15–30 cm. Compared to T0, soil PR increased with time in all the treatments and generally followed the order SM?<?RT?<?CP?<?NT. In soil tilled with the SM, soil PR never exceeded 2.5 MPa that was demonstrated to be a critical value for root elongation, and no evidence of the formation of plough pan beneath the tilled layer was observed. SOC as well as water content and WSA were higher in SM compared with CP and RT. In conclusion, the spading machine was proved to be more efficient in lowering the soil PR and in avoiding the formation of the plough pan. Furthermore, SM increased SOC and WSA.     

A 2-year study of soil tillage and cattle manure application effects on soil fauna populations under Zea Mays cultivation, in western Iran (Sanandaj)

The absence of environmentally sensitive soil management systems can be considered as one of the major risks to sustainability of agricultural soils in Iran. Tillage is the most critical operation in soil management designed to achieve high crop yield, but it can adversely affect the soil fauna in several ways. In the present study, assessment of soil fauna was carried out in Western Iran in 2008 and 2009 in soil subjected to conventional (CT), minimum (MT) and no (NT)-tillage systems and amended with three levels of cattle manure (CM). Earthworm, mite, springtail and nematode populations were measured as indicators of macro, meso and micro fauna groups, respectively. Soil moisture and bulk density were also determined. Generally, low populations of soil fauna were observed consistent with expectations under similar conditions for this region. Earthworm populations were low and had a patchy distribution. Tillage and CM were found to have no effects on soil mites in both years. Soil springtails were reduced by soil tillage, indicating their sensivity to soil disturbance induced by tillage. In 2008, the nematode population was greater with application of 40 ton ha^?1 CM applications (113 N.100 g soil^?1). Soil tillage-induced disturbance reduced nematode population in 2009 (214 N.100 g soil^?1 at CT). Minimum seedbed preparation besides less soil disturbance makes MT a proper tillage system for Zea mays cultivation. Cattle manure application increased Z. mays’ biomass, but according to our results its annual application is not recommended. There were no changes in BD in both years. We conclude that in short-term studies, soil nematode populations are suitable biological indices (under similar soil and climatic conditions) for the ecological comparison of agricultural management systems in Iran.     

Effects of precipitation pulses on water and carbon dioxide fluxes in two semiarid ecosystems: measurement and modeling

Modeling of soil?Cwater, ?Cheat and ?Ccarbon (C) fluxes provides an important tool for predicting mass and energy transfers based on a hydraulic-, thermal- and C-mass balance approach. Model predictions were evaluated using measured data from two water-limited study sites, one pasture and one supporting an alfalfa crop, to indentify differences between these ecosystems. Soil water content, temperature, and evapotranspiration (ET) data were used to validate soil water dynamics components of a process-based numerical model. Soil surface CO₂ efflux estimates (i.e., fluxes from soil respiration) were also made to estimate soil CO₂ emissions. The results show that the Hydrus-1D numerical model can be parameterized to simulate the soil hydrodynamics and CO₂ fluxes measured at both locations. Rainfall and irrigation events triggering increases in plant root and microbial respiration rates were simulated to recreate observed pulsed CO₂ fluxes. There were distinct differences in ET and soil CO₂ effluxes between the ecosystems and watering events significantly modified the fluxes. Differences in potential evapotranspiration and soil texture could help explain these discrepancies. The results demonstrate that numerical modeling can be a useful tool for estimating soil surface fluxes in calibrated ecosystems when micrometeorological methods may not be suitable.     

Evaluation of effective management plan for an agricultural watershed using AVSWAT model,remote sensing and GIS

