Plant carbon inputs and environmental factors strongly affect soil respiration in a subtropical forest of southwestern China

Soil respiration is a large component of global carbon fluxes, so it is important to explore how this carbon flux varies with environmental factors and carbon inputs from plants. As part of a long-term study on the chemical and biological effects of aboveground litterfall denial, root trenching and tree-stem girdling, we measured soil respiration for three years in plots where those treatments were applied singly and in combination. Tree-stem girdling terminates the flow of carbohydrates from canopy, but allows the roots to continue water and nutrient uptake. After carbon storage below the stem girdles is depleted, the girdled trees die. Root trenching immediately terminates root exudates as well as water and nutrient uptake. Excluding aboveground litterfall removes soil carbon inputs, but allows normal root functions to continue. We found that removing aboveground litterfall and the humus layer reduced soil respiration by more than the C input from litter, a respiration priming effect. When this treatment was combined with stem girdling, root trenching or those treatments in combination, the change in soil respiration was indistinguishable from the loss of litterfall C inputs. This suggests that litterfall priming occurs only when normal root processes persist. Soil respiration was significantly related to temperature in all treatment combinations, and to soil water content in all treatments except stem girdling alone, and girdling plus trenching. Aboveground litterfall was a significant predictor of soil respiration in control, stem-girdled, trenched and stem-girdled plus trenching treatments. Stem girdling significantly reduced soil respiration as a single factor, but root trenching did not. These results suggest that in addition to temperature, aboveground carbon inputs exert strong controls on forest soil respiration.     

Moisture, carbon and inorganic nutrient controls of soil respiration at a sub-Antarctic island

Respiration rate of soils manured by seabirds and seals on sub-Antarctic Marion Island (47°S, 38°′E) is considerably higher than that of unmanured soils, and the main objective of this study was to determine whether this is caused by an enhanced supply of inorganic nutrients (N and P) or organic C substrates, or both. The effect of soil moisture content was also investigated. Soils from five habitats were studied: Mesic fellfield, Dry mire, Closed fernbrake, Coastal herbfield and Cotula herbfield. The latter two are strongly influenced by manuring. Respiration rate increased with soil moisture content up to full water holding capacity, and the response of respiration to moisture increased strongly with temperature (especially above 10 °C). Respiration Q₁₀ increased with soil moisture content. Glucose addition markedly stimulated soil respiration rate in all the soils, despite the fact that they all possessed substantial concentrations of organic C, a wide range of N and P concentrations and a 2-fold variation in C:N ratio. This suggests that the primary factor limiting soil respiration on the island is the supply of labile carbon substrate. Soil N and P status is also important, since adding glucose with N and/or P to soils with low N and P concentrations resulted in a significantly greater stimulation of respiration rate than adding glucose alone. In fact, for the Mesic fellfield and Dry mire soils (especially poor in N and P) adding N and P stimulated respiration rate even without added glucose. For soils with adequate endogenous concentrations of N and P (the Coastal herbfield and Cotula herbfield soils), adding further N and P did not stimulate respiration, and adding N and P with glucose did not enhance respiration more than adding glucose alone. It is proposed that manuring results in a whole syndrome of consequences for soil respiration rate, including increased litter input and root exudation due to higher primary production, higher quality of litter and soil organic matter, larger, more active and more diverse soil microbial populations and larger numbers of microbivores that stimulate microbial activity and turnover.     

Spatial and seasonal variations in soil respiration in a temperate deciduous forest with fluctuating water table

Our objectives were to determine both spatial and temporal variations in soil respiration of a mixed deciduous forest, with soils exhibiting contrasting levels of hydromorphy. Soil respiration (R_S) showed a clear seasonal trend that reflected those of soil temperature (T_S) and soil water content (W_S), especially during summer drought. Using a bivariate model (RMSE=1.03), both optimal soil water content for soil respiration (W_SO) and soil respiration at both 10 °C and optimal soil water content (R_S10) varied among plots, ranging, respectively, from 0.25 to 0.40 and from 2.30 to 3.60 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹. Spatial variation in W_SO was related to bulk density and to topsoil N content, while spatial variation in R_S10 was related to basal area and the difference in pH measured in water or KCl suspensions. These results offer promising perspectives for spatializing ecosystem carbon budget at the regional scale.     

