Relationship between soil CO2 concentrations and forest-floor CO2 effluxes

To better understand the biotic and abiotic factors that control soil CO₂ efflux, we compared seasonal and diurnal variations in simultaneously measured forest-floor CO₂ effluxes and soil CO₂ concentration profiles in a 54-year-old Douglas fir forest on the east coast of Vancouver Island. We used small solid-state infrared CO₂ sensors for long-term continuous real-time measurement of CO₂ concentrations at different depths, and measured half-hourly soil CO₂ effluxes with an automated non-steady-state chamber. We describe a simple steady-state method to measure CO₂ diffusivity in undisturbed soil cores. The method accounts for the CO₂ production in the soil and uses an analytical solution to the diffusion equation. The diffusivity was related to air-filled porosity by a power law function, which was independent of soil depth. CO₂ concentration at all depths increased with increase in soil temperature, likely due to a rise in CO₂ production, and with increase in soil water content due to decreased diffusivity or increased CO₂ production or both. It also increased with soil depth reaching almost 10 mmol mol⁻¹ at the 50-cm depth. Annually, soil CO₂ efflux was best described by an exponential function of soil temperature at the 5-cm depth, with the reference efflux at 10 °C (F₁₀) of 2.6 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and the Q₁₀ of 3.7. No evidence of displacement of CO₂-rich soil air with rain was observed.Effluxes calculated from soil CO₂ concentration gradients near the surface closely agreed with the measured effluxes. Calculations indicated that more than 75% of the soil CO₂ efflux originated in the top 20 cm soil. Calculated CO₂ production varied with soil temperature, soil water content and season, and when scaled to 10 °C also showed some diurnal variation. Soil CO₂ efflux and concentrations as well as soil temperature at the 5-cm depth varied in phase. Changes in CO₂ storage in the 0–50 cm soil layer were an order of magnitude smaller than measured effluxes. Soil CO₂ efflux was proportional to CO₂ concentration at the 50-cm depth with the slope determined by soil water content, which was consistent with a simple steady-state analytical model of diffusive transport of CO₂ in the soil. The latter proved successful in calculating effluxes during 2004.     

Soil CO2 efflux vs. soil respiration: Implications for flux models

In the long term, all CO₂ produced in the soil must be emitted by the surface and soil CO₂ efflux (FCO₂) must correspond to soil respiration (R_soil). In the short term, however, the efflux can deviate from the instantaneous soil respiration, if the amount of CO₂ stored in the soil pore-space (SCO₂) is changing. We measured FCO₂ continuously for one year using an automated chamber system. Simultaneously, vertical soil profiles of CO₂ concentration, moisture, and temperature were measured in order to assess the changes in the amount of CO₂ stored in the soil. R_soil was calculated as the sum of the rate of change of the CO₂ storage over time and FCO₂. The experiment was split into a warm and a cold season. The dependency of soil respiration and soil efflux on soil temperature and on soil moisture was analyzed separately. Only the moisture-driven model of the warm season was significantly different for FCO₂ and R_soil. At our site, a moisture-driven soil-respiration model derived from CO₂ efflux data would underestimate the importance of soil moisture. This effect can be attributed to a temporary storage of CO₂ in the soil pore-space after rainfalls where up to 40% of the respired CO₂ were stored.     

A new technique to measure soil CO2 efflux at constant CO2 concentration

A new principle for measuring soil CO₂ efflux at constant ambient concentration is introduced. The measuring principle relies on the continuous absorption of CO₂ within the system to achieve a constant CO₂ concentration inside the soil chamber at ambient level, thus balancing the amount of CO₂ entering the soil chamber by diffusion from the soil. We report results that show reliable soil CO₂ efflux measurements with the new system. The novel measuring principle does not disturb the natural gradient of CO₂ within the soil, while allowing for continuous capture of the CO₂ released from the soil. It therefore holds great potential for application in simultaneous measurements of soil CO₂ efflux and its δ¹³C, since both variables show sensitivity to a distortion of the soil CO₂ profile commonly found in conventional chamber techniques.     