In the present investigation, an effort has been made to identify the critical sub-watersheds for the development of best management plan for a small watershed of Eastern India using a hydrological model, namely, AVSWAT2000. A total of 180 combinations of various management treatments including crops (rice, maize ground nut and soybean), tillage (zero, conservation, field cultivator, mould board plough and conventional practices) and fertilizer levels (existing half of recommended and recommended) have been evaluated. The investigation reveled that rice cannot be replaced by other crops such as groundnut, maize, mungbean, sorghum and soybean since comparatively these crops resulted in higher sediment yield. The tillage practices with disk plough have been found to have more impact on sediment yield and nutrient losses than conventional tillage practices for the existing level of fertilizer. Sediment yield decreased in the case of zero tillage, conservation tillage, field cultivator, moldboard plough, and conservation tillage as compare to conventional tillage. Lowest NO₃–N loss was observed in zero tillage in all the fertilizer treatments, whereas field cultivator, moldboard plough and disk plough resulted in increase of NO³–N loss. As compared to conventional tillage, the losses of soluble phosphorus were increased in moldboard plough. The losses of organic nitrogen were also increased as fertilizer dose increased. After zero tillage the conservation tillage preformed better in all the fertilizer treatments as per loss of organic nitrogen and organic phosphorus is concerned. It can be concluded that the sediment yield was found to be the highest in the case of disk plough followed by moldboard plough, field cultivator, conventional tillage, field cultivator and least in zero tillage practices. The nutrient losses were found to be in different order with tillage practices, resulted highest in disk plough tillage practices. In view of sediment yield and nutrient losses, the conservation tillage practice was found to be the best as the sediment yield is less than the average soil loss whereas nutrient loss is within the permissible limit.     

Contribution des écosystèmes continentaux à la séquestration du carbone

This article focuses on the contribution of natural ecosystems (forests, grasslands) and agrosystems to carbon sequestration either in biomass or in soil. Carbon stocks are important (650 Gt in biomass, 1500 to 2000 Gt in soils as compared with 750 for atmospheric CO₂), and also fluxes that led to CO₂ emissions in the past (due to deforestation or cultivation) and which now turn to carbon sequestration (2 Gt_C/year). This article shows great spatial variations in stocks and fluxes and great measurement difficulties, especially for stock variations. Anthropic actions such as reforestation (mainly in the North), changes in land use or in crop management, can increase carbon sequestration in biomass or soil, with a residence time of several decades, which is not insignificant with respect to the Kyoto protocol and which also has other environmental benefits. To cite this article: M. Robert, B. Saugier, C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

表层岩溶系统中土-气-水界面碳流通的短尺度效应——以贵州茂兰国家喀斯特森林公园的秋季日动态监测为例

在2001年秋季对贵州省荔波县茂兰国家喀斯特森林公园林地、草地植被下土壤CO₂呼吸释放及岩溶表层泉水HCO₃及其^δ13C值的变化进行了日动态的野外监测,表明岩溶系统中土-气-水界面间存在着碳交换的日动态变化以及所伴随的同位素交换的变化,这种变化与土温的日动态有密切的关系。林地植被显示了平抑这种日动态幅度的效应,而草地植被则显示响应于温度变化的较灵敏的动态变化。这种短尺度的变化构成了表层岩溶系统对外界条件的灵敏响应,进一步揭示了在生物作用下岩溶地质作用在碳循环过程及其同位素交换上的灵敏性和动态性。其不同植被系统下的日动态差异在解释岩溶沉积记录和讨论岩溶作用与碳循环时值得充分注意     

Using TDR and modeling tools to investigate effects of interactive factors on preferential flow and transport in field sandy clay soil

Investigation of the extent of preferential flow and transport affected by several factors and their interactions in the vadose zone using the advanced measurement and modeling techniques is crucial for protection of groundwater from agricultural chemicals like fertilizers and pesticides. The objectives of this study were to investigate the interactive effects of factors like soil structure, initial soil water content (SWC), and application rate on preferential flow and transport using the time domain reflectometry (TDR) measurements of SWC and electrical conductivity (EC) in the plots of 12 treatments in a sandy clay field soil, applying the models (HYDRUS-1D and MACRO) to the measured data, performing Tukey test statistical analysis, and relating model parameters to basic soil properties, consequently, flow and transport characteristics. Analysis of response times and the changes in SWC and EC with time during the experiments in the profiles of the treatments confirmed the existence of preferential flow and transport at the site. As long as the other factors or conditions were constant; undisturbed versus disturbed soil, wet versus dry initial SWC, and high versus low application rate caused preferential flow and transport in the soil based on the TDR measurements. Overall HYDRUS-1D had better performance than MACRO in the simulations of the measured data. These results suggest that different scales of these factors in different field soils need to be further studied for better understanding the flow and transport processes in the vadose zone.     