Modeling soil respiration based on carbon, nitrogen, and root mass across diverse Great Lake forests

The variability in the net ecosystem exchange of carbon (NEE) is a major source of uncertainty in quantifying global carbon budget and atmospheric CO₂. Soil respiration, which is a large component of NEE, could be strongly influential to NEE variability. Vegetation type, landscape position, and site history can influence soil properties and therefore drive the microbial and root production of soil CO₂. This study measured soil respiration and soil chemical, biological and physical properties on various types of temperate forest stands in Northern Wisconsin (USA), which included ash elm, aspen, northern hardwood, red pine forest types, clear-cuts, and wetland edges. Soil respiration at each of the 19 locations was measured six times during 1 year from early June to mid-November. These data were combined with two additional data sets from the same landscape that represent two smaller spatial scales. Large spatial variation of soil respiration occurred within and among each forest type, which appeared to be from differences in soil moisture, root mass and the ratio of soil carbon to soil nitrogen (C:N). A soil climate driven model was developed that contained quadratic functions for root mass and the ratio of soil carbon to soil nitrogen. The data from the large range of forest types and site conditions indicated that the range of root mass and C:N on the landscape was also large, and that trends between C:N, root mass, and soil respiration were not linear as previously reported, but rather curvilinear. It should be noted this function appeared to level off and decline at C:N larger than 25, approximately the value where microbial nitrogen immobilization limits free soil nitrogen. Weak but significant relationships between soil water and soil C:N, and between soil C:N and root mass were observed indicating an interrelatedness of (1) topographically induced hydrologic patterns and soil chemistry, and (2) soil chemistry and root production. Future models of soil respiration should address multiple spatial and temporal factors as well as their co-dependence.     

Soil respiration associated with forest succession in subtropical forests in Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve

This paper reports the results of soil respiration (SR, including heterotrophic and autotrophic respiration), in a presumably successional series (early, middle and advanced) of subtropical forests in Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve in Guangdong Province, China. A static chamber method was used to characterize SR in dynamics of diurnal and seasonal patterns. The relationships of SR with soil temperature (ST) at 5 cm depth and with soil moisture (SM) at 0-10 cm depth were studied in order to estimate the annual SR of each of the forests. The annual SR in a climax forest community, monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest (MEBF) was estimated as 1163.0 g C m⁻² year⁻¹ and in its successional communities, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest (MF) and the Masson pine forest (MPF) were 592.1 g C m⁻² year⁻¹, 1023.7 g C m⁻² year⁻¹, respectively. In addition, removal of surface litter led to the reduction of annual SR by 27-45% in those three forests. Analysis of the results indicated that the annual SR was highly correlated with both ST and SM. Furthermore, ST and SM themselves were highly correlated with each other across season in this study area. Thus for seasonal predictive SR model, either ST or SM could be integrated. However, for SR daily change prediction, both ST and SM were required because of confounding effects of ST and SM on a diurnal time scale. The Q₁₀ values of SR derived from ST dependence function were 2.37, 2.31 and 2.25 in the three forests: MPF, MF and MEBF, respectively, suggesting a decreasing trend of the Q₁₀ with the degree of forest succession.     

