Restoration of Highly Impacted Subalpine Campsites in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon

The effects of intensive recreation impacts and restoration amendments on soil parameters were assessed at four campsites in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, northeastern Oregon. Sites (2,215‐ to 2,300‐m elevation) are characterized by shallow granitic soils, an Abies lasiocarpa/Pinus albicaulis overstory, and a Vaccinium scoparium understory. In fall 1995, plots were established at four campsites on three subalpine lakes in which soils were scarified, compost amended, and planted to native species. In summer 1998, we sampled surface soils (0–15 cm) on undisturbed sites (between and under vegetation) and unamended and compost‐amended campsite soils. Samples were analyzed for total organic C, total N, potentially mineralizable N (PMN), NH₄, soil moisture, microbial biomass, basal 5‐day respiration rates, and microbial community carbon utilization profiles. Unamended campsite soils had significantly lower levels of PMN, microbial biomass, basal respiration, and number of substrates metabolized in carbon utilization profiles. Compost addition elevated all these impacted parameters on campsite soils, although the increase in basal respiration rate was neither statistically significant nor sufficient to approach rates found underneath vegetation on undisturbed soils. Only the number of substrates metabolized in the carbon utilization profiles was significantly higher on compost‐amended soils than on undisturbed soils. Levels of PMN indicate that campsite soils may lack sufficient N for rapid plant regeneration, whereas amended and undisturbed soils contained adequate quantities of available N. This work suggests that compost amendments can ameliorate impacts to soil chemistry and microbial populations caused by camping, without exceeding the N fertility found on undisturbed soils.     

Site and temporal variation of soil respiration in European beech, Norway spruce, and Scots pine forests

Global warming and changes in rainfall amount and distribution may affect soil respiration as a major carbon flux between the biosphere and the atmosphere. The objectives of this study were to investigate the site to site and interannual variation in soil respiration of six temperate forest sites. Soil respiration was measured using closed chambers over 2 years under mature beech, spruce and pine stands at both Solling and Unterlüß, Germany, which have distinct climates and soils. Cumulative annual CO₂ fluxes varied from 4.9 to 5.4 Mg C ha^?1 yr^?1 at Solling with silty soils and from 4.0 to 5.9 Mg C ha^?1 yr^?1 at Unterlüß with sandy soils. With one exception soil respiration rates were not significantly different among the six forest sites (site to site variation) and between the years within the same forest site (interannual variation). Only the respiration rate in the spruce stand at Unterlüß was significant lower than the beech stand at Unterlüß in both years. Soil respiration rates of the sandy sites at Unterlüß were limited by soil moisture during the rather dry and warm summer 1999 while soil respiration at the silty Solling site tended to increase. We found a threshold of ?80 kPa at 10 cm depth below which soil respiration decreased with increasing drought. Subsequent wetting of sandy soils revealed high CO₂ effluxes in the stands at Unterlüß. However, dry periods were infrequent, and our results suggest that temporal variation in soil moisture generally had little effect on annual soil respiration rates. Soil temperature at 5 cm and 10 cm depth explained 83% of the temporal variation in soil respiration using the Arrhenius function. The correlations were weaker using temperature at 0 cm (r² = 0.63) and 2.5 cm depth (r² = 0.81). Mean Q₁₀ values for the range from 5 to 15 °C increased asymptotically with soil depth from 1.87 at 0 cm to 3.46 at 10 cm depth, indicating a large uncertainty in the prediction of the temperature dependency of soil respiration. Comparing the fitted Arrhenius curves for same tree species from Solling and Unterlüß revealed higher soil respiration rates for the stands at Solling than in the respective stands at Unterlüß at the same temperature. A significant positive correlation across all sites between predicted soil respiration rates at 10 °C and total phosphorus content and C‐to‐N ratio of the upper mineral soil indicate a possible effect of nutrients on soil respiration.     