Soil CO2 flux in six monospecific forest plantations in Southern Rwanda

Forest soils contain the largest carbon stock of all terrestrial biomes and are probably the most important source of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to atmosphere. Soil CO₂ fluxes from 54 to 72-year-old monospecific stands in Rwanda were quantified from March 2006 to December 2007. The influences of soil temperature, soil water content, soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks, soil pH, and stand characteristics on soil CO₂ flux were investigated. The mean annual soil CO₂ flux was highest under Eucalyptus saligna (3.92 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹) and lowest under Entandrophragma excelsum (3.13 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹). The seasonal variation in soil CO₂ flux from all stands followed the same trend and was highest in rainy seasons and lowest in dry seasons. Soil CO₂ flux was mainly correlated to soil water content (R² = 0.36-0.77), stand age (R² = 0.45), soil C stock (R² = 0.33), basal area (R² = 0.21), and soil temperature (R² = 0.06-0.17). The results contribute to the understanding of factors that influence soil CO₂ flux in monocultural plantations grown under the same microclimatic and soil conditions. The results can be used to construct models that predict soil CO₂ emissions in the tropics.     

Winter soil CO2 efflux and its contribution to annual soil respiration in different ecosystems of a forest-steppe ecotone, north China

Most soil respiration measurements are conducted during the growing season. In tundra and boreal forest ecosystems, cumulative winter soil CO₂ fluxes are reported to be a significant component of their annual carbon budgets. However, little information on winter soil CO₂ efflux is known from mid-latitude ecosystems. Therefore, comparing measurements of soil respiration taken annually versus during the growing season will improve the accuracy of ecosystem carbon budgets and the response of soil CO₂ efflux to climate changes. In this study we measured winter soil CO₂ efflux and its contribution to annual soil respiration for seven ecosystems (three forests: Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantation, Larix principis-rupprechtii plantation and Betula platyphylla forest; two shrubs: Rosa bella and Malus baccata; and two meadow grasslands) in a forest-steppe ecotone, north China. Overall mean winter and growing season soil CO₂ effluxes were 0.15-0.26 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 2.65-4.61 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹, respectively, with significant differences in the growing season among the different ecosystems. Annual Q₁₀ (increased soil respiration rate per 10 °C increase in temperature) was generally higher than the growing season Q₁₀. Soil water content accounted for 84% of the variations in growing season Q₁₀ and soil temperature range explained 88% of the variation in annual Q₁₀. Soil organic carbon density to 30 cm depth was a good surrogate for SR₁₀ (basal soil respiration at a reference temperature of 10 °C). Annual soil CO₂ efflux ranged from 394.76 g C m⁻² to 973.18 g C m⁻² using observed ecosystem-specific response equations between soil respiration and soil temperature. Estimates ranged from 424.90 g C m⁻² to 784.73 g C m⁻² by interpolating measured soil respiration between sampling dates for every day of the year and then computing the sum to obtain the annual value. The contributions of winter soil CO₂ efflux to annual soil respiration were 3.48-7.30% and 4.92-7.83% using interpolated and modeled methods, respectively. Our results indicate that in mid-latitude ecosystems, soil CO₂ efflux continues throughout the winter and winter soil respiration is an important component of annual CO₂ efflux.     

CO2 emissions from subtropical arable soils of China

CO₂ efflux plays a key role in carbon exchange between the biosphere and atmosphere, but our understanding of the mechanism controlling its temporal and spatial variations is limited. The purpose of this study is to determine annual soil CO₂ flux and assess its variations in arable subtropical soils of China in relation to soil temperature, moisture, rainfall, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) using the closed chamber method. Soils were derived from three parent materials including granite (G), tertiary red sandstone (T) and quaternary red clay (Q). The experiment was conducted at the Ecological Station of Red Soil, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, in a subtropical region of China. The results showed that soil CO₂ flux had clear seasonal fluctuations with the maximum value in summer, the minimum in winter and intermediate in spring and autumn. Further, significant differences in soil CO₂ flux were found among the three red soils, generally in the order of G>T>Q. The average annual fluxes were estimated as 2.84, 2.13 and 1.41 kg CO₂ m⁻² year⁻¹ for red soils derived from G, T and Q, respectively. Soil temperature strongly affects the seasonal variability of soil CO₂ flux (85.0-88.5% of the variability), followed by DOC (55.8-84.4%) and rainfall (43.0-55.8%). The differences in soil CO₂ flux among the three red soils were partly explained by MBC (33.7-58.9% of the variability) and DOC (23.8-33.6%).     

