Measurements and modeling of ozone fluxes in and above Norway spruce canopies

Ozon (O3) ist ein wichtiges Oxidierungs- und Treibhausgas in der Erdatmosphäre. Es hat Einfluss auf das Klima, die Luftqualität sowie auf die menschliche Gesundheit und die Vegetation. Ökosysteme, wie beispielsweise Wälder, sind Senken für troposphärisches Ozon und werden in Zukunft, bedingt durch Stürme, Pflanzenschädlinge und Änderungen in der Landnutzung, heterogener sein. Es ist anzunehmen, dass diese Heterogenitäten die Aufnahme von Treibhausgasen verringern und signifikante Rückkopplungen auf das Klimasystem bewirken werden. Beeinflusst wird der Atmosphären-Biosphären-Austausch von Ozon durch stomatäre Aufnahme, Deposition auf Pflanzenoberflächen und Böden sowie chemische Umwandlungen. Diese Prozesse zu verstehen und den Ozonaustausch für verschiedene Ökosysteme zu quantifizieren sind Voraussetzungen, um von lokalen Messungen auf regionale Ozonflüsse zu schließen.rnFür die Messung von vertikalen turbulenten Ozonflüssen wird die Eddy Kovarianz Methode genutzt. Die Verwendung von Eddy Kovarianz Systemen mit geschlossenem Pfad, basierend auf schnellen Chemilumineszenz-Ozonsensoren, kann zu Fehlern in der Flussmessung führen. Ein direkter Vergleich von nebeneinander angebrachten Ozonsensoren ermöglichte es einen Einblick in die Faktoren zu erhalten, die die Genauigkeit der Messungen beeinflussen. Systematische Unterschiede zwischen einzelnen Sensoren und der Einfluss von unterschiedlichen Längen des Einlassschlauches wurden untersucht, indem Frequenzspektren analysiert und Korrekturfaktoren für die Ozonflüsse bestimmt wurden. Die experimentell bestimmten Korrekturfaktoren zeigten keinen signifikanten Unterschied zu Korrekturfaktoren, die mithilfe von theoretischen Transferfunktionen bestimmt wurden, wodurch die Anwendbarkeit der theoretisch ermittelten Faktoren zur Korrektur von Ozonflüssen bestätigt wurde.rnIm Sommer 2011 wurden im Rahmen des EGER (ExchanGE processes in mountainous Regions) Projektes Messungen durchgeführt, um zu einem besseren Verständnis des Atmosphären-Biosphären Ozonaustauschs in gestörten Ökosystemen beizutragen. Ozonflüsse wurden auf beiden Seiten einer Waldkante gemessen, die einen Fichtenwald und einen Windwurf trennt. Auf der straßenähnlichen Freifläche, die durch den Sturm "Kyrill" (2007) entstand, entwickelte sich eine Sekundärvegetation, die sich in ihrer Phänologie und Blattphysiologie vom ursprünglich vorherrschenden Fichtenwald unterschied. Der mittlere nächtliche Fluss über dem Fichtenwald war -6 bis -7 nmol m2 s-1 und nahm auf -13 nmol m2 s-1 um die Mittagszeit ab. Die Ozonflüsse zeigten eine deutliche Beziehung zur Pflanzenverdunstung und CO2 Aufnahme, was darauf hinwies, dass während des Tages der Großteil des Ozons von den Pflanzenstomata aufgenommen wurde. Die relativ hohe nächtliche Deposition wurde durch nicht-stomatäre Prozesse verursacht. Die Deposition über dem Wald war im gesamten Tagesverlauf in etwa doppelt so hoch wie über der Freifläche. Dieses Verhältnis stimmte mit dem Verhältnis des Pflanzenflächenindex (PAI) überein. Die Störung des Ökosystems verringerte somit die Fähigkeit des Bewuchses, als Senke für troposphärisches Ozon zu fungieren. Der deutliche Unterschied der Ozonflüsse der beiden Bewuchsarten verdeutlichte die Herausforderung bei der Regionalisierung von Ozonflüssen in heterogen bewaldeten Gebieten.rnDie gemessenen Flüsse wurden darüber hinaus mit Simulationen verglichen, die mit dem Chemiemodell MLC-CHEM durchgeführt wurden. Um das Modell bezüglich der Berechnung von Ozonflüssen zu evaluieren, wurden gemessene und modellierte Flüsse von zwei Positionen im EGER-Gebiet verwendet. Obwohl die Größenordnung der Flüsse übereinstimmte, zeigten die Ergebnisse eine signifikante Differenz zwischen gemessenen und modellierten Flüssen. Zudem gab es eine klare Abhängigkeit der Differenz von der relativen Feuchte, mit abnehmender Differenz bei zunehmender Feuchte, was zeigte, dass das Modell vor einer Verwendung für umfangreiche Studien des Ozonflusses weiterer Verbesserungen bedarf.rn

