Features of major greenhouse gases in loess, Shanxi Province, China

According to the investigations of five loess sections in Shanxi Province, China, it was found that the concentrations of the major greenhouse gases CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O in loess-paleosol sequences are generally high, even sometimes may be several times or scores of times higher than their atmospheric concentrations respectively. Although the CO₂ concentration in the same loess section shows poor regularity among different layers, it increases slowly from north to south in space. The CH₄ concentration in the layers under Malan Loess is much higher than that in the atmosphere, although it is not high in Malan Loess. Most of the δ¹³C values of CO₂ in loess are -11.14‰—15.48‰ (relative to PDB standard). Analysis of carbon isotopic compositions of CO₂ indicates that the main source of CO₂ in loess section is decomposition of ‘stable’ organic matters by microbes. The δ¹³C_g of CO₂ is a little heavier than organic source for exchanging carbon isotope with carbonate in loess. The abundant carbonate in loess not only makes the loess a huge carbon reservior but also adjusts