Temporal and spatial variability of soil respiration in a boreal mixedwood forest

Temporal and spatial variability of soil respiration (R_s) was measured and analyzed in a 74-year-old, mixedwood, boreal forest in Ontario, Canada, over a period of 2 years (August 2003–July 2005). The ranges of R_s measured during the two study years were 0.5–6.9 μmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹ for 2003–2004 (Year 1) and 0.4–6.8 μmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹ for 2004–2005 (Year 2). Mean annual R_s for the stand was the same for both years, 2.7 μmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹. Temporal variability of R_s was controlled mainly by soil temperature (T_s), but soil moisture had a confounding effect on T_s. Annual estimates of total soil CO₂ emissions at the site, calculated using a simple empirical R_s–T_s relationship, showed that R_s can account for about 88 ± 27% of total annual ecosystem respiration at the site. The majority of soil CO₂ emissions came from the upper 12 to 20 cm organic LFH (litter–fibric–humic) soil layer. The degree of spatial variability in R_s, along the measured transect, was seasonal and followed the seasonal trend of mean R_s: increasing through the growing season and converging to a minimum in winter (coefficient of variation (CV) ranged from 4 to 74% in Year 1 and 4 to 62% in Year 2). Spatial variability in R_s was found to be negatively related to spatial variability in the C:N ratio of the LHF layer at the site. Spatial variability in R_s was also found to depend on forest tree species composition within the stand. R_s was about 15% higher in a broadleaf deciduous tree patch compared to evergreen coniferous area. However, the difference was not always significant (at 95% CI). In general, R_s in the mixedwood patch, having both deciduous and coniferous species, was dominated by broadleaf trees, reflecting changing physiological controls on R_s with seasons. Our results highlight the importance of discerning soil CO₂ emissions at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. They also suggest including the LFH soil layer and allowing for seasonal variability in CO₂ production within that layer, when modeling soil respiration in forest ecosystems.     

Soil solution and extractable soil nitrogen response to climate change in two boreal forest ecosystems

Several studies show that increases in soil temperature result in higher N mineralization rates in soils. It is, however, unclear if additional N is taken up by the vegetation or accumulates in the soil. To address this question two small, forested catchments in southern Norway were experimentally manipulated by increasing air temperature (+3°C in summer to +5°C in winter) and CO₂ concentrations (+200 ppmv) in one catchment (CO₂T-T) and soil temperature (+3°C in summer to +5°C in winter) using heating cables in a second catchment (T-T). During the first treatment year, the climate treatments caused significant increases in soil extractable NH₄ under Vaccinium in CO₂T-T. In the second treatment year extractable NH₄ in CO₂T-T and NO₃ in T-T significantly increased. Soil solution NH₄ concentrations did not follow patterns in extractable NH₄ but changes in soil NO₃ pools were reflected by changes in dissolved NO₃. The anomalous behavior of soil solution NH₄ compared to NO₃ was most likely due to the higher NH₄ adsorption capacity of the soil. The data from this study showed that after 2 years of treatment soil inorganic N pools increased indicating that increases in mineralization, as observed in previous studies, exceeded plant demand and leaching losses.     

Above- and belowground carbon inputs affect seasonal variations of soil microbial biomass in a subtropical monsoon forest of southwest China

Soil microbial activity drives carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Soil microbial biomass is commonly limited by environmental factors and soil carbon availability. We employed plant litter removal, root trenching and stem-girdling treatments to examine the effects of environmental factors, above- and belowground carbon inputs on soil microbial C in a subtropical monsoon forest in southwest China. During the experimental period from July 2006 through April 2007, 2 years after initiation of the treatments, microbial biomass C in the humus layer did not vary with seasonal changes in soil temperature or water content. Mineral soil microbial C decreased throughout the experimental period and varied with soil temperature and water content. Litter removal reduced mineral soil microbial C by 19.0% in the ungirdled plots, but only 4.0% in girdled plots. Root trenching, stem girdling and their interactions influenced microbial C in humus layer. Neither root trenching nor girdling significantly influenced mineral soil microbial C. Mineral soil microbial C correlated with following-month plant litterfall in control plots, but these correlations were not observed in root-trenching plots or girdling plots. Our results suggest that belowground carbon retranslocated from shoots and present in soil organic matter, rather than aboveground fresh plant litter inputs, determines seasonal fluctuation of mineral soil microbial biomass.     

