Biogeosciences www.biogeosciences.net 1726-4170 1726-4189 5 6 2008 10.5194/bg-5-1723-2008 http://www.biogeosciences.net/5/1723/2008/ http://www.biogeosciences.net/5/1723/2008/bg-5-1723-2008.html http://www.biogeosciences.net/5/1723/2008/bg-5-1723-2008.pdf 1723 1738 2008-12-12 Soil biogenic emissions of nitric oxide from a semi-arid savanna in South Africa G. T. Feig feig@mpch-mainz.mpg.de B. Mamtimin F. X. Meixner Biogeochemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55020 Mainz, Germany Physics Department, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe Institute of Geography Science and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, P. R. China Soils of arid and semi-arid ecosystems are important biogenic sources of atmospheric nitric oxide (NO), however, there is still a shortage of measurements from these systems. Here we present the results of a laboratory study of the biogenic emission of NO from four different landscape positions of the Kruger National Park (KNP), a large conservation area in a semi-arid region of South Africa. Results show that the highest net potential NO fluxes come from the low lying (footslope) landscape regions, which have the largest nitrogen stocks and highest rates of nitrogen input into the soil. Net potential NO fluxes from midslope and crest regions were considerably lower. The maximum release of NO occurred at fairly low soil moisture contents of 10%–20% water filled pore space. Using soil moisture and temperature data obtained in situ at the Kruger National Park flux tower site, net potential NO fluxes obtained in the laboratory were converted to field fluxes for each of the four landscape positions for the period 2003 to 2005. 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