Turbulent flux and meteorological measurements during ARCTEX-2006 campaign

This dataset present result from the DFG- funded Arctic-Turbulence-Experiment (ARCTEX-2006) performed by the University of Bayreuth on the island of Svalbard, Norway, during the winter/spring transition 2006. From May 5 to May 19, 2006 turbulent flux and meteorological measurements were performed on the monitoring field near Ny-Ålesund, at 78°55'24'' N, 11°55'15'' E Kongsfjord, Svalbard (Spitsbergen), Norway. The ARCTEX-2006 campaign site was located about 200 m southeast of the settlement on flat snow covered tundra, 11 m to 14 m above sea level. The permanent sites used for this study consisted of the 10 m meteorological tower of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI), the international standardized radiation measurement site of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN), the radiosonde launch site and the AWI tethered balloon launch sites. The temporary sites - set up by the University of Bayreuth - were a 6 m meteorological gradient tower, an eddy-flux measurement complex (EF), and a laser-scintillometer section (SLS). A quality assessment and data correction was applied to detect and eliminate specific measurement errors common at a high arctic landscape. In addition, the quality checked sensible heat flux measurements are compared with bulk aerodynamic formulas that are widely used in atmosphere-ocean/land-ice models for polar regions as described in Ebert and Curry (1993, doi:10.1029/93JC00656) and Launiainen and Cheng (1995). These parameterization approaches easily allow estimation of the turbulent surface fluxes from routine meteorological measurements. The data show: - the role of the intermittency of the turbulent atmospheric fluctuation of momentum and scalars, - the existence of a disturbed vertical temperature profile (sharp inversion layer) close to the surface, - the relevance of possible free convection events for the snow or ice melt in the Arctic spring at Svalbard, and - the relevance of meso-scale atmospheric circulation pattern and air-mass advection for the near-surface turbulent heat exchange in the Arctic spring at Svalbard. Recommendations and improvements regarding the interpretation of eddy-flux and laser-scintillometer data as well as the arrangement of the instrumentation under polar distinct exchange conditions and (extreme) weather situations could be derived.

Artificial oxygen fluxes measured by the eddy correlation method using stirring-sensitive oxygen microsensor and oxygen optodes in a flume experiment

In the last decade, the aquatic eddy correlation (EC) technique has proven to be a powerful approach for non-invasive measurements of oxygen fluxes across the sediment water interface. Fundamental to the EC approach is the correlation of turbulent velocity and oxygen concentration fluctuations measured with high frequencies in the same sampling volume. Oxygen concentrations are commonly measured with fast responding electrochemical microsensors. However, due to their own oxygen consumption, electrochemical microsensors are sensitive to changes of the diffusive boundary layer surrounding the probe and thus to changes in the ambient flow velocity. The so-called stirring sensitivity of microsensors constitutes an inherent correlation of flow velocity and oxygen sensing and thus an artificial flux which can confound the benthic flux determination. To assess the artificial flux we measured the correlation between the turbulent flow velocity and the signal of oxygen microsensors in a sealed annular flume without any oxygen sinks and sources. Experiments revealed significant correlations, even for sensors designed to have low stirring sensitivities of ~0.7%. The artificial fluxes depended on ambient flow conditions and, counter intuitively, increased at higher velocities because of the nonlinear contribution of turbulent velocity fluctuations. The measured artificial fluxes ranged from 2 - 70 mmol m**-2 d**-1 for weak and very strong turbulent flow, respectively. Further, the stirring sensitivity depended on the sensor orientation towards the flow. Optical microsensors (optodes) that should not exhibit a stirring sensitivity were tested in parallel and did not show any significant correlation between O2 signals and turbulent flow. In conclusion, EC data obtained with electrochemical sensors can be affected by artificial flux and we recommend using optical microsensors in future EC-studies. Flume experiments were conducted in February 2013 at the Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau Landau. Experiments were performed in a closed oval-shaped acrylic glass flume with cross-sectional width of 4 cm and height of 10 cm and total length of 54 cm. The fluid flow was induced by a propeller driven by a motor and mean flow velocities of up to 20 cm s-1 were generated by applying voltages between 0 V and 4 V DC. The flume was completely sealed with an acrylic glass cover. Oxygen sensors were inserted through rubber seal fittings and allowed positioning the sensors with inclinations to the main flow direction of ~60°, ~95° and ~135°. A Clark type electrochemical O2 microsensor with a low stirring sensitivity (0.7%) was tested and a fast-responding needle-type O2 optode (PyroScience GmbH, Germany) was used as reference as optodes should not be stirring sensitive. Instantaneous three-dimensional flow velocities were measured at 7.4 Hz using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV). The velocity at the sensor tip was extracted. The correlation of the fluctuating O2 sensor signals and the fluctuating velocities was quantified with a cross-correlation analysis. A significant cross-correlation is equivalent to a significant artificial flux. For a total of 18 experiments the flow velocity was adjusted between 1.7 and 19.2 cm s**-1, and 3 different orientations of the electrochemical sensor were tested with inclination angles of ~60°, ~95° and ~135° with respect to the main flow direction. In experiments 16-18, wavelike flow was induced, whereas in all other experiments the motor was driven by constant voltages. In 7 experiments, O2 was additionally measured by optodes. Although performed simultaneously with the electrochemical sensor, optode measurements are listed as separate experiments (denoted by the attached 'op' in the filename), because the velocity time series was extracted at the optode tip, located at a different position in the flume.