Explaining temporal variation in soil CO2 efflux in a mature spruce forest in Southern Germany

An open dynamic chamber system was used to measure the soil CO₂ efflux intensively and continuously throughout a growing season in a mature spruce forest (Picea abies) in Southern Germany. The resulting data set contained a large amount of temporally highly resolved information on the variation in soil CO₂ efflux together with environmental variables. Based on this background, the dependencies of the soil CO₂ efflux rate on the controlling environmental factors were analysed in-depth. Of the abiotic factors, soil temperature alone explained 72% of the variation in the efflux rate, and including soil water content (SWC) as an additional variable increased the explained variance to about 83%. Between April and December, average rates ranged from 0.43 to 5.15 μmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹ (in November and July, respectively) with diurnal variations of up to 50% throughout the experiment. The variability in wind speed above the forest floor influenced the CO₂ efflux rates for measuring locations with a litter layer of relatively low bulk density (and hence relatively high proportions of pore spaces). For the temporal integration of flux rates for time scales of hours to days, however, wind velocities were of no effect, reflecting the fact that wind forcing acts on the transport, but not the production of CO₂ in the soil. The variation in both the magnitude of the basal respiration rate and the temperature sensitivity throughout the growing season was only moderate (coefficient of variation of 15 and 25%, respectively). Soil water limitation of the CO₂ production in the soil could be best explained by a reduction in the temperature-insensitive basal respiration rate, with no discernible effect on the temperature sensitivity. Using a soil CO₂ efflux model with soil temperature and SWC as driving variables, it was possible to calculate the annual soil CO₂ efflux for four consecutive years for which meteorological data were available. These simulations indicate an average efflux sum of 560 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹ (SE=22 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹). An alternative model derived from the same data but using temperature alone as a driver over-estimated the annual flux sum by about 7% and showed less inter-annual variability. Given a likely shift in precipitation patterns alongside temperature changes under projected global change scenarios, these results demonstrate the necessity to include soil moisture in models that calculate the evolution of CO₂ from temperate forest soils.     

Short-term effects of clearfelling on soil CO2, CH4, and N2O fluxes in a Sitka spruce plantation

We examined the effects of forest clearfelling on the fluxes of soil CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O in a Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) plantation on an organic-rich peaty gley soil, in Northern England. Soil CO₂, CH₄, N₂O as well as environmental factors such as soil temperature, soil water content, and depth to the water table were recorded in two mature stands for one growing season, at the end of which one of the two stands was felled and one was left as control. Monitoring of the same parameters continued thereafter for a second growing season. For the first 10 months after clearfelling, there was a significant decrease in soil CO₂ efflux, with an average efflux rate of 4.0 g m⁻² d⁻¹ in the mature stand (40-year) and 2.7 g m⁻² d⁻¹ in clearfelled site (CF). Clearfelling turned the soil from a sink (−0.37 mg m⁻² d⁻¹) for CH₄ to a net source (2.01 mg m⁻² d⁻¹). For the same period, soil N₂O fluxes averaged 0.57 mg m⁻² d⁻¹ in the CF and 0.23 mg m⁻² d⁻¹ in the 40-year stand. Clearfelling affected environmental factors and lead to higher daily soil temperatures during the summer period, while it caused an increase in the soil water content and a rise in the water table depth. Despite clearfelling, CO₂ remained the dominant greenhouse gas in terms of its greenhouse warming potential.     

