Temperature and soil moisture interactively affected soil net N mineralization in temperate grassland in Northern China

Intact soil cores from three adjacent sites (Site A: grazed, Site B: fenced for 4 years, and Site C: fenced for 24 years) were incubated in the laboratory to examine effects of temperature, soil moisture, and their interactions on net nitrification and N mineralization rates in the Inner Mongolia grassland of Northern China. Incubation temperature significantly influenced net nitrification and N mineralization rates in all the three grassland sites. There were no differences in net nitrification or N mineralization rates at lower temperatures (−10, 0, and 5 °C) whereas significant differences were found at higher temperatures (15, 25, and 35 °C). Soil moisture profoundly impacted net nitrification and N mineralization rates in all the three sites. Interactions of temperature and moisture significantly affected net nitrification and mineralization rates in Site B and C, but not in Site A. Temperature sensitivity of net nitrification and N mineralization varied with soil moisture and grassland site. Our results showed greater net N mineralization rates and lower concentrations of inorganic N in the grazed site than those in the fenced sites, suggesting negative impacts of grazing on soil N pools and net primary productivity.     

Soil moisture controls on temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon decomposition for a mesic grassland

We examined relationships between soil moisture and the temperature sensitivity of decomposition of labile soil organic carbon at a central North American grassland. For soils collected from shallow, xeric uplands, temperature sensitivity was greatest at intermediate soil moisture. For soils collected from the deeper, mesic lowlands, temperature sensitivity increased with increasing soil moisture. For example, lowland soils incubated at 75% WHC exhibited an apparent activation energy (E_a) that was 15 kJ mol⁻¹ greater than soils incubated at 30% WHC, the equivalent of a Q₁₀ of 2.8 vs. 2.3. Although further research is still needed to understand why moisture-temperature sensitivity relationships would differ between topographic positions, the magnitude of the soil moisture effect is large enough to alter soil C budgets and should be considered explicitly when predicting ecosystem responses to global change scenarios.     

Relationships between soil respiration and soil moisture

The interaction of soil microbes with their physical environment affects their abilities to respire, grow and divide. One of these environmental factors is the amount of moisture in the soil. The work we published almost 25 years ago showed that microbial respiration was linearly related to soil-water content and log-linearly related to water potential. The paper arose out of collaboration between two young researchers from different areas of soil science, physics and microbiology. The project was driven by not only our curiosity but also the freedom to operate without the constraints common to the current system of science management. The citation history shows three peaks, 1989, 1999 and from 2002 to the present day. Interestingly, the annual citation rate is as high as it has ever been. The initial peak is due to the application of the work to studies on microbial processes. The second peak is associated with the rise of simulation modelling and the third with the relevance of the findings to climate change research. In this article, our paper is re-evaluated in the light of subsequent studies that allow the principle of separation of variables to be tested. This re-evaluation lends further credence to the linear relationship proposed between soil respiration and water content. A scaled relationship for respiration and water content is presented. Lastly, further research is suggested and more recent work on the physics of gas transport discussed briefly.     

Response of ecosystem respiration to soil water and plant biomass in a semiarid grassland

Abstract

The Mongolian steppe zone constitutes a major part of East Asian grasslands. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quantitative dependence of ecosystem respiration (R_eco) on the environmental variables of soil water and plant biomass in a semiarid grassland ecosystem. We determined R_eco using opaque, closed chambers in a Mongolian grassland dominated by graminaceous perennial grasses during six periods: July 2004, May 2005, July 2005, September 2005, June 2006, and August 2009. Using the data collected when soil water content and aboveground biomass were relatively constant, values of R_eco were fitted to an exponential temperature function, and the standardized rate of R_eco at 20°C (R₂₀) and temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) of R_eco were calculated for each measurement plot and period. The results indicate that aboveground biomass significantly affected the variation in R₂₀, and the relationship was expressed with a linear model. The R₂₀ residuals of the linear biomass model were highly correlated with soil water content by a quadratic function. The Q₁₀ values showed a weak positive relationship with soil water content. Temporal and spatial variations in R_eco were well predicted by the exponential temperature model with R₂₀, which relates to aboveground biomass and soil water content, and with Q₁₀, which relates to soil water content.     