Heat fluxes and surface radiation measurements from Samoylov Island, Lena Delta, Siberia, April to September 2007

In this article, we present a study on the surface energy balance of a polygonal tundra landscape in northeast Siberia. The study was performed during half-year periods from April to September in each of 2007 and 2008. The surface energy balance is obtained from independent measurements of the net radiation, the turbulent heat fluxes, and the ground heat flux at several sites. Short-wave radiation is the dominant factor controlling the magnitude of all the other components of the surface energy balance during the entire observation period. About 50% of the available net radiation is consumed by the latent heat flux, while the sensible and the ground heat flux are each around 20 to 30%. The ground heat flux is mainly consumed by active layer thawing. About 60% of the energy storage in the ground is attributed to the phase change of soil water. The remainder is used for soil warming down to a depth of 15 m. In particular, the controlling factors for the surface energy partitioning are snow cover, cloud cover, and the temperature gradient in the soil. The thin snow cover melts within a few days, during which the equivalent of about 20% of the snow-water evaporates or sublimates. Surface temperature differences of the heterogeneous landscape indicate spatial variabilities of sensible and latent heat fluxes, which are verified by measurements. However, spatial differences in the partitioning between sensible and latent heat flux are only measured during conditions of high radiative forcing, which only occur occasionally.

Tidal-induced mixing and diapycnal nutrient fluxes in the Mauritanian upwelling region

The Mauritanian coastal area is one of the most biologically productive upwelling regions in the world ocean. Shipboard observations carried out during maximum upwelling season and short-term moored observations are used to investigate diapycnal mixing processes and to quantify diapycnal fluxes of nutrients. The observations indicate strong tide-topography interactions that are favored by near-critical angles occurring on large parts of the continental slope. Moored velocity observations reveal the existence of highly nonlinear internal waves and bores and levels of internal wave spectra are strongly elevated near the buoyancy frequency. Dissipation rates of turbulent kinetic energy at the slope and shelf determined from microstructure measurements in the upper 200 m averages to ? = 5 × 10-8 W kg-1. Particularly elevated dissipation rates were found at the continental slope close to the shelf break, being enhanced by a factor of 100 to 1000 compared to dissipation rates farther offshore. Vertically integrated dissipation rates per unit volume are strongest at the upper continental slope reaching values of up to 30 mW m-2. A comparison of fine-scale parameterizations of turbulent dissipation rates for shelf regions and the open ocean to the measured dissipation rates indicates deficiencies in reproducing the observations. Diapycnal nitrate fluxes above the continental slope at the base of the mixed layer yielding a mean value of 12 × 10-2 µmol m-2 s-1 are amongst the largest published to date. However, they seem to only represent a minor contribution (10% to 25%) to the net community production in the upwelling region.