Uncoupling of microbial CO2 production and release in frozen soil and its implications for field studies of arctic C cycling

Knowledge of seasonal trends and controls of soil CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere is important for simulating atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and for understanding and predicting the global carbon cycle. This is particularly the case for high arctic soils subject to extreme fluctuating environmental conditions. Based on field measurements of soil CO₂ efflux, temperature, water content, pore gas composition in soil and frozen cores as well as detailed temperature experiments performed in the laboratory, we evaluated seasonal controls of CO₂ effluxes from a well-drained tundra heath site in NE-Greenland. During the growing season, near-surface temperatures correlated well with observed CO₂ effluxes (r²>0.9). However, during intensive thawing of near-surface layers we observed up to 1.5-fold higher effluxes than expected due to temperature alone. These high rates were consistent with high CO₂ concentrations in frozen soil (>10% CO₂) and suggested a spring burst event during soil thawing and a corresponding trapping of produced CO₂ during winter. Laboratory experiments revealed that microbial soil respiration continued down to a least −18 °C and that up to 80% of the produced CO₂ was trapped in soil at temperatures between 0 and −9 °C. The trapping of CO₂ in frozen soil was positively correlated with soil moisture (r²=0.85) and led to an abrupt change of the temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) observed for soil CO₂ release at 0 °C with Q₁₀ values below 0 °C being up to 100-fold higher than above 0 °C. The results of sub-zero CO₂ production allowed us to predict the microbial soil respiration throughout the year and to evaluate to what extent burst events during thawing can be explained by the release of CO₂ being produced and trapped during winter. Taking only the upper 20 cm of the soil into account, winter soil respiration accounted for about 40% of the annual soil respiration. At least 14% of the winter CO₂ production was trapped during the winter 2000-2001 and observed to be released upon thawing. Thus, the site-specific winter soil respiration is an important part of the annual C cycle and CO₂ trapping should be accounted for in future field and modelling studies of soil respiration dynamics in arctic ecosystems. In conclusion, we have discovered a soil moisture dependent uncoupling of CO₂ production and release in frozen soils with important implications for future field studies of Arctic C cycling.     

煤粉尘添加量与温度对山西省两种土壤碳释放规律的影响

采用室内培养试验, 观测不同温度和不同煤粉尘用量条件下山西省电厂土和焦化厂土两种土壤的碳释放规律。结果表明, 室温(16~23 ℃)和25 ℃恒温下, 培养前期(4~9 d)土壤CO₂ 的释放量均为最大, 且25 ℃ 恒温培养土壤CO₂ 的释放量是室温条件下的2 倍左右。随煤粉尘添加量的增加, 土壤CO₂ 的释放量显著增加,且土壤活性有机质相应增加, 添加高量煤粉尘土壤CO₂ 的释放量最高达57.5 mg·kg^-1·d^-1, 两种土壤活性有机碳的增幅为0.3~3.8 g·kg^-1。不同温度和不同煤粉尘用量条件下电厂土释放的CO₂ 均高于焦化厂土, 可能是电厂土含有较高的有机碳和较低的黏粒所致。由此可知, 温度是影响土壤有机碳分解的主要因素, 其次是添加煤粉尘的量, 土壤理化性质也是原因之一。本研究表明, 煤粉尘的降落一方面增加了土壤CO₂ 的释放, 另一方面增加了土壤碳库。     

农田改为农林(草)复合系统对红壤CO2和N2O排放的影响

以鄂南玉米地、紫穗槐/玉米地、香根草/玉米地、紫穗槐林地、香根草草地与撂荒地6种土地利用类型为研究对象,利用静态箱法,对夏玉米生长期间土壤CO2和N2O通量及影响因子进行了测定,研究我国北亚热带丘陵红壤区农田改变为林(草)地和农林(草)复合系统后土壤CO2和N2O排放特征。研究结果表明:(1)土地利用方式改变后,撂荒地土壤CO2排放量明显低于其他5种土地利用类型,但紫穗槐/玉米地、单作玉米地、香根草/玉米地、紫穗槐林地、香根草草地5种土地利用类型之间土壤CO2排放量差异不显著。(2)玉米生长期间,6种不同土地利用方式下,土壤N2O排放总量从高到低依次为紫穗槐/玉米地(508 g·hm-2·a-1)、紫穗槐林地(470 g·hm-2·a-1)、撂荒地(390 g·hm-2·a-1)、香根草/玉米地(373 g·hm-2·a-1)、香根草草地(372 g·hm-2·a-1)、单作玉米地(285 g·hm-2·a-1)。(3)土壤CO2通量与土壤有机碳、土壤微生物生物量碳和土壤含水量无显著相关关系;土壤N2O通量与土壤氮素净矿化率呈显著线性相关,但与土壤无机氮和土壤含水量无显著相关关系。农田改变为农林(草)复合系统可能潜在地增加土壤CO2和N2O排放;农田改变为林(草)地可能潜在地减少土壤CO2排放,增加土壤N2O排放。     