Soil quality evaluation under different land management practices

Sustainable agricultural production requires prudent management backed by reliable information that accurately elucidates the complex relationships between land management practices and soil quality trends. Therefore, this study investigates the influence of management on soil properties acquired at different depths, and yields, at five different field sites within Ohio, USA. The principal management systems considered were no till with or without manure and cover crops, natural vegetation (NV) or forest, and conventional tillage (CT) defined as farms with surface residue cover (<30 %). Analyses of variance (ANOVA), correlation analyses, stepwise regression, and the principal component analyses (PCA) were used to elucidate and model the link between four different management practices and the soil physical and chemical properties. The ANOVA results indicate that the available water capacity and electrical conductivity (EC) were the major variables affected by management. In contrast, soil pH, bulk density (ρ _b), porosity, soil organic carbon (SOC), and total nitrogen (TN), were invariable with management, yet only pH and EC did not significantly vary with the interaction of soil type and management effects. In comparison, the PCA results suggest that SOC, TN, porosity, ρ _b, and EC were the major determining factors controlling yield variability. Interestingly, the derived models revealed that the highest yields, notably 10 and 2.7 Mg ha^?1 for corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) occurred in soils under CT management. Quantifying the nexus between soil properties and management choices as demonstrated in this study, can provide critical insight for sustainable agricultural production.     

A modeling study of the impact of the δO value of near-surface soil water on the δO value of the soil-surface CO2 flux

Measurements of ¹⁸O in atmospheric CO₂ have been used to partition site-level measured net ecosystem CO₂ fluxes into gross fluxes and as a constraint on land surface biophysical processes at regional and global scales. However, these approaches require prediction of the δ¹⁸O value of the net CO₂ flux between the soil and atmosphere (δ_F), a quantity that is difficult to measure and accurately predict. δ_F depends on the depth-dependent δ¹⁸O value of soil water (δ_sw), soil moisture and temperature, soil CO₂ production, and the δ¹⁸O value of above-surface CO₂. I applied numerical model manipulations, regression analysis, a simple estimation method, and an analysis of the characteristic times of relevant processes to study the impacts of these parameters on δ_F. The results indicate that ignoring δ_sw gradients in the near-surface soil can lead to large errors. In particular, in systems where δ_sw gradients exist, generalizing previous experimental observations to infer that a bulk (e.g., 5-10 cm or 5-15 cm depth) estimate of δ_sw can be used to estimate δ_F is problematic. These results highlight the need for further experiments and argue for the importance of accurately resolving near-surface δ_sw in the context of partitioning ecosystem CO₂ fluxes and CO₂ source attribution.     

全球变化条件下的土壤呼吸效应

土壤呼吸是陆地植物固定CO₂尔后又释放CO₂返回大气的主要途径，是与全球变化有关的一个重要过程。综述了全球变化下CO₂浓度上升、全球增温、耕作方式的改变及氮沉降增加的土壤呼吸效应。大气CO₂浓度的上升将增加土壤中CO₂的释放通量，同时将促进土壤的碳吸存；在全球增温的情形下，土壤可能向大气中释放更多的CO₂，传统的土地利用方式可能是引发温室气体CO₂产生的重要原因，所有这些全球变化对土壤呼吸的作用具有不确定性。认为土壤碳库的碳储量增加并不能减缓21世纪大气CO₂浓度的上升。据此讨论了该问题的对策并提出了今后土壤呼吸的一些研究方向。其中强调，尽管森林土壤碳固定能力有限，但植树造林、森林保护是一项缓解大气CO₂上升的可行性对策；基于现有田间尺度CO₂通量测定在不确定性方面的进展，今后应继续朝大尺度田间和模拟程序方面努力；着重回答全球变化条件下的土壤呼吸过程机理；区分土壤呼吸的不同来源以及弄清土壤呼吸黑箱系统中土壤微生物及土壤动物的功能。当然，土壤呼吸的测定方法尚有待改善。     