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。     

Integrated diurnal soil respiration model during growing season of a typical temperate steppe: Effects of temperature, soil water content and biomass production

Soil respiration was measured with the enclosed chamber method in an ungrazed Leymus chinensis steppe during the growing seasons of 2001 and 2002. Soil respiration rate (R_S) was significantly influenced by air temperature (T) at the diurnal scale, and could be described by Van't Hoff's equation (R_S = R₁₀ exp(β(T − 10))). At the seasonal scale, the normalized soil respiration rate at 10 °C (R₁₀) was mainly controlled by soil water content (R² = 0.717, P < 0.001), while the sensitivity of soil respiration to temperature (Q₁₀) was partially affected by absolute growth rate (R² = 0.482, P = 0.004). Thus, soil respiration could be described as R_S = (20.015W − 84.085) (0.103AGR + 1.786)^(T−10)/10 during the growing seasons, integrating soil water content (W) and absolute growth rate (AGR) into the temperature-dependent soil respiration equation. It was validated by the observed soil respiration rates in this study (R² = 0.890, P < 0.001) and observations from near-field experiment (R² = 0.687, P = 0.011). It implied that accurately evaluating annual soil respiration should include the effects of plant biomass production and other abiotic factors besides air temperature.     

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.     

宇宙射线土壤水分观测方法在黄土高原草地植被的应用

宇宙射线土壤水分观测系统(COSMOS)是一种测量直径达600 m以上表层土壤平均含水量的新型土壤水分测量仪器。在黄土高原一片草地植被上测试COSMOS仪器测量土壤水分的效果,并与烘干法及Hydra ProbeⅡ土壤湿度传感器测量结果进行比较。结果表明,COSMOS测量结果与烘干法结果一致性好;与Hydra ProbeⅡ点尺度测量结果存在不同时间段的差别,暗示了黄土高原土壤水分空间变异性及其时间变化。COSMOS仪器能够很好地测量黄土高原破碎表面观测范围内表层平均土壤含水量,并为研究土壤含水量的空间变异性提供了潜在工具。     

基于meta分析的放牧压力对内蒙古高原草地生态系统的影响

放牧是最主要的草地利用模式,直接或间接地影响草地物质循环和能量流动,放牧强度对草地的健康状况和演替方向起决定作用。本文基于40篇内蒙古草原放牧相关文献数据,通过meta分析探讨温带草原对放牧强度的响应特征。结果表明,与未放牧草地相比,轻度放牧草地对群落植物地上、地下生物量和土壤全氮和全磷含量无显著影响,而土壤有机碳、微生物生物量碳、细菌和真菌数量分别显著上升3.60%、7.80%、11.40%和10.83%（P<0.05）;中度放牧下群落植物地下生物量和土壤微生物数量无显著变化,而地上生物量和土壤有机碳、全氮、全磷和微生物生物量氮含量分别显著降低21.62%、4.44%、2.15%、8.35%和6.76%（P<0.05）;重度放牧下群落植物地上和地下生物量,土壤有机碳、全氮、全磷、微生物生物量碳含量,细菌和放线菌数量分别显著下降39.72%、16.30%、7.62%、6.46%、8.03%、8.76%、12.92%和18.27%（P<0.05）。以上结果表明轻度放牧有利于土壤肥力和草地生产力的保持和提升,而当放牧干扰超出一定的限度时,草地各项功能均显著下降而发生退化。本研究可为内蒙古温带草原的合理利用和适应性管理提供理论基础。     

Effects of simulated nitrogen deposition on soil respiration components and their temperature sensitivities in a semiarid grassland