Biocrusts modulate warming and rainfall exclusion effects on soil respiration in a semi-arid grassland

Soil surface communities composed of cyanobacteria, algae, mosses, liverworts, fungi, bacteria and lichens (biocrusts) largely affect soil respiration in dryland ecosystems. Climate change is expected to have large effects on biocrusts and associated ecosystem processes. However, few studies so far have experimentally assessed how expected changes in temperature and rainfall will affect soil respiration in biocrust-dominated ecosystems. We evaluated the impacts of biocrust development, increased air temperature and decreased precipitation on soil respiration dynamics during dry (2009) and wet (2010) years, and investigated the relative importance of soil temperature and moisture as environmental drivers of soil respiration, in a semiarid grassland from central Spain. Soil respiration rates were significantly lower in the dry than in the wet year, regardless of biocrust cover. Warming increased soil respiration rates, but this response was only significant in biocrust-dominated areas (>50% biocrust cover). Warming also increased the temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀ values) of soil respiration in biocrust-dominated areas, particularly during the wet year. The combination of warming and rainfall exclusion had similar effects in low biocrust cover areas. Our results highlight the importance of biocrusts as a modulator of soil respiration responses to both warming and rainfall exclusion, and indicate that they must be explicitly considered when evaluating soil respiration responses to climate change in drylands.     

Effects of long-term litter manipulation on soil carbon,nitrogen, and phosphorus in a temperate deciduous forest

Changes in above-ground litterfall can influence below-ground biogeochemical processes in forests. In order to examine how above-ground litter inputs affect soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in a temperate deciduous forest, we studied a 14-year-old small-scale litter manipulation experiment that included control, litter exclusion, and doubled litter addition at a mature Fagus sylvatica L. site. Total organic C (TOC), total N (TN) and total P (TP), total organic P (TOP), bioavailable inorganic P (Pi), microbial C, N and P, soil respiration and fine root biomass were analyzed in the A and in two B horizons. Our results showed that litter manipulation had no significant effect on TOC in the mineral soil. Litter addition increased the bioavailable Pi in the A horizon but had no significant effect on N in the mineral soil. Litter exclusion decreased TN and TP in the B horizon to a depth of 10 cm. In the A horizon of the litter exclusion treatment, TP, TOP and bioavailable Pi were increased, which is most likely due to the higher root biomass in this treatment. The high fine root biomass seems to have counteracted the effects of the excluded aboveground litter. In conclusion, our study indicates that aboveground litter is not an important source for C in the mineral soil and that P recycling from root litter might be more important than from above-ground litter.     

Climate change effects on soil carbon dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions in Abies fabri forest of subalpine, southwest China

The Abies fabri forest on the eastern slope of the Gongga Mountain is a typical subalpine dark coniferous forest in southwestern China. The soil carbon dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions in the A. fabri forest in future climates were simulated by the Forest-DNDC (denitrification-decomposition) model. Three future climate scenarios (B1, A1B and A2) predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were selectively investigated. The simulation showed that at elevated temperature and precipitation, the annual change of soil organic carbon (SOC) decreased in the forest floor pool but increased in the mineral soil pool. The increases in the CO₂, N₂O and NO emissions from soil were also quantified. The results indicated that elevated temperature and precipitation influenced the soil carbon dynamics, and significantly increased the greenhouse gas emissions from the soil in the A. fabri forest of subalpine.     