Controls on sensible heat and latent energy fluxes from a short-hydroperiod Florida Everglades marsh

Little is known of energy balance in low latitude wetlands where there is a year-round growing season and a climate best defined by wet and dry seasons. The Florida Everglades is a highly managed and extensive subtropical wetland that exerts a substantial influence on the hydrology and climate of the south Florida region. However, the effects of seasonality and active water management on energy balance in the Everglades ecosystem are poorly understood. An eddy covariance and micrometeorological tower was established in a short-hydroperiod Everglades marsh to examine the dominant environmental controls on sensible heat (H) and latent energy (LE) fluxes, as well as the effects of seasonality on these parameters. Seasonality differentially affected H and LE fluxes in this marsh, such that H was principally dominant in the dry season and LE was strongly dominant in the wet season. The Bowen ratio was high for much of the dry season (1.5–2.4), but relatively low (H and LE fluxes across nearly all seasons and years (). However, the 2009 dry season LE data were not consistent with this relationship () because of low seasonal variation in LE following a prolonged end to the previous wet season. In addition to net radiation, H and LE fluxes were significantly related to soil volumetric water content (VWC), water depth, air temperature, and occasionally vapor pressure deficit. Given that VWC and water depth were determined in part by water management decisions, it is clear that human actions have the ability to influence the mode of energy dissipation from this ecosystem. Impending modifications to water management under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan may shift the dominant turbulent flux from this ecosystem further toward LE, and this change will likely affect local hydrology and climate.

Modelling ideal turbulent vortex breakdown

In this computational study we investigate the role of turbulence in ideal axisymmetric vortex breakdown. A pipe geometry with a slight constriction near the inlet is used to stabilise the location of the breakdown within the computed domain. Eddy-viscosity and differential Reynolds stress models are used to model the turbulence. Changes in upstream turbulence levels, flow Reynolds and Swirl numbers are considered. The different computed solutions are monitored for indications of different breakdown flow configurations. Trends in vortex breakdown due to turbulent flow conditions are identified and discussed.

Experimental investigation of a turbulent reacting plume

An experimental investigation has been made of a round, non-buoyant plume of nitric oxide, NO, in a turbulent grid flow of ozone, 03, using the Turbulent Smog Chamber at the University of Sydney. The measurements have been made at a resolution not previously reported in the literature. The reaction is conducted at non-equilibrium so there is significant interaction between turbulent mixing and chemical reaction. The plume has been characterized by a set of constant initial reactant concentration measurements consisting of radial profiles at various axial locations. Whole plume behaviour can thus be characterized and parameters are selected for a second set of fixed physical location measurements where the effects of varying the initial reactant concentrations are investigated. Careful experiment design and specially developed chemilurninescent analysers, which measure fluctuating concentrations of reactive scalars, ensure that spatial and temporal resolutions are adequate to measure the quantities of interest. Conserved scalar theory is used to define a conserved scalar from the measured reactive scalars and to define frozen, equilibrium and reaction dominated cases for the reactive scalars. Reactive scalar means and the mean reaction rate are bounded by frozen and equilibrium limits but this is not always the case for the reactant variances and covariances. The plume reactant statistics are closer to the equilibrium limit than those for the ambient reactant. The covariance term in the mean reaction rate is found to be negative and significant for all measurements made. The Toor closure was found to overestimate the mean reaction rate by 15 to 65%. Gradient model turbulent diffusivities had significant scatter and were not observed to be affected by reaction. The ratio of turbulent diffusivities for the conserved scalar mean and that for the r.m.s. was found to be approximately 1. Estimates of the ratio of the dissipation timescales of around 2 were found downstream. Estimates of the correlation coefficient between the conserved scalar and its dissipation (parallel to the mean flow) were found to be between 0.25 and the significant value of 0.5. Scalar dissipations for non-reactive and reactive scalars were found to be significantly different. Conditional statistics are found to be a useful way of investigating the reactive behaviour of the plume, effectively decoupling the interaction of chemical reaction and turbulent mixing. It is found that conditional reactive scalar means lack significant transverse dependence as has previously been found theoretically by Klimenko (1995). It is also found that conditional variance around the conditional reactive scalar means is relatively small, simplifying the closure for the conditional reaction rate. These properties are important for the Conditional Moment Closure (CMC) model for turbulent reacting flows recently proposed by Klimenko (1990) and Bilger (1993). Preliminary CMC model calculations are carried out for this flow using a simple model for the conditional scalar dissipation. Model predictions and measured conditional reactive scalar means compare favorably. The reaction dominated limit is found to indicate the maximum reactedness of a reactive scalar and is a limiting case of the CMC model. Conventional (unconditional) reactive scalar means obtained from the preliminary CMC predictions using the conserved scalar p.d.f. compare favorably with those found from experiment except where measuring position is relatively far upstream of the stoichiometric distance. Recommendations include applying a full CMC model to the flow and investigations both of the less significant terms in the conditional mean species equation and the small variation of the conditional mean with radius. Forms for the p.d.f.s, in addition to those found from experiments, could be useful for extending the CMC model to reactive flows in the atmosphere.

Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Tropical and Temperae Agriculture: The Need for a Full-Cost Accounting of Global Warming Potentials

Agriculture's contribution to radiative forcing is principally through its historical release of carbon in soil and vegetation to the atmosphere and through its contemporary release of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CHM4). The sequestration of soil carbon in soils now depleted in soil organic matter is a well-known strategy for mitigating the buildup of CO2 in the atmosphere. Less well-recognized are other mitigation potentials. A full-cost accounting of the effects of agriculture on greenhouse gas emissions is necessary to quantify the relative importance of all mitigation options. Such an analysis shows nitrogen fertilizer, agricultural liming, fuel use, N2O emissions, and CH4 fluxes to have additional significant potential for mitigation. By evaluating all sources in terms of their global warming potential it becomes possible to directly evaluate greenhouse policy options for agriculture. A comparison of temperate and tropical systems illustrates some of these options.

Nitrogen pools and fluxes in grassland soils sequestering carbon

Carbon sequestration in agricultural, forest, and grassland soils has been promoted as a means by which substantial amounts of CO2 may be removed from the atmosphere, but few studies have evaluated the associated impacts on changes in soil N or net global warming potential (GWP). The purpose of this research was to ( 1) review the literature to examine how changes in grassland management that affect soil C also impact soil N, ( 2) assess the impact of different types of grassland management on changes in soil N and rates of change, and (3) evaluate changes in N2O fluxes from differently managed grassland ecosystems to assess net impacts on GWP. Soil C and N stocks either both increased or both decreased for most studies. Soil C and N sequestration were tightly linked, resulting in little change in C: N ratios with changes in management. Within grazing treatments N2O made a minor contribution to GWP (0.1-4%), but increases in N2O fluxes offset significant portions of C sequestration gains due to fertilization (10-125%) and conversion (average = 27%). Results from this work demonstrate that even when improved management practices result in considerable rates of C and N sequestration, changes in N2O fluxes can offset a substantial portion of gains by C sequestration. Even for cases in which C sequestration rates are not entirely offset by increases in N2O fluxes, small increases in N2O fluxes can substantially reduce C sequestration benefits. Conversely, reduction of N2O fluxes in grassland soils brought about by changes in management represents an opportunity to reduce the contribution of grasslands to net greenhouse gas forcing.

Carbon pools and fluxes along an environmental gradient in northern Arizona

Carbon pools and fluxes were quantified along an environmental gradient in northern Arizona. Data are presented on vegetation, litter, and soil C pools and soil CO2 fluxes from ecosystems ranging from shrub-steppe through woodlands to coniferous forest and the ecotones in between. Carbon pool sizes and fluxes in these semiarid ecosystems vary with temperature and precipitation and are strongly influenced by canopy cover. Ecosystem respiration is approximately 50 percent greater in the more mesic, forest environment than in the dry shrub-steppe environment. Soil respiration rates within a site vary seasonally with temperature but appear to be constrained by low soil moisture during dry summer months, when approximately 75% of total annual soil respiration occurs. Total annual amount of CO2 respired across all sites is positively correlated with annual precipitation and negatively correlated with temperature. Results suggest that changes in the amount and periodicity of precipitation will have a greater effect on C pools and fluxes than will changes in temperature :in the semiarid Southwestern United States.