黑土不同土地利用方式下受水分有效性调节的土壤CO2排放的温度敏感性

The quantification of soil CO2 efflux is crucial for better understanding the interactions between driving variables and C losses from black soils in Northeast China and for assessing the function of black soil as a net source or sink of atmospheric CO2 depending upon land use.This study investigated responses of soil CO2 efflux variability to soil temperature interactions with diferent soil moisture levels under various land use types including grassland,bare land,and arable(maize,soybean,and wheat)land in the black soil zone of Northeast China.The soil CO2 effluxes with and without live roots,defined as the total CO2 efflux(FtS)and the root-free CO2 efflux(FrfS),respectively,were measured from April 2009 to May 2010 using a static closed chamber technique with gas chromatography.The seasonal soil CO2 fluxes tended to increase from the beginning of the measurements until they peaked in summer and then declined afterwards.The mean seasonal FtS ranged from 20.3±7.8 to 58.1±21.3 mg CO2-C m-2h-1 for all land use types and decreased in the order of soybean land>grassland>maize land>wheat land>bare land,while the corresponding values of FrfS were relatively lower,ranging from 20.3±7.8 to 42.3±21.3 mg CO2-C m-2h-1.The annual cumulative FtS was in the range of 107-315 g CO2-C m-2 across all land uses types.The seasonal CO2 effluxes were significantly(P<0.001)sensitive to soil temperature at 10 cm depth and were responsible for up to 62% of the CO2 efflux variability.Correspondingly,the temperature coefcient Q10 values varied from 2.1 to 4.5 for the seasonal FtS and 2.2 to 3.9 for the FrfS during the growing season.Soil temperature interacting with soil moisture accounted for a significant fraction of the CO2 flux variability for FtS (up to 61%) and FrfS (up to 67%) via a well-defined multiple regression model,indicating that temperature sensitivity of CO2 flux can be mediated by water availability,especially under water stress.     

Elevated CO2 stimulates N2O emissions in permanent grassland

To evaluate climate forcing under increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations, feedback effects on greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide (N₂O) with a high global warming potential should be taken into account. This requires long-term N₂O flux measurements because responses to elevated CO₂ may vary throughout annual courses. Here, we present an almost 9 year long continuous N₂O flux data set from a free air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) study on an old, N-limited temperate grassland. Prior to the FACE start, N₂O emissions were not different between plots that were later under ambient (A) and elevated (E) CO₂ treatments, respectively. However, over the entire experimental period (May 1998–December 2006), N₂O emissions more than doubled under elevated CO₂ (0.90 vs. 2.07 kg N₂O-N ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ under A and E, respectively). The strongest stimulation occurred during vegetative growth periods in the summer when soil mineral N concentrations were low. This was surprising because based on literature we had expected the highest stimulation of N₂O emissions due to elevated CO₂ when mineral N concentrations were above background values (e.g. shortly after N application in spring). N₂O emissions under elevated CO₂ were moderately stimulated during late autumn–winter, including freeze–thaw cycles which occurred in the 8th winter of the experiment. Averaged over the entire experiment, the additional N₂O emissions caused by elevated CO₂ equaled 4738 kg CO₂-equivalents ha⁻¹, corresponding to more than half a ton (546 kg) of CO₂ ha⁻¹ which has to be sequestered annually to balance the CO₂-induced N₂O emissions. Without a concomitant increase in C sequestration under rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations, temperate grasslands may be converted into greenhouse gas sources by a positive feedback on N₂O emissions. Our results underline the need to include continuous N₂O flux measurements in ecosystem-scale CO₂ enrichment experiments.     