Atypical soil carbon distribution across a tropical steepland forest catena

Soil organic carbon (SOC) in a humid subtropical forest in Puerto Rico is higher at ridge locations compared to valleys, and therefore opposite to what is commonly observed in other forested hillslope catenas. To better understand the spatial distribution of SOC in this system, plots previously characterized by topographic position, vegetation type and stand age were related to soil depth and SOC. Additional factors were also investigated, including topographically-related differences in litter dynamics and soil chemistry. To investigate the influence of litter dynamics, the Century soil organic model was parameterized to simulate the effect of substituting valley species for ridge species. Soil chemical controls on C concentrations were investigated with multiple linear regression models using iron, aluminum and clay variables. Deeper soils were associated with indicators of higher landscape stability (older tabonuco stands established on ridges and slopes), while shallower soils persisted in more disturbed areas (younger non-tabonuco stands in valleys and on slopes). Soil depth alone accounted for 77% of the observed difference in the mean 0 to 60 cm SOC between ridge soils (deeper) and valley soils (shallower). The remaining differences in SOC were due to additional factors that lowered C concentrations at valley locations in the 0 to 10 cm pool. Model simulations showed a slight decrease in SOC when lower litter C:N was substituted for higher litter C:N, but the effects of different woody inputs on SOC were unclear. Multiple linear regression models with ammonium oxalate extractable iron and aluminum, dithionite–citrate-extractable iron and aluminum, and clay contents explained as much as 74% of the variation in C concentrations, and indicated that organo-mineral complexation may be more limited in poorly developed valley soils. Thus, topography both directly and indirectly affects SOC pools through a variety of inter-related processes that are often not quantified or captured in terrestrial carbon models.     

改变碳输入对南亚热带海岸沙地典型天然次生林土壤呼吸的影响

土壤呼吸是陆地生态系统碳循环的一个重要过程,开展环境因子和改变碳输入对土壤呼吸影响的研究具有重要意义.2015年3月-2016年2月,在南亚热带海岸沙地典型天然次生林中设置去除根系、去除凋落物、加倍凋落物和对照4种处理,采用LI-8100连续观测改变碳输入对土壤呼吸的影响.结果表明:改变碳输入没有显著影响l0cm土壤温度和湿度(P＞0.05);不同处理土壤呼吸速率存在明显的季节变化,表现为夏高冬低,最大值出现在5月或者6月,最小值出现在11月或12月;土壤呼吸速率的年均值为加倍凋落物＞对照＞去除根系＞去除凋落物,不同改变碳输入方式均降低了土壤呼吸的Q10值;矿质土壤呼吸、凋落物呼吸和根系呼吸对土壤总呼吸的贡献分别为41.24％、43.29％和15.45％;不同处理土壤呼吸速率分别与土壤温度和湿度呈显著的指数和线性正相关(P＜0.05),双因子模型能解释土壤呼吸变异的45％ ～ 69％;改变碳输入影响土壤可溶性有机碳和微生物生物量碳,不同处理土壤呼吸速率与可溶性有机碳和微生物生物量碳呈正相关.因此,改变碳输入引起土壤易变碳的变化进而影响土壤呼吸.     

不同森林植被下土壤活性有机碳含量及其季节变化

通过对湖南省会同县地区不同季节地带性常绿阔叶林、杉木纯林、火力楠纯林以及杉木火力楠混交林土壤各活性有机碳的含量测定,分析了森林植被对土壤活性碳库及其季节变化的影响.结果表明,常绿阔叶林转变为人工林后,土壤活性有机碳含量明显降低;与杉木纯林相比,火力楠与杉木混交可提高土壤活性有机碳含量,但只有土壤水溶性有机碳含量显著提高;各林地土壤活性有机碳具有明显的季节变化,一年中土壤水溶性有机碳含量的大小始终为常绿阔叶林>杉木火力楠混交林>火力楠纯林>杉木纯林,土壤微生物量碳、热水浸提有机碳和碳水化合物则表现为常绿阔叶林>火力楠纯林>杉木火力楠混交林>杉木纯林.与杉木纯林相比,杉木火力楠混交林可提高林地质量,但不同林地活性有机碳的季节变化规律表现不尽一致,表明土壤活性有机碳的季节差异不仅与温度、降雨等气候因素有关,还受到植被类型的影响.     