Energy and CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> exchanges and influencing factors in spring wheat ecosystem along the Heihe River,northwestern China

Spring wheat (Triticum aestivum Linn.) is an important crop for food security in the desert-oasis farmland in the middle reaches of the Heihe River in northwestern China. We measured fluxes using eddy covariance and meteorological parameters to explore the energy fluxes and the relationship between CO₂ flux and climate change in this region during the wheat growing seasons in 2013 and 2014. The energy balance closures were 70.5% and 72.7% in the 2013 and 2014 growing season, respectively. The wheat ecosystem had distinct seasonal and diurnal dynamics of CO₂ fluxes with U-shaped curves. The accumulated net ecosystemic CO₂ exchanges (NEE) were -111.6 and -142.2 g C/m² in 2013 and 2014 growing season, respectively. The ecosystem generally acted as a CO₂ sink during the growing season but became a CO₂ source after the wheat harvest. A correlation analysis indicated that night-time CO₂ fluxes were exponentially dependent on air temperature and soil temperature at a depth of 5 cm but were not correlated with soil-water content, water-vapour pressure, or vapour-pressure deficit. CO₂ flux was not correlated with the meteorological parameters during daytime. However, irrigation and precipitation, may complicate the response of CO₂ fluxes to other meteorological parameters.     

Diurnal Variations of Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Vertical Fluxes in a Subtropical Estuarine Marsh on Neap and Spring Tide Days

Measuring fluxes of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is fundamental to estimating their impact on global warming. We examined diurnal variations of carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) vertical fluxes in a tidal marsh ecosystem. Measurements were recorded on neap and spring tide days in April and September 2010 in the Shanyutan wetland of the Min River estuary, southeast China. Here, we define a positive flux as directing into the atmosphere. CH₄ fluxes on the diurnal scale were positive throughout, and CH₄ emissions into the atmosphere on neap tide days were higher than on spring tide days. CH₄ releases from the marsh ecosystem on neap tide days were higher in the daytime; however, on spring tide days, daily variations of CH₄ emissions were more complex. The marsh ecosystem plays a twofold role in both releasing and assimilating CO₂ and N₂O gases on the diurnal scale. Average CO₂ fluxes were positive on the daily scale both on neap and spring days and were greater on the neap tide days than on spring tide days. Diurnal variations of N₂O fluxes fluctuated more. Over the diurnal period, soil temperature markedly controlled variations of CH₄ emissions compared to other soil factors, such as salinity and redox potential. Tidal water height was a key factor influencing GHGs fluxes at the water–air interface. Compared with N₂O, the diurnal course of CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes in the marsh ecosystem appeared to be directly controlled by marsh plants. These results have implications for sampling and scaling strategies for estimating GHGs fluxes in tidal marsh ecosystems.     

Analysis of impact factors on scrubland soil respiration in the southern Gurbantunggut Desert,central Asia

Monitoring soil CO₂ respiration with chamber measurements and identifying controlling factors such as the diversity of vegetation species, moisture and temperature can help guide desert scrubland management. Soil CO₂ respiration and potential controlling factors at four sites in desert scrubland were examined along the Sangong River Basin (SRB) in northwestern China in 2004. Soil CO₂ respiration descended along the SRB as did the diversity of vegetation species, air temperature and air humidity. The two sites of the field station (FS) and the north desert (ND) and the low reaches of the SRB among these locations were monitored to analyze the effects of pH value, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN) and calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) on soil CO₂ respiration during the growing season in 2005. The ND site was located at the southern edge of the Gurbantunggut Desert; the FS site was in the border area of the SRB Alluvial Fan. One-way ANOVA was performed. The result showed that air humidity and CaCO₃ content had a strong influence on soil CO₂ respiration; SOC content was a limitation to soil CO₂ respiration in the arid-desert zone. Effective management activities can attenuate soil CO₂ respiration and keep carbon balance trends at a desirabe level in desert scrublands.     