Measurement of soil CO2 efflux using soda lime absorption: both quantitative and reliable

Measurement of soil CO₂ efflux using a non-flow-through steady-state (NFT-SS) chamber with alkali absorption of CO₂ by soda lime was tested and compared with a flow-through non-steady-state (FT-NSS) IRGA method to assess suitability of using soda lime for field monitoring over large spatial scales and integrated over a day. Potential errors and artifacts associated with the soda lime chamber method were investigated and improvements made. The following issues relating to quantification and reliable measurement of soil CO₂ efflux were evaluated: (i) absorption capacity of the soda lime, (ii) additional and thus artifactual absorption of CO₂ by soda lime during the experimental procedure, (iii) variation in the CO₂ concentration inside the chamber headspace, and (iv) effects of chamber closure on soil CO₂ efflux. Soil CO₂ efflux, as measured using soda lime (with a range of quantities: 50, 100, and 200 g per 0.082 m² ground area enclosed in chamber), was compared with transient IRGA measurements as a reference method that is based on well-established physical principles, using several forms of spatial and temporal comparisons. Natural variation in efflux rates ranged from 2 to 5.5 g C m⁻² day⁻¹ between different chambers and over different days. A comparison of the IRGA-based assay with measurement based on soda lime yielded an overall correlation coefficient of 0.82. The slope of the regression line was not significantly different from the 1:1 line, and the intercept was not significantly different from the origin. This result indicated that measurement of CO₂ efflux by soda lime absorption was quantitatively similar and unbiased in relation to the reference method. The soda lime method can be a highly practical method for field measurements if implemented with due care (in terms of drying and weighing soda lime, and in minimizing leakages), and validated for specific field conditions. A detailed protocol is presented for use of the soda lime method for measurement of CO₂ efflux from field soils.     

Impact of atmospheric CO2 and plant life forms on soil microbial activities

From the global change perspective, increase of atmospheric CO₂ and land cover transformation are among the major impacts caused by human activities. In this study, we are addressing the combined issues of the effect of CO₂ concentration increase and plant type on soil microbial activities by asking how annual and perennial plant groups affect soil microbial processes under elevated CO₂. The experimental design used a mix of species of different growth forms for both annuals and perennials. Our objective was: (1) to determine how two years of annual or perennial plant cover and CO₂ enrichment could affect Mediterranean soil microbial processes; (2) to test the resistance and the resilience of these soil functional processes after a natural perturbation. We determined the effects of 2 years atmospheric CO₂ enrichment on soil potential respiration (SIR), denitrification (DEA) and nitrification (NEA) activities. We could not find any significant effect of CO₂ increase on SIR, DEA and NEA. However, we found a strong effect of the plant cover type, i.e. annuals versus perennials, on the potential microbial activity related to N cycling. DEA and NEA were significantly higher in soil under annual plants while SIR was not significantly different. To determine whether these changes would survive a natural perturbation, we carried out a rain event experiment once the experimental treatments (i.e. different plant cover and atmospheric CO₂ concentration) were stopped. The soil potential respiration, as expressed by the SIR, was not affected and remained stable. DEA rates converged rapidly under annuals and perennials after the rain event. Under both annuals and perennials NEA increased significantly after the rain event but remained significantly higher in the soil with annual plants. The relative change of the soil microbial processes induced by annual and perennial plants was inversely related to the density and the diversity of the corresponding microbial functional groups.     

Interactions between physical and biotic factors influence CO2 flux in Antarctic dry valley soils