Response of soil respiration to nitrogen addition in two subtropical forest types

Anthropogenic activities have increased nitrogen (N) deposition in terrestrial ecosystems, which directly and indirectly affects soil biogeochemical processes, including soil respiration. However, the effects of the increases in N availability on soil respiration are not fully understood. In this study, soil respiration was measured using an infrared gas analyzer system with soil chambers under four N treatments (0, 5, 15, and 30 g N m^-2 year^-1 as control, low N (LN), moderate N (MN), and high N (HN), respectively) in camphor tree and slash pine forests in subtropical China. Results showed that soil respiration rates decreased by 37% in the camphor tree forest and 27% in the slash pine forest on average on an annual base, respectively, in the N-fertilized treatments when compared with the control. No significant differences were found in the soil respiration rate among the LN, MN, and HN treatments in both forest types as these fertilized plots reached an adequate N content zone. In addition, soil microbial biomass carbon (C) content and fine root biomass declined in N-treated plots compared to the control. Our results indicated that elevated N deposition might alter the tree growth pattern, C partitioning, and microbial activity, which further affect soil C sequestration by reducing soil respiration in subtropical forests of China.     

河南雨养农业区土壤水分与气候变化的关系

利用河南省8个农业气象观测站1981—2005年的气象和土壤水分观测资料进行分析，结果表明：①河南省近25a来的年平均气温以0.05℃／a的速度上升，年降水量变化不明显；②土壤水分与气温呈极显著的负相关关系，而与降水呈极显著的正相关关系。得出：受气候变暖的影响，近25a来河南省雨养农业区土壤水分呈明显下降趋势。     

Near-infrared characteristics of forest humus are correlated with soil respiration and microbial biomass in burnt soil

Near-infrared spectroscopy and soil physicochemical determinations (pH_H2O, organic matter content, total C content, NH _inf4 ^sup+ , total N content, cation-exchange capacity, and base saturation) were used to characterize fire-or wood ash-treated humus samples. The spectroscopic and the soil physicochemical analysis data from the humus samples were used separately to explain observed variations in soil respiration and microbial biomass C by partial least-square regression. The first regression component obtained from the physicochemical and spectroscopic characterization explained 10–12% and 60–80% of the biological variation, respectively. This suggests that information on organic material collected from near-infrared spectra is very useful for explaining biological variations in forest humus.     

Glomalin-related soil protein responses to elevated CO2 and nitrogen addition in a subtropical forest: Potential consequences for soil carbon accumulation

According to the economy theory, plants should preferentially allocate photosynthate to acquire below-ground resources under elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (eCO₂) but decrease below-ground C allocation when nitrogen (N) is sufficient for plant growth. Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) represent a critical mechanism of below-ground nutrient acquisition for plants. The dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) could therefore reflect the response of plant C allocation under eCO₂ and N addition. We examined the responses of glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) to eCO₂ (approximately 700 μmol mol⁻¹ CO₂) and/or N addition (100 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ as NH₄NO₃) in a modeled subtropical forest to better understand its potential influence on soil C storage. We hypothesized that GRSP would increase under eCO₂ and decrease under N addition. Furthermore, the positive effects of eCO₂ on GRSP would be offset by extra N addition, and GRSP would remain unchanged under combined eCO₂ and N addition. Our results showed that the mean concentrations of easily extractable GRSP (EE-GRSP) and total GRSP (T-GRSP) were 0.35 ± 0.05 and 0.72 ± 0.13 mg C cm⁻³, respectively, which accounted for 2.76 ± 0.53% and 5.67 ± 0.92% of soil organic carbon (SOC) in the 0–10 cm soil layer. Elevated CO₂ significantly increased T-GRSP by 35.02% but decreased EE-GRSP by 5.09% in the top 10 cm soil layer. The opposite responses of T-GRSP and EE-GRSP to eCO₂ might result from an unchanged photosynthate investment to AMF with possible changes in their decomposition rates. The effect of N on GRSP was contrary to our hypothesis, i.e., there was a 1.72%–48.49% increase in T-GRSP and a slightly increase in EE-GRSP. Both EE-GRSP and T-GRSP concentrations increased under the combination of eCO₂ and N addition, which was inconsistent with our hypothesis. The significant increase of EE-GRSP under the combination of eCO₂ and N addition was partly caused by more rapid plant growth and reduced microbial diversity, and the marginal increase of T-GRSP indicated that the interaction between eCO₂ and N addition offset their independent effects. In addition, the relatively higher accumulation ratios of GRSP (22.6 ± 13.6%) compared with SOC (15.9 ± 9.4%) indicated that more rapid GRSP deposition in the soil might accelerate SOC accumulation under eCO₂ and N addition. Our results will improve the understanding of the functioning of GRSP in soil C sequestration under global environmental change scenarios.     