Assessment of soil moisture influence on CO2 flux: a laboratory experiment

Accurate measurements to assess the influence of soil moisture on CO₂ flux requires the absolute estimates of soil CO₂ flux. Thus, it was constructed a calibration system where CO₂ with fixed concentration flowed through the different porous material. Previous to measurement, in order to verify the performance and reliability of a closed dynamic chamber, different discontinuous air-mixing rates and times were tested. The CO₂ flux was estimated through sequential lectures and the best fit for flux measurements was obtained taking short readings every 3 min, during a total time of 12 min (R ² = 0.99). The best mixing rate was attained for 250 mL min⁻¹, allowing 25 s of mixing previous to CO₂ extraction for an infrared gas analyzer. The deviation of the measured values for dry sand from the reference CO₂ flux (0.097 and 0.071 g m⁻² min⁻¹) was 5 and 7%. On dry sandy loam soil (SLS) the deviation was 2%. The measured fluxes decreased 73 and 22% with content moisture of 20 and 10% (sand), and 78% with content moisture of 31% (SLS). This work allowed to estimate how much the measured emission rates deviate from the true ones for the specified chamber and sampling conditions.     

Human footprints on greenhouse gas fluxes in cryogenic ecosystems

Various human footprints on the flux of biogenic greenhouse gases from permafrost-affected soils in Arctic and boreal domains in Russia are considered. Tendencies of significant growth or suppression of soil CO₂ fluxes change across types of human impact. Overall, the human impacts increase the mean value and variance of local soil CO₂ flux. Human footprint on methane exchange between soil and atmosphere is mediated by drainage. However, all the types of human impact suppress the sources and increase sinks of methane to the land ecosystems. N₂O flux grew under the considered types of human impact. Based on the results, we suggest that human footprint on soil greenhouse gases fluxes is comparable to the effect of climate change at an annual to decadal timescales.     

The influence of degradation of the swamp and alpine meadows on CH<Subscript>4</Subscript> and CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> fluxes on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

CH₄ and CO₂ fluxes from a high-cold swamp meadow and an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, subject to different degrees of degradation, were measured over a 12-month period. Air temperature, soil temperature and moisture, and the depths of the water table and thawing-freezing layer were determined. For swamp meadows, the greater the degradation, the lesser the carbon efflux. CH₄ emissions at the nondegraded swamp meadow site were 1.09–3.5 and 2.5–11.27 times greater, and CO₂ emissions 1.08–1.69 and 1.41–4.43 times greater, respectively, than those from moderately and severely degraded sites. For alpine meadows, the greater the degradation, the greater the CH₄ consumption and CO₂ emissions. CH₄ consumption at the severely degraded alpine meadow site was 6.6–21 and 1.1–5.25 times greater, and CO₂ emissions 1.05–78.5 and 1.04–6.28 times greater, respectively, than those from the nondegraded and moderately degraded sites. The CH₄ and CO₂ fluxes at both sites were significantly correlated (R ² > 0.59, P < 0.05) with air temperature, soil temperature, and topsoil (0–5 cm depth) moisture, indicating these to be the main environmental factors affecting such fluxes.     

Soil temperature and moisture controls on surface fluxes and profile concentrations of greenhouse gases in karst area in central part of Guizhou Province, southwest China

In order to better understand the spatiotemporal variations and interrelationships of greenhouse gases (GHG), monthly surface fluxes and profile concentrations of GHG (CO₂, N₂O and CH₄) in karst areas in the Guizhou Province, southwest China, were measured from June 2006 to May 2007. GHG fluxes showed high variability, with a range of 460.9?C1,281.2?mg?m^?2?h^?1 for CO₂, ?25.4 to 81.5???g?m^?2?h^?1 for N₂O and ?28.7 to ?274.9???g?m^?2?h^?1 for CH₄, but no obvious seasonal change trends of the fluxes existed. Profile concentrations of CO₂, N₂O and CH₄ varied between 0.5 and 31.5?mL?L^?1, 0.273 and 0.734, and 0.1 and 3.5???L?L^?1, respectively. In general, concentrations of CO₂ and N₂O increased with depth, while CH₄ had an inverse trend. However, in October, November and January, the reversal of depth patterns of GHG concentrations took place below 15?cm, close to the soil?Crock interface. The spatiotemporal distribution of CO₂ in soil profile was significantly positively correlated with that of N₂O (p?<?0.05?C0.01) and negatively correlated with that of CH₄ (p?<?0.01). The correlation analysis showed that soil temperature and moisture may be responsible for GHG dynamics in the soils, rather than the exchange of GHG between land and atmosphere.     