Nitrogen (N) deposition to semiarid ecosystems is increasing globally, yet few studies have investigated the ecological consequences of N enrichment in these ecosystems. Furthermore, soil CO₂ flux – including plant root and microbial respiration – is a key feedback to ecosystem carbon (C) cycling that links ecosystem processes to climate, yet few studies have investigated the effects of N enrichment on belowground processes in water-limited ecosystems. In this study, we conducted two-level N addition experiments to investigate the effects of N enrichment on microbial and root respiration in a grassland ecosystem on the Loess Plateau in northwestern China. Two years of high N additions (9.2 g N m⁻² y⁻¹) significantly increased soil CO₂ flux, including both microbial and root respiration, particularly during the warm growing season. Low N additions (2.3 g N m⁻² y⁻¹) increased microbial respiration during the growing season only, but had no significant effects on root respiration. The annual temperature coefficients (Q₁₀) of soil respiration and microbial respiration ranged from 1.86 to 3.00 and 1.86 to 2.72 respectively, and there was a significant decrease in Q₁₀ between the control and the N treatments during the non-growing season but no difference was found during the growing season. Following nitrogen additions, elevated rates of root respiration were significantly and positively related to root N concentrations and biomass, while elevated rates of microbial respiration were related to soil microbial biomass C (SMBC). The microbial respiration tended to respond more sensitively to N addition, while the root respiration did not have similar response. The different mechanisms of N addition impacts on soil respiration and its components and their sensitivity to temperature identified in this study may facilitate the simulation and prediction of C cycling and storage in semiarid grasslands under future scenarios of global change.     

Grazing and plant-canopy effects on semiarid soil microbial biomass and respiration

The major objectives of this study were to determine the influence of grazing on the soil microbial biomass and activity in semiarid grassland and shrubland areas and to quantify the canopy effect (the differences in soil microbial biomass and activities between soils under plant canopies and soils in the open between plants). We also quantified changes in microbial biomass and activity during seasonal transition from dry to moist conditions. Chronosequences of sites withdrawn from grazing for 0, 11, and 16 years were sampled in a grassland (Bouteloua spp.) area and a shrubland (Atriplex canescens) area on and near the Sevilleta National Wildlife Reguge in central New Mexico, USA. Samples were obtained from beneath the canopies of plants (Yucca glauca in the grassland and A. canescens in the shrubland) and from open soils; they were collected three times during the spring and summer of a single growing season. Organic C, soil microbial biomass C, and basal respiration rates (collectively called the soil C triangle) were measured. We also calculated the microbial: organic C ratio and the metabolic quotient (ratio of respiration to microbial C) as measures of soil organic C stability and turnover. Although we had hypothesized that individual values of the soil C triangle would increase and that the ratios would decrease with time since grazing, differences in microbial parameters between sites located along the chronosequences were generally not significant. Grazing did not have a consistion effect on organic C, microbial C, and basal respiration in our chronosequences. The microbial: organic C ratio and the metabolic quotient generally increased with time since grazing on the shrubland chronosequence. The microbial: organic C ratio decreased with time since grazing and the metabolic quotient increased with time since grazing on the grassland chronosequence. The canopy effect was observed at all sites in nearly all parameters including organic C, microbial C, basal respiration, the microbial: organic C ratio, and the metabolic quotient which were predominantly higher in soils under the canopies of plants than in the open at all sites. Microbial biomass and activity did not increase during the experiment, even though the availability of moisture increased dramatically. The canopy effects were approximately equal on the shrubland and grassland sites. The microbial: organic C ratios and the metabolic quotients were generally higher in the shrubland soils than in the grassland soils.     