橡胶林土壤呼吸速率及其与土壤温湿度的关系

利用Li-6400光合仪研究4 a、12 a和19 a橡胶林的土壤呼吸及其各组分(微生物呼吸、根系呼吸、凋落物呼吸)呼吸速率的日变化和年变化特征,探索土壤温度和湿度对土壤呼吸速率的影响。结果表明: 不同树龄橡胶林土壤呼吸速率在全天观测期间,出现最大值和最小值的时刻有很大差异,但在9:00~11:00时刻的测定值均接近日均值;在不同树龄橡胶林中各组分呼吸速率日变化大小虽不一致,但均表现为凋落物呼吸速率最小。4 a、12 a和19 a橡胶林土壤呼吸速率均有明显的月变化,月均值分别是2.45、2.63和2.96 μmol m-2 s-1;最大值出现在7月和8月,最小值出现在2月和3月;不同树龄橡胶林土壤呼吸速率月变化相互间差异不显著;土壤微生物呼吸占土壤呼吸的比例最高(为43.6%),根系呼吸次之(为36.1%),凋落物呼吸较小(为20.4%)。土壤呼吸速率与土壤温度之间具有显著的指数函数关系,但与土壤湿度的相关性不显著,从而得知海南橡胶林土壤温度与土壤呼吸速率有着密切的关系,土壤水分与土壤呼吸速率可能没有直接的关系。     

Simulated rain addition modifies diurnal patterns and temperature sensitivities of autotrophic and heterotrophic soil respiration in an arid desert ecosystem

The timing and magnitude of rainfall events in arid and semiarid regions are expected to change dramatically in future decades, which will likely greatly affect regional carbon cycles. To understand how increases in rainfall affect the diurnal patterns and temperature sensitivities (Q₁₀) of soil respiration (R_S) and its key components (i.e. heterotrophic respiration (R_H) and autotrophic respiration (R_A)), we conducted a manipulative field experiment in a desert ecosystem of Northwest China. We simulated five different scenarios of future rain regimes (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% increase over local annual mean precipitation) each month from May to September in 2009. We measured R_S and R_H every three hours on 6 and 16 days after the rain addition, and estimated R_A by calculating the difference between R_S and R_H. We found that rain addition significantly increased the daily mean R_S and its components on the two measurement days during the growing season. However, the diurnal pattern was different between the two respiration components. Rain addition significantly increased the daily Q₁₀ value of R_H but suppressed that of R_A on Day 6. Rain addition had no influence on daily Q₁₀ value of both respiration components on Day 16 when soil moisture was lower. In addition, we observed significantly higher daily Q₁₀ of R_H than R_A under all five rain addition treatments, indicating that microbial respiration is more temperature sensitive than root respiration in a short-time scale in this desert ecosystem. Thus, partitioning soil respiration into its two components, and analyzing the differential responses of R_H and R_A to future climate changes should be considered for more accurate predictions of soil respiration and regional carbon cycle in these arid and semiarid regions.