Tillage and farm manure affect root growth and nutrient uptake of wheat and rice under semi-arid conditions

Tillage systems affect soil properties, crop growth and nutrient uptake under various agro-ecological conditions. The uptake of water and nutrients are largely dependent on the root systems of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.). The application of manure has direct influence on the nutrient uptake by the crop plants. A 2 year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of tillage and farm manure on root growth by measuring the root length density on a sandy clay loam (Typic calciargid soil). Three tillage systems were used; (i) minimum tillage (MT), (ii) deep tillage (DT) and (iii) conventional tillage (CT). Three farm manure levels were used; (i) FM₀ (only chemical fertilizers), (ii) FM₁₅ (farm manure at 15 Mg ha^?1) and (iii) FM₃₀ (farm manure at 30 Mg ha^?1). The incorporation of farm manure into soil markedly improved the root length density (RLD) of both wheat and rice crops. For wheat, the application of FM₃₀ increased RLD by 16% and 9% in cases of deep tillage and minimum tillage, respectively. For rice, the increase in RLD at the same farm manure rate (FM₃₀) was 13% and 17%, during first and second year, respectively. Averaged across tillage, the trend of RLD for both wheat and rice was DT > CT > MT. The incorporation of FM has increased the uptake of N, P and K significantly (P < 0.05), thereby increasing the agronomic parameters. The manure may be used to ameliorate the deleterious effects of tillage for sustainable crop yield.     

压实度对铁盐稳定化砷、锑污染土特性的影响及机制研究

压实度是影响铁盐稳定化砷(As)、锑(Sb)污染土环境岩土工程特性的主要因素之一。通过测定不同压实度铁盐稳定剂(PFSC)稳定化As、Sb污染土无侧限抗压强度(UCS)、As和Sb浸出浓度、渗透系数kw,研究了压实度对PFSC稳定化As、Sb污染土环境岩土工程特性的影响规律。通过工业CT扫描、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)明确了稳定化土微观孔隙特征、元素价态随压实度的变化规律。As的浸出浓度随着压实度的提高先降低后略微上升,压实度为93%时,As的浸出浓度最低;Sb的浸出浓度随着压实度的提高而降低,压实度大于85%后趋于平稳。压实度由75%提高至96%,稳定化土UCS由4.26 kPa增大至43.78 kPa。压实度由80%提高至96%,稳定化土k_w由1.33×10^–7 m/s降低至2.81×10^–9 m/s。工业CT扫描结果表明,随着压实度的提高,土体逐渐紧实,土体孔隙度由7.54%降低至5.30%。As、Sb和Fe的XPS分析结果表明,压实度增高促使As(Ⅴ)、Sb(Ⅴ)和Fe(Ⅲ)分别向As(Ⅲ)、Sb(Ⅲ)和Fe(Ⅱ...     

Carbon river fluxes and weathering CO2 consumption in the Congo and Amazon river basins

Data on carbon river fluxes recently obtained by the authors for the Congo basin within the framework of the PIRAT Program (INSU-CNRS/ORSTOM) are compared with results previously obtained for the Amazon basin. A special interest is devoted to the bicarbonate river fluxes and to their relationships with river discharges. The flux of atmospheric and soil CO₂ consumed by rock weathering is estimated to be 3.1 × 10⁵ and 0.5 × 10⁵ moles/a/km² respectively for the Amazon and the Congo basin. These CO₂ fluxes represent, respectively, 67.4% and 74.7% of the total bicarbonate river fluxes. A comparison to other large river basins shows that this contribution is directly related to the proportion of carbonate rock areas. A transfer function between the weathering CO₂ flux and the river discharge is calculated for each basin and allows the reconstitution of the variations of this flux using the river discharge fluctuations during the last century. These interannual CO₂ fluctuations present average increasing trends of 10% for Amazon basin and only 0.7% for the Congo basin during the last century.