两种轮作模式下秸秆还田对土壤呼吸及其温度敏感性的影响

通过分析不同作物轮作模式下秸秆还田对土壤呼吸及其温度敏感性的影响,为深入探究关中地区农田生态系统碳循环提供理论依据。试验设置于陕西省杨凌地区,在2012年10月至2014年9月期间以冬小麦-夏玉米轮作模式和冬小麦-夏大豆轮作模式作为研究对象,分别设置秸秆还田(SM)和秸秆不还田(NS)两个处理,测定分析不同处理下土壤呼吸、土壤温度及土壤含水量的变化趋势和差异,并估算土壤呼吸的温度敏感性(Q_(10))。结果表明:土壤呼吸存在明显的季节变化,在作物生育期大部分时间内,SM处理的土壤呼吸速率均显著高于NS处理(P0.05),且SM处理的作物生育期土壤呼吸平均速率及土壤呼吸累计排放量也极显著高于NS处理(P0.01);不同作物生育期土壤呼吸平均速率依次为夏玉米夏大豆冬小麦,土壤呼吸总量表现为冬小麦夏玉米夏大豆、冬小麦-夏玉米轮作冬小麦-夏大豆轮作。冬小麦-夏玉米轮作与冬小麦-大豆轮作的土壤温度间存在差异;其中,在冬小麦生育前期,冬小麦-夏玉米轮作的土壤温度显著高于冬小麦-大豆轮作;第2季夏玉米生育期内5 cm深度的土壤温度显著低于同季的夏大豆;相比NS处理,SM处理能提高冬季土壤的温度,并降低春季和夏季的土壤温度;在高温少雨的时期内,SM处理能够提高0~30 cm土壤的平均含水量,不同的前茬作物引起两种轮作模式中冬小麦耕作层土壤含水量间明显的差异,夏玉米耕作层土壤含水量显著高于夏大豆。相关分析表明,土壤呼吸与5 cm和10 cm土壤温度均存在极显著的正相关性,且与5 cm土壤温度的相关性更好;但土壤呼吸与0~30 cm的土壤平均含水量无显著相关性。5 cm和10 cm土壤温度变化能够分别解释土壤呼吸变化的64.6%~67.3%和51.5%~59.6%。整个研究周期内,温度敏感性(Q_(10))为1.70~2.01,冬小麦-夏玉米轮作的温度敏感性显著高于冬小麦-大豆轮作,且同一轮作模式下SM处理的温度敏感性显著低于NS处理。因此,秸秆还田能够提高农田的土壤呼吸作用,降低土壤呼吸的温度敏感性,同时能够调节土壤的水热状况。     

Estimating nocturnal ecosystem respiration from the vertical turbulent flux and change in storage of CO2

Micrometeorological measurements of nighttime ecosystem respiration can be systematically biased when stable atmospheric conditions lead to drainage flows associated with decoupling of air flow above and within plant canopies. The associated horizontal and vertical advective fluxes cannot be measured using instrumentation on the single towers typically used at micrometeorological sites. A common approach to minimize bias is to use a threshold in friction velocity, u_*, to exclude periods when advection is assumed to be important, but this is problematic in situations when in-canopy flows are decoupled from the flow above. Using data from 25 flux stations in a wide variety of forest ecosystems globally, we examine the generality of a novel approach to estimating nocturnal respiration developed by van Gorsel et al. (van Gorsel, E., Leuning, R., Cleugh, H.A., Keith, H., Suni, T., 2007. Nocturnal carbon efflux: reconciliation of eddy covariance and chamber measurements using an alternative to the u_*-threshold filtering technique. Tellus 59B, 397–403, Tellus, 59B, 307-403). The approach is based on the assumption that advection is small relative to the vertical turbulent flux (F_C) and change in storage (F_S) of CO₂ in the few hours after sundown. The sum of F_C and F_S reach a maximum during this period which is used to derive a temperature response function for ecosystem respiration. Measured hourly soil temperatures are then used with this function to estimate respiration R_Rmax. The new approach yielded excellent agreement with (1) independent measurements using respiration chambers, (2) with estimates using ecosystem light-response curves of F_c + F_s extrapolated to zero light, R_LRC, and (3) with a detailed process-based forest ecosystem model, R_cast. At most sites respiration rates estimated using the u_*-filter, R_ust, were smaller than R_Rmax and R_LRC. Agreement of our approach with independent measurements indicates that R_Rmax provides an excellent estimate of nighttime ecosystem respiration.     