Soil carbon dioxide (CO₂) flux is an integrative measure of ecosystem functioning representing both biotic and physical controls over carbon (C) balance. In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, soil CO₂ fluxes (approximately −0.1-0.15 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹) are generally low, and negative fluxes (uptake of CO₂) are sometimes observed. A combination of biological respiration and physical mechanisms, driven by temperature and mediated by soil moisture and mineralogy, determine CO₂ flux and, therefore, soil organic C balance. The physical factors important to CO₂ flux are being altered with climate variability in many ecosystems including arid forms such as the Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems, making it critical to understand how climate factors interact with biotic drivers to control soil CO₂ fluxes and C balances. We measured soil CO₂ flux in experimental field manipulations, microcosm incubations and across natural environmental gradients of soil moisture to estimate biotic soil respiration and abiotic sources of CO₂ flux in soils over a range of physical and biotic conditions. We determined that temperature fluctuations were the most important factor influencing diel variation in CO₂ flux. Variation within these diel CO₂ cycles was explained by differences in soil moisture. Increased temperature (as opposed to temperature fluctuations) had little or no effect on CO₂ flux if moisture was not also increased. We conclude that CO₂ flux in dry valley soils is driven primarily by physical factors such as soil temperature and moisture, indicating that future climate change may alter the dry valley soil C cycle. Negative CO₂ fluxes in arid soils have recently been identified as potential net C sinks. We demonstrate the potential for arid polar soils to take up CO₂, driven largely by abiotic factors associated with climate change. The low levels of CO₂ absorption into soils we observed may not constitute a significant sink of atmospheric CO₂, but will influence the interpretation of CO₂ flux for the dry valley soil C cycle and possibly other arid environments where biotic controls over C cycling are secondary to physical drivers.     

Effects of long-term CO2 fumigation on fungal communities in a temperate forest soil

This study aimed at determining the impact of long-time elevated CO₂ fumigation on fungal communities in a temperate forest soil. In addition to the CO₂ concentration, both time and its interaction with the CO₂ affected the activity of 1,4-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase that is mainly of the fungal origin in the soil. No significant change in Shannon's indexes (from 18S rDNA-PCR-DGGE) was observed between the ambient and elevated CO₂ treatments. Analysis of time-course indicated that the succession of soil fungal community was altered by the elevated CO₂ fumigation, and the variations in the soil samples under Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc were larger than those under the Pinus sylvestriformis (Takenouchi) T. Wang ex Cheng samples. The results suggest that the increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations could alter the temporal patterning of soil fungal communities.     

Interannual and interseasonal soil CO2 efflux and VOC exchange rates in a Mediterranean holm oak forest in response to experimental drought

Climate models predict drier conditions in the next decades in the Mediterranean basin. Given the importance of soil CO₂ efflux in the global carbon balance and the important role of soil monoterpene and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in soil ecology, we aimed to study the effects of the predicted drought on soil CO₂, monoterpenes and other VOC exchange rates and their seasonal and interannual variations. We decreased soil water availability in a Mediterranean holm oak forest soil by means of an experimental drought system performed since 1999 to the present. Measurements of soil gas exchange were carried out with IRGA, GC and PTR-MS techniques during two annual campaigns of contrasting precipitation. Soil respiration was twice higher the wet year than the dry year (2.27±0.26 and 1.05±0.15, respectively), and varied seasonally from 3.76±0.85 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ in spring, to 0.13±0.01 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ in summer. These results highlight the strong interannual and interseasonal variation in CO₂ efflux in Mediterranean ecosystems. The drought treatment produced a significant soil respiration reduction in drought plots in the wet sampling period. This reduction was even higher in wet springs (43% average reduction). These results show (1) that soil moisture is the main factor driving seasonal and interannual variations in soil respiration and (2) that the response of soil respiration to increased temperature is constrained by soil moisture. The results also show an additional control of soil CO₂ efflux by physiology and phenology of trees and animals. Soil monoterpene exchange rates ranged from −0.01 to 0.004 nmol m⁻² s⁻¹, thus the contribution of this Mediterranean holm oak forest soil to the total monoterpenes atmospheric budget seems to be very low. Responses of individual monoterpenes and VOCs to the drought treatment were different depending on the compound. This suggests that the effect of soil moisture reduction in the monoterpenes and VOC exchange rates seems to be dependent on monoterpene and VOC type. In general, soil monoterpene and other VOC exchange rates were not correlated with soil CO₂ efflux. In all cases, only a low proportion of variance was explained by the soil moisture changes, since almost all VOCs increased their emission rates in summer 2005, probably due to the effect of high soil temperature. Results indicate thus that physical and biological processes in soil are controlling soil VOC exchange but further research is needed on how these factors interact to produce the observed VOCs exchange responses.     

