Effects of understory removal on soil respiration and microbial community composition structure in a Chinese fir plantation

Aims Soil respiration (R_s) is the largest fraction of carbon flux in forest ecosystems, but the effects of forest understory removal on R_s in Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolate) plantations is poorly understood. In order to quantify the effects of forest understory removal on R_s and microbial community composition, a field experiment was conducted in a subtropical Chinese fir plantation. Methods Forest understory was removed manually in June 2012. R_s was measured monthly using a LI-COR 8100 infrared gas analyzer from July 2012 through July 2014. Soil temperature and moisture were also measured at 5 cm depth at the time of R_s measurements. Surface soil (0-10 cm) samples were collected in July 2013 and 2014, respectively, and the soil microbial community structures were determined by phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) analysis. Important findings R_s decreased by 32.8% over a two-year period following understory removal (UR), with a greater rate of decrease in the first year (42.9%) than in the second year (22.2%). The temperature sensitivity of R_s was affected by UR, and was 2.10 and 1.87 in the control and UR plots, respectively. UR significantly reduced the concentration of fungal PLFAs by 18.3%, but did not affect the concentration of bacterial PLFAs, resulting in an increase in the fungal:bacterial ratio; it significantly increased the concentration of gram-positive bacterial PLFAs by 24.5%, and the ratio of gram-positive to gram-negative bacterial PLFAs after one year of treatment, but decreased the concentration of gram-positive bacterial PLFAs by 9.4% and the ratio of gram-positive to gram-negative bacterial PLFAs after two years of treatment. The results suggested that R_s and microbial community composition were both affected by UR in Chinese fir plantation, and the effects were dependent of the duration following the UR treatment.