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.     

Salinity and sodicity effects on respiration and microbial biomass of soil

An understanding of the effects of salinity and sodicity on soil carbon (C) stocks and fluxes is critical in environmental management, as the areal extents of salinity and sodicity are predicted to increase. The effects of salinity and sodicity on the soil microbial biomass (SMB) and soil respiration were assessed over 12weeks under controlled conditions by subjecting disturbed soil samples from a vegetated soil profile to leaching with one of six salt solutions; a combination of low-salinity (0.5dSm⁻¹), mid-salinity (10dSm⁻¹), or high-salinity (30dSm⁻¹), with either low-sodicity (sodium adsorption ratio, SAR, 1), or high-sodicity (SAR 30) to give six treatments: control (low-salinity low-sodicity); low-salinity high-sodicity; mid-salinity low-sodicity; mid-salinity high-sodicity; high-salinity low-sodicity; and high-salinity high-sodicity. Soil respiration rate was highest (56–80mg CO₂-C kg⁻¹ soil) in the low-salinity treatments and lowest (1–5mg CO₂-C kg⁻¹ soil) in the mid-salinity treatments, while the SMB was highest in the high-salinity treatments (459–565mg kg⁻¹ soil) and lowest in the low-salinity treatments (158–172mg kg⁻¹ soil). This was attributed to increased substrate availability with high salt concentrations through either increased dispersion of soil aggregates or dissolution or hydrolysis of soil organic matter, which may offset some of the stresses placed on the microbial population from high salt concentrations. The apparent disparity in trends in respiration and the SMB may be due to an induced shift in the microbial population, from one dominated by more active microorganisms to one dominated by less active microorganisms.     

Annual and seasonal variations of Q10 soil respiration in the sub-alpine forests of the Eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

The annual and seasonal variations in the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Rs) were assessed through continuous measurements during the 2004-2006 growing seasons using chamber-based techniques in two sub-alpine forest ecosystems in the Eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. The study sites were 40-year-old spruce plantations (Picea asperata) (FSPF) and Faxon Fir Primary Forest (FPF). Our results showed that Q_10, regardless of site origin, exhibited a strong seasonal and annual variation pattern, and decreased with soil temperature increase. Estimated Q₁₀ values ranged between 1.16 and 24.3. The maximum, annual, mean Q₁₀ values remained consistent over 3 years, while the highest Q₁₀ values (7.01 in FSPF and 6.39 in FPF) occurred in 2005 (for all sites). There was no significant difference observed among Q₁₀ values between the two forest types in each year (2004-2006) (p = 0.07). Q₁₀ values were fitted well with data of soil temperature using linear regression models, while the correlation between Q₁₀ and soil moisture was not significant (p > 0.1). This study suggested that soil temperature was the dominant factor influencing Q₁₀ values, while soil moisture was a potential contributor to the annual and seasonal variations of Q₁₀ in a sub-alpine forest. Due to the complexity of correlation between Rs and soil moisture, Q₁₀ values derived from annual and seasonal patterns of R_S should be used with caution when predicting future soil CO₂ emissions under conditions of global warming.     

Landscape-level variation in temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon decomposition

We examined landscape-level variation in temperature sensitivity of labile SOC across 71 sites at a central North American grassland. The observed range in activation energy of decomposition (E_a), an index of temperature sensitivity, was as great at the landscape scale as has been observed at the continental scale. E_a was lower for soils with more labile C, consistent with the ‘Carbon quality-temperature’ hypothesis. Soil pH explained 67% of the variation in E_a. Although there are strong environmental correlates with the E_a of SOC decomposition at landscape scales, the amount of variation within landscapes could confound regional- to global-scale predictions of the response of soil C to warming.     

