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.     

The temperature dependence of organic-matter decomposition—still a topic of debate

The temperature dependence of organic matter decomposition is of considerable ecosphysiological importance, especially in the context of possible climate-change feedback effects. It effectively controls whether, or how much, carbon will be released with global warming, and to what extent that release of carbon constitutes a dangerous positive feedback effect that leads to further warming.The present paper is an invited contribution in a series of Citation Classics based on a review paper of the temperature dependence of organic matter decomposition that was published in 1995. It discusses the context and main findings of the 1995 study, the progress has been made since then and what issues still remain unresolved.Despite the continuation of much further experimental work and repeated publication of summary articles, there is still no scientific consensus on the temperature dependence of organic matter decomposition. It is likely that this lack of consensus is largely due to different studies referring to different experimental conditions where confounding factors play a greater or lesser role.Substrate availability is particularly important. If it changes during the course of measurements, it can greatly confound the derived apparent temperature dependence. This confounding effect is illustrated through simulations and examples of experimental work drawn from the literature. The paper speculates that much of the current disagreement between studies might disappear if different studies would ensure that they are all studying the same system attributes, and if confounding factors were always considered and, if possible, eliminated.     

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.     

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。     

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.     

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.     

Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration in different ecosystems in China

Understanding the sensitivity of soil respiration to temperature change and its impacting factors is an important base for accurately evaluating the response of terrestrial carbon balance to future climatic change, and thus has received much recent attention. In this study, we synthesized 161 field measurement data from 52 published papers to quantify temperature sensitivity of soil respiration in different Chinese ecosystems and its relationship with climate factors, such as temperature and precipitation. The results show that the observed Q₁₀ value (the factor by which respiration rates increase for a 10 °C increase in temperature) is strongly dependent on the soil temperature measurement depth. Generally, Q₁₀ significantly increased with the depth (0 cm, 5 cm, and 10 cm) of soil temperature measuring point. Different ecosystem types also exhibit different Q₁₀ values. In response to soil temperature at the depth of 5 cm, alpine meadow and tundra has the largest Q₁₀ value with magnitude of 3.05 ± 1.06, while the Q₁₀ value of evergreen broadleaf forests is approximately half that amount (Q₁₀ = 1.81 ± 0.43). Spatial correlation analysis also shows that the Q₁₀ value of forest ecosystems is significantly and negatively correlated with mean annual temperature (R = −0.51, P < 0.001) and mean annual precipitation (R = −0.5, P < 0.001). This result not only implies that the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration will decline under continued global warming, but also suggests that such acclimation of soil respiration to warming should be taken into account in forecasting future terrestrial carbon cycle and its feedback to climate system.     

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.     

Indirect regulation of heterotrophic peat soil respiration by water level via microbial community structure and temperature sensitivity

Northern peatlands contain a considerable share of the terrestrial carbon (C) pool, which climate change will likely affect in the future. The magnitude of this effect, however, remains uncertain, due mainly to difficulties in predicting decomposition rates in the old peat layers. We studied the effects of water level depth (WL) and soil temperature on heterotrophic soil respiration originating from peat decomposition (R_PD) in six drained peatlands using a chamber technique. The microbial community structure was determined through PLFA. Within the studied sites, temperature appeared to be the main driver of R_PD. However, our results indicate that there exist mechanisms related to lower WL conditions that can tone down the effect of temperature on R_PD. These mechanisms were described with a mathematical model that included the optimum WL response of R_PD and the effect of average WL conditions on the temperature sensitivity of R_PD. The following implications were apparent from the model parameterisation: (1) The instantaneous effect of WL on R_PD followed a Gaussian form; the optimum WL for R_PD was 61 cm. The tolerance of R_PD to the WL, however, was rather broad, indicating that the overall effect of WL was relatively weak. (2) The temperature sensitivity of R_PD depended on the average WL of the plot: plots with a high average WL showed higher temperature sensitivity than did those under drier conditions. This variation in temperature sensitivity of R_PD correlated with microbial community structure. Thus, moisture stress in the surface peat layer or, alternatively, the lowered temperature sensitivity of R_PD in low water level conditions via microbial community structure and biomass may restrict R_PD. We conclude that a warmer future climate may raise R_PD in drained peatlands only if the subsequent decrease in the moisture of the surface peat layers is minor and, thus, conditions remain favourable for decomposition.     