Implications of patterns of carbon pools and fluxes across a semiarid environmental gradient

Landscape scale environmental gradients present variable spatial patterns and ecological processes caused by climate, topography and soil characteristics and, as such, offer candidate sites to study environmental change. Data are presented on the spatial pattern of dominant species, biomass, and carbon pools and the temporal pattern of fluxes across a transitional zone shifting from Great Basin Desert scrub, up through pinyon-juniper woodlands and into ponderosa pine forest and the ecotones between each vegetation type. The mean annual temperature (MAT) difference across the gradient is approximately 3 degrees C from bottom to top (MAT 8.5-5.5) and annual precipitation averages from 320 to 530 mm/yr, respectively. The stems of the dominant woody vegetation approach a random spatial pattern across the entire gradient, while the canopy cover shows a clustered pattern. The size of the clusters increases with elevation according to available soil moisture which in turn affects available nutrient resources. The total density of woody species declines with increasing soil moisture along the gl-adient, but total biomass increases. Belowground carbon and nutrient pools change from a heterogenous to a homogenous distribution on either side of the woodlands. Although temperature controls the: seasonal patterns of carbon efflux from the soils, soil moisture appears to be the primary driving variable, but response differs underneath the different dominant species, Similarly, decomposition of dominant litter occurs faster-at the cooler and more moist sites, but differs within sites due to litter quality of the different species. The spatial pattern of these communities provides information on the direction of future changes, The ecological processes that we documented are not statistically different in the ecotones as compared to the: adjoining communities, but are different at sites above the woodland than those below the woodland. We speculate that an increase in MAT will have a major impact on C pools and C sequestering and release processes in these semiarid landscapes. However, the impact will be primarily related to moisture availability rather than direct effects of an increase in temperature. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.

Experimental study of the concentration field of discharge from a boat propeller

Two-stroke outboard boat engines using total loss lubrication deposit a significant proportion of their lubricant and fuel directly into the water. The purpose of this work is to document the velocity and concentration field characteristics of a submerged swirling water jet emanating from a propeller in order to provide information on its fundamental characteristics. The properties of the jet were examined far enough downstream to be relevant to the eventual modelling of the mixing problem. Measurements of the velocity and concentration field were performed in a turbulent jet generated by a model boat propeller (0.02 m diameter) operating at 1500 rpm and 3000 rpm in a weak co-flow of 0.04 m/s. The measurements were carried out in the Zone of Established Flow up to 50 propeller diameters downstream of the propeller, which was placed in a glass-walled flume 0.4 m wide with a free surface depth of 0.15 m. The jet and scalar plume development were compared to that of a classical free round jet. Further, results pertaining to radial distribution, self similarity, standard deviation growth, maximum value decay and integral fluxes of velocity and concentration were presented and fitted with empirical correlations. Furthermore, propeller induced mixing and pollutant source concentration from a two-stroke engine were estimated.

How can soil monitoring networks be used to improve predictions of organic carbon pool dynamics and CO2 fluxes in agricultural soils?

Abstract As regional and continental carbon balances of terrestrial ecosystems become available, it becomes clear that the soils are the largest source of uncertainty. Repeated inventories of soil organic carbon (SOC) organized in soil monitoring networks (SMN) are being implemented in a number of countries. This paper reviews the concepts and design of SMNs in ten countries, and discusses the contribution of such networks to reducing the uncertainty of soil carbon balances. Some SMNs are designed to estimate country-specific land use or management effects on SOC stocks, while others collect soil carbon and ancillary data to provide a nationally consistent assessment of soil carbon condition across the major land-use/soil type combinations. The former use a single sampling campaign of paired sites, while for the latter both systematic (usually grid based) and stratified repeated sampling campaigns (5–10 years interval) are used with densities of one site per 10–1,040 km². For paired sites, multiple samples at each site are taken in order to allow statistical analysis, while for the single sites, composite samples are taken. In both cases, fixed depth increments together with samples for bulk density and stone content are recommended. Samples should be archived to allow for re-measurement purposes using updated techniques. Information on land management, and where possible, land use history should be systematically recorded for each site. A case study of the agricultural frontier in Brazil is presented in which land use effect factors are calculated in order to quantify the CO2 fluxes from national land use/management conversion matrices. Process-based SOC models can be run for the individual points of the SMN, provided detailed land management records are available. These studies are still rare, as most SMNs have been implemented recently or are in progress. Examples from the USA and Belgium show that uncertainties in SOC change range from 1.6–6.5 Mg C ha−1 for the prediction of SOC stock changes on individual sites to 11.72 Mg C ha−1 or 34% of the median SOC change for soil/land use/climate units. For national SOC monitoring, stratified sampling sites appears to be the most straightforward attribution of SOC values to units with similar soil/land use/climate conditions (i.e. a spatially implicit upscaling approach). Keywords Soil monitoring networks - Soil organic carbon - Modeling - Sampling design