黄土台塬不同土地利用方式土壤CH4通量特征及主控因子分析

土地利用转变会导致土壤微环境及生理生化过程发生改变,继而影响土壤温室气体的产生和排放。目前关于土地利用转变对温室气体通量的研究主要集中于CO_2,而对CH_4研究甚少。本文以黄土台塬为研究区,重点分析不同土地利用方式的土壤CH_4通量特征与其影响因素的关系,并明确其关键影响因子,为预测整个黄土台塬土地利用方式转变对温室效应的贡献提供基础数据。以陕西省永寿县马莲滩林场为研究对象,于2015年4月—2016年3月,采用静态箱-气相色谱法,对耕地、天然草地、灌木林地、乔灌混交林地、乔木林地和果园的CH_4通量特征进行研究,并分析土壤CH_4通量与土壤温度、地表温度、含水量及全氮的关系。不同土地利用方式土壤CH_4平均通量差异显著(P0.05),但表现相似的季节变化,呈现夏秋季高于冬春季特征。林地、园地、耕地土壤均为CH_4吸收汇,其吸收能力(平均值)为乔灌混交林(51.24μg·m~(-2)·h~(-1))乔木林(44.80μg·m~(-2)·h~(-1))灌木林(31.52μg·m~(-2)·h~(-1))草地(25.89μg·m~(-2)·h~(-1))果园(18.97μg·m~(-2)·h~(-1))耕地(14.89μg·m~(-2)·h~(-1))。不同土地利用方式土壤CH_4吸收与土壤温度、全氮和地表大气温度均呈正相关;与土壤含水量呈负相关。其土壤表层(0~20 cm)温度是6种土地利用方式土壤CH_4吸收的主要影响因素。总之,自然条件下的土壤CH_4吸收率明显高于农业土壤CH_4吸收率,耕地转变为林地后土壤的CH_4吸收能力增强,土壤对减缓温室效应的贡献增大。     

Effects of elevated CO2 and O3 on soil respiration under ponderosa pine

Soil respiration represents the integrated response of plant roots and soil organisms to environmental conditions and the availability of C in the soil. A multi-year study was conducted in outdoor sun-lit controlled-environment chambers containing a reconstructed ponderosa pine/soil-litter system. The study used a 2×2 factorial design with two levels of CO₂ and two levels of O₃ and three replicates of each treatment. The objectives of our study were to assess the effects of long-term exposure to elevated CO₂ and O₃, singly and in combination, on soil respiration, fine root growth and soil organisms. Fine root growth and soil organisms were included in the study as indicators of the autotrophic and heterotrophic components of soil respiration. The study evaluated three hypotheses: (1) elevated CO₂ will increase C assimilation and allocation belowground increasing soil respiration; (2) elevated O₃ will decrease C assimilation and allocation belowground decreasing soil respiration and (3) as elevated CO₂ and O₃ have opposing effects on C assimilation and allocation, elevated CO₂ will eliminate or reduce the negative effects of elevated O₃ on soil respiration. A mixed-model covariance analysis was used to remove the influences of soil temperature, soil moisture and days from planting when testing for the effects of CO₂ and O₃ on soil respiration. The covariance analysis showed that elevated CO₂ significantly reduced the soil respiration while elevated O₃ had no significant effect. Despite the lack of a direct CO₂ stimulation of soil respiration, there were significant interactions between CO₂ and soil temperature, soil moisture and days from planting indicating that elevated CO₂ altered soil respiration indirectly. In elevated CO₂, soil respiration was more sensitive to soil temperature changes and less sensitive to soil moisture changes than in ambient CO₂. Soil respiration increased more with days from planting in elevated than in ambient CO₂. Elevated CO₂ had no effect on fine root biomass but increased abundance of culturable bacteria and fungi suggesting that these increases were associated with increased C allocation belowground. Elevated CO₂ had no significant effect on microarthropod and nematode abundance. Elevated O₃ had no significant effects on any parameter except it reduced the sensitivity of soil respiration to changes in temperature.