Influence of polychlorinated biphenyls on microbial biomass and its activity in grassland soil

Microbial biomass content, soil respiration and biomass specific respiration rate were measured in two parts of an area polluted by a municipal waste incinerator [polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from combustion processes]. The soils in the studied parts differed significantly only in their levels of PCBs. The concentration of PCBs found in a control plot (4.4 ng g^-1 soil) can be regarded as a background value while the polluted plot contained an increased amount of PCBs (14.0 ng g^-1 soil). A significantly lower microbial biomass (decreased by 23%, based on the chloroform-fumigation extraction technique) and a lower specific respiration rate (decreased by 14%) were observed in the polluted plot in comparison with the control plot at the end of experimental period (1992–1994). Furthermore, a lower ability of microorganisms in the polluted plot to convert available C_org into new biomass was found in laboratory incubations with glucose-amended samples.     

Response of ecosystem respiration to warming and grazing during the growing seasons in the alpine meadow on the Tibetan plateau

Intensive studies reveal that there is much uncertainty regarding how ecosystem and soil respiration will respond to warming and grazing, especially in the alpine meadow ecosystem. We conducted a first of its kind field-manipulative warming and grazing experiment in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan plateau to determine the effects of warming and grazing on ecosystem and soil respiration for 3-years, from 2006 to 2008. Generally, warming and grazing did not affect seasonal average ecosystem respiration (Re), and there was no interaction between grazing and warming. However, they significantly affected the Re early in the growing season and by the end of the growing season. Warming significantly increased seasonal average soil respiration (Rs) by 9.2%, whereas the difference mainly resulted from data gathered early in the growing season, before June 2007. Positive correlations between soil temperature and Re and Rs were observed, and soil temperature explained 63-83% of seasonal Re variations during the 3-year study and 19-34% of Rs variations in 2007. Seasonal Re in 2008 and Rs in 2007 were slightly negatively correlated to soil moisture, but interannual average Re decreased with a decrease in precipitation for all treatments. Warming and grazing reduced the Q₁₀ value of Re in 2007 and 2008 but did not affect the Q₁₀ value of Rs. The Q₁₀ values of Rs were much lower than the Q₁₀ values of Re in 2007. These results suggest that grazing may reduce the temperature sensitivity of Re and that Re was mainly controlled by soil temperature rather than moisture which varied with timescale in the alpine meadow.     

Climatic controls and ecosystem responses drive the inter-annual variability of the net ecosystem exchange of an alpine meadow

Seven years of continuous eddy covariance measurements at an alpine meadow were used to investigate the impacts of climate drivers and ecosystem responses on the inter-annual variability (IAV) of the net ecosystem exchange (NEE). The annual cumulative value of NEE was positive (source) in 2003, 2005 and 2009 (50, 15 and 112 g m⁻² respectively) and negative (sink) in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 (29, 75, 110 and 28 g m⁻² respectively). The IAV of carbon dioxide fluxes builds up in two phenological phases: the onset of the growing season (triggered by snow melting) and the canopy re-growth after mowing. Respiratory fluxes during the non-growing season were observed to increase IAV, while growing season uptake dampened it. A novel approach was applied to factor out the two main sources of IAV: climate drivers’ variability and changes in the ecosystem responses to climate. Annual values of carbon dioxide fluxes were calculated assuming (a) variable climate and variable ecosystem response among years, (b) variable climate and constant ecosystem response and (c) constant climate and variable ecosystem response. The analysis of flux variances calculated under these three assumptions indicates the occurrence of an important negative feedback between climate and ecosystem responses. Due to this feedback, the observed IAV of NEE is lower than one would expect for a given climate variability, because of the counteracting changes in ecosystem responses. This alpine meadow therefore demonstrates the ability to acclimatise and to limit the IAV of carbon fluxes induced by climate variability.