长期施肥对冬小麦/夏玉米轮作下土壤呼吸及其组分的影响

为阐明施肥对农田土壤呼吸的影响,于2002年6月至2003年6月在河南封丘潮土上进行的长期试验地上测定了玉米/冬小麦轮作系统下的土壤呼吸,分析了土壤呼吸与土壤水分和温度的关系,并利用统计分析方法研究了土壤呼吸各组分的贡献。土壤呼吸变化与作物生长发育规律一致,施肥通过影响作物的生长发育而对土壤呼吸产生影响。不同作物生长期,根际呼吸、土壤原有机质以及前作根茬和有机肥中碳对土壤呼吸的贡献不同。玉米期土壤有机质、根际呼吸、前作根茬和有机肥中的碳对土壤呼吸的平均贡献率分别为70.19%、19.43%和10.37%;而小麦生长期则分别为23.75%、62.26%和14.11%。由于不同施肥处理的作物生长量、土壤有机质含量以及前作根茬和有机肥施入而进入的有机碳量不同,造成土壤呼吸个体上存在着较大差异。土壤有机质的消耗主要发生在玉米生长阶段。     

Interacting effects of temperature, soil moisture and plant biomass production on ecosystem respiration in a northern temperate grassland

Chamber measurements of total ecosystem respiration (TER) in a native Canadian grassland ecosystem were made during two study years with different precipitation. The growing season (April–September) precipitation during 2001 was less than one-half of the 30-year mean (1971–2000), while 2002 received almost double the normal growing season precipitation. As a consequence soil moisture remained higher in 2002 than 2001 during most of the growing season and peak aboveground biomass production (253.9 g m⁻²) in 2002 was 60% higher than in 2001. Maximum respiration rates were approximately 9 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ in 2002 while only approximately 5 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ in 2001. Large diurnal variation in TER, which occurred during times of peak biomass and adequate soil moisture, was primarily controlled by changes in temperature. The temperature sensitivity coefficient (Q₁₀) for ecosystem respiration was on average 1.83 ± 0.08, and it declined in association with reductions in soil moisture. Approximately 94% of the seasonal and interannual variation in R₁₀ (standardized rate of respiration at 10 °C) data was explained by the interaction of changes in soil moisture and aboveground biomass, which suggested that plant aboveground biomass was good proxy for accounting for variations in both autotrophic and heterotrophic capacity for respiration. Soil moisture was the dominant environmental factor that controlled seasonal and interannual variation in TER in this grassland, when variation in temperature was held constant. We compared respiration rates measured with chambers and that determined from nighttime eddy covariance (EC) measurements. Respiration rates measured by both techniques showed very similar seasonal patterns of variation in both years. When TER was integrated over the entire growing season period, the chamber method produced slightly higher values than the EC method by approximately 4.5% and 13.6% during 2001 and 2002, respectively, much less than the estimated uncertainty for both measurement techniques. The two methods for calculating respiration had only minor effects on the seasonal-integrated estimates of net ecosystem CO₂ exchange and ecosystem gross photosynthesis.     

Rhizosphere priming effect of Populus fremontii obscures the temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon respiration

C efflux from soils is a large component of the global C exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere. However, our understanding of soil C efflux is complicated by the “rhizosphere priming effect,” in which the presence of live roots may accelerate or suppress the decomposition of soil organic C. Due to technical obstacles, the rhizosphere priming effect is under-studied, and we know little about rhizosphere priming in tree species. We measured the rates of soil-derived C mineralization in root-free soil and in soil planted with cottonwood (Populus fremontii) trees. Live cottonwood roots greatly accelerated (a rhizosphere priming effect) or suppressed (a negative rhizosphere priming effect) the mineralization of soil organic C, depending upon the time of the year. At its maximum, soil organic C was mineralized nine times faster in the presence of cottonwood roots than in the unplanted controls. Over the course of the experiment, approximately twice as much soil organic C was mineralized in pots planted with cottonwoods compared to unplanted control pots. Soil organic C mineralization rates in the unplanted controls were temperature-sensitive. In contrast, soil organic C mineralization in the cottonwood rhizosphere was unresponsive to seasonal temperature changes, due to the strength of the rhizosphere priming effect. The rhizosphere priming effect is of key importance to our understanding of soil C mineralization, because it means that the total soil respiration is not a simple additive function of soil-derived and plant-derived respiration.     

Interpreting the dependence of soil respiration on soil temperature and water content in a boreal aspen stand

Continuous half-hourly measurements of soil CO₂ efflux made between January and December 2001 in a mature trembling aspen stand located at the southern edge of the boreal forest in Canada were used to investigate the seasonal and diurnal dependence of soil respiration (R_s) on soil temperature (T_s) and water content (θ). Daily mean R_s varied from a minimum of 0.1 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ in February to a maximum of 9.2 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ in mid-July. Daily mean T_s at the 2-cm depth was the primary variable accounting for the temporal variation of R_s and no differences between Arrhenius and Q₁₀ response functions were found to describe the seasonal relationship. R_s at 10 °C (R_s10) and the temperature sensitivity of R_s (Q_10Rs) calculated at the seasonal time scale were 3.8 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 3.8, respectively. Temperature normalization of daily mean R_s (R_sN) revealed that θ in the 0–15 cm soil layer was the secondary variable accounting for the temporal variation of R_s during the growing season. Daily R_sN showed two distinctive phases with respect to soil water field capacity in the 0–15 cm layer (θ_fc, 0.30 m³ m⁻³): (1) R_sN was strongly reduced when θ decreased below θ_fc, which reflected a reduction in microbial decomposition, and (2) R_sN slightly decreased when θ increased above θ_fc, which reflected a restriction of CO₂ or O₂ transport in the soil profile.Diurnal variations of half-hourly R_s were usually out of phase with T_s at the 2-cm depth, which resulted in strong diurnal hysteresis between the two variables. Daily nighttime R_s10 and Q_10Rs parameters calculated from half-hourly nighttime measurements of R_s and T_s at the 2-cm depth (when there was steady cooling of the soil) varied greatly during the growing season and ranged from 6.8 to 1.6 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 5.5 to 1.3, respectively. On average, daily nighttime R_s10 (4.5 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹) and Q_10Rs (2.8) were higher and lower, respectively, than the values obtained from the seasonal relationship. Seasonal variations of these daily parameters were highly correlated with variations of θ in the 0–15 cm soil layer, with a tendency of low R_s10 and Q_10Rs values at low θ. Overall, the use of seasonal R_s10 and Q_10Rs parameters led to an overestimation of daily ranges of half-hourly R_s (ΔR_s) during drought conditions, which supported findings that the short-term temperature sensitivity of R_s was lower during periods of low θ. The use of daily nighttime R_s10 and Q_10Rs parameters greatly helped at simulating ΔR_s during these periods but did not improve the estimation of half-hourly R_s throughout the year as it could not account for the diurnal hysteresis effect.     

Response of mycorrhizal, rhizosphere and soil basal respiration to temperature and photosynthesis in a barley field

The mycorrhizal, rhizosphere and basal components of soil respiration were partitioned in a barley field experiment with the main objective of determining the controlling effects of photosynthetic activity and temperature on soil respiration sources. Micro-pore meshes were used to create both root and mycorrhiza-free soil cores over which collars for soil respiration measurements were inserted. Differences between mesh treatments were used to determine the contribution of each component. With a focus on the growing season, we analyzed the response of respiration sources to photosynthesis, temperature and moisture, as well as changes in microbial biomass, mineral nitrogen and carbon-nitrogen ratios responding to treatment and time of year. Results gave clear differences between sources in their response to both temperature and photosynthetic activity and showed that several processes are involved in determining respiration rates as well as apparent temperature relations. In particular, the respiration of arbuscular mycorrhizal hyphae was seen to be a significant amount of root derived carbon respiration (25.3%) and consequently of total assimilated carbon (4.8%). This source showed a stronger response to photosynthetic activity than the rhizosphere component (r²=0.79, p<0.001 and r²=0.324, p=0.53, respectively). Q₁₀ values—the increase in respiration rates with a 10 °C increase in temperature—changed seasonally and showed temperature relations being dependent on the presence of mycorrhizal and rhizosphere respiration sources, as well as on plant development. Respiration from mycorrhizal hyphae and the rhizosphere showed no response (r²=0, p<0.99) or low response (r²=0.14, p<0.01) to temperature, respectively. We conclude that the potential importance and controls of mycorrhizal fungi respiration in croplands are comparable to those observed in other ecosystems, and that temperature response curves should be carefully interpreted given that substrate availability and plant dynamics strongly regulate respiration rates in ecosystems.     

Respiratory quotients and Q10 of soil respiration in sub-alpine Australia reflect influences of vegetation types

Identifying and quantifying attributes that help predict rates of heterotrophic soil respiration is a key issue. Similarly, assessing the temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) of soil C is critical to establishing if increases in Mean Annual Temperature will serve to further increase atmospheric CO₂. Using organic soils from three sub-alpine communities that differ significantly in structure, species composition and productivity, we measured the respiratory quotient (RQ = rates of CO₂ efflux/rates of O₂ uptake) and temperature sensitivity of heterotrophic respiration during long-term (120 days) incubation. As a directly measurable parameter, RQ is free of empirical assumptions and provides an additional tool that can be used in conjunction with constants derived from fitted Arrhenius or exponential equations, to help understand shifts in microbial use of C substrates and how changes in vegetation might affect soil processes. Q₁₀ did not change significantly over the course of a 120-day incubation for any of our studied soils. RQs varied with vegetation type and were consistently lower in grassland soils than woodland soils. RQs also varied during long-term incubations and declined consistently with time for grassland soils. RQs declined towards the end of the 120-day incubation for woodland soils. The generally low E_a for these soils from sub-alpine vegetation types in Australia, and the fairly rapid decline in RQ during incubation, suggest the likely greater temperature sensitivity of recalcitrant C relative to labile C could provide a strong positive feedback to increases in Mean Annual Temperature.     

Intersite characterization and variability of soil respiration in different arable and forest soils

Summary Soil respiration was investigated in three loamy Orthic Luvisols (two arable, one forest soil), three sandy Haplic Podzols (also two arable, one forest soil) with a modified intersite method according to Lundegardh (1924). The method allows characterization of the CO₂-flux from the soil and interpretation of the different levels with regard to temperature, nutrient and air supply. The method is sensitive to tillage and fertilization effects. In the two arable Luvisols the mean cumulative respiration rate was not uniform compared with the forest soil; in one case it was much higher and in another much lower. CO₂ evolution in the Podzol under spruce was much lower than in the two arable Podzols. In the sandy Podzols 5 replicate measurements gave adequate results, with an error probability of 10%, but in the loamy Luvisols it was necessary to use 10 replicates to specify the same degree of difference. If soil respiration is very high, immediately after fertilization with cattle slurry or dung on arable land, or after litterfall in a deciduous forest, more replicates are necessary.     

不同施肥管理措施对土壤碳含量及基础呼吸的影响

连续7年试验研究了施用15t/hm2和7.5t/hm2有机肥(包括EM堆肥、EM鸡粪肥和传统堆肥)、化肥和对照处理对土壤碳含量与基础呼吸的影响,结果表明:随有机肥施用量的提高,土壤可溶性碳、总有机碳、微生物生物量碳和土壤的基础呼吸随之增加。施用化肥可一定程度提高土壤可溶性碳、总有机碳、微生物生物量碳和土壤的基础呼吸。不同施肥措施对土壤有机碳、微生物生物量碳和土壤基础呼吸的影响趋势为EM堆肥处理>传统堆肥处理>化肥处理>对照,施肥对土壤微生物代谢商的影响趋势为EM堆肥处理<传统堆肥处理<化肥处理<对照。土壤微生物生物量碳与可溶性碳、总有机碳及土壤基础呼吸之间呈极显著正相关。土壤微生物代谢商与土壤可溶性碳、总有机碳、微生物生物量碳及基础呼吸之间呈极显著负相关。     

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.     

烤烟不同生育期土壤酶及微生物活性的变化

在盆栽条件下研究了烤烟不同生长发育阶段土壤酶和微生物的变化规律.结果发现:随着烤烟的生长,过氧化氢酶活性、碱性磷酸酶活性、细菌数量以及砂壤土条件下的硝化细菌和解磷细菌都表现为先降后升再降的规律;硝酸还原酶活性、砂壤土条件下的氨化细菌和壤土下的解钾细菌数量表现为先升后降后期有所回升的规律;淀粉酶活性、真菌、放线菌、壤土条件下的解磷细菌和砂壤土下的解钾细菌数量表现先降后升.除碱性磷酸酶外,所测的土壤酶和微生物在烤烟不同生育阶段差异极显著.这说明在烤烟-土壤-土壤酶及微生物相互作用的系统中,土壤酶活性和微生物数量明显受到烤烟生长发育的影响.     

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.