Rapid carbon turnover beneath shrub and tree vegetation is associated with low soil carbon stocks at a subarctic treeline

Climate warming at high northern latitudes has caused substantial increases in plant productivity of tundra vegetation and an expansion of the range of deciduous shrub species. However significant the increase in carbon (C) contained within above‐ground shrub biomass, it is modest in comparison with the amount of C stored in the soil in tundra ecosystems. Here, we use a ‘space‐for‐time’ approach to test the hypothesis that a shift from lower‐productivity tundra heath to higher‐productivity deciduous shrub vegetation in the sub‐Arctic may lead to a loss of soil C that out‐weighs the increase in above‐ground shrub biomass. We further hypothesize that a shift from ericoid to ectomycorrhizal systems coincident with this vegetation change provides a mechanism for the loss of soil C. We sampled soil C stocks, soil surface CO₂ flux rates and fungal growth rates along replicated natural transitions from birch forest (Betula pubescens), through deciduous shrub tundra (Betula nana) to tundra heaths (Empetrum nigrum) near Abisko, Swedish Lapland. We demonstrate that organic horizon soil organic C (SOC_org) is significantly lower at shrub (2.98 ± 0.48 kg m^?2) and forest (2.04 ± 0.25 kg m^?2) plots than at heath plots (7.03 ± 0.79 kg m^?2). Shrub vegetation had the highest respiration rates, suggesting that despite higher rates of C assimilation, C turnover was also very high and less C is sequestered in the ecosystem. Growth rates of fungal hyphae increased across the transition from heath to shrub, suggesting that the action of ectomycorrhizal symbionts in the scavenging of organically bound nutrients is an important pathway by which soil C is made available to microbial degradation. The expansion of deciduous shrubs onto potentially vulnerable arctic soils with large stores of C could therefore represent a significant positive feedback to the climate system.     

Thermal adaptation of heterotrophic soil respiration in laboratory microcosms

Respiration of heterotrophic microorganisms decomposing soil organic carbon releases carbon dioxide from soils to the atmosphere. In the short term, soil microbial respiration is strongly dependent on temperature. In the long term, the response of heterotrophic soil respiration to temperature is uncertain. However, following established evolutionary trade‐offs, mass‐specific respiration (R_mass) rates of heterotrophic soil microbes should decrease in response to sustained increases in temperature (and vice‐versa). Using a laboratory microcosm approach, we tested the potential for the R_mass of the microbial biomass in six different soils to adapt to three, experimentally imposed, thermal regimes (constant 10, 20 or 30 °C). To determine R_mass rates of the heterotrophic soil microbial biomass across the temperature range of the imposed thermal regimes, we periodically assayed soil subsamples using similar approaches to those used in plant, animal and microbial thermal adaptation studies. As would be expected given trade‐offs between maximum catalytic rates and the stability of the binding structure of enzymes, after 77 days of incubation R_mass rates across the range of assay temperatures were greatest for the 10 °C experimentally incubated soils and lowest for the 30 °C soils, with the 20 °C incubated soils intermediate. The relative magnitude of the difference in R_mass rates between the different incubation temperature treatments was unaffected by assay temperature, suggesting that maximum activities and not Q₁₀ were the characteristics involved in thermal adaptation. The time taken for changes in R_mass to manifest (77 days) suggests they likely resulted from population or species shifts during the experimental incubations; we discuss alternate mechanistic explanations for those results we observed. A future research priority is to evaluate the role that thermal adaptation plays in regulating heterotrophic respiration rates from field soils in response to changing temperature, whether seasonally or through climate change.     

长白山苔原植被变化对土壤呼吸影响研究

气候变化导致长白山苔原由灌木苔原向灌草苔原演化,对土壤呼吸及碳循环造成了重要影响。为了明确植被变化对苔原土壤呼吸的影响,该研究选取了长白山苔原典型的群落,测定分析了不同草本植物盖度下的土壤呼吸的季节动态变化及差异。结果表明：(1)在生长季,3个群落下不同变化阶段样地的土壤呼吸速率均有明显的动态变化,均呈单峰型变化特征;草本植物盖度增加没有改变土壤呼吸的季节动态变化趋势。(2)草本植物盖度增加对土壤呼吸速率有显著影响,随着草本植物盖度的增加,土壤呼吸速率也逐渐增大。(3)不同植物群落下土壤呼吸不同,在草本植物盖度相同的条件下土壤呼吸速率依次为：牛皮杜鹃 小叶章群落>牛皮杜鹃 地榆群落>笃斯越桔 苔草群落。(4)不同群落草本植物盖度增加对土壤呼吸的增速效应不同,牛皮杜鹃 小叶章群落的土壤呼吸增速最快,笃斯越桔 苔草群落的次之,牛皮杜鹃 地榆群落最小;草本植物盖度的增加也使3个群落之间土壤呼吸的差值出现明显的变化。     

川西亚高山森林土壤呼吸和微生物生物量碳氮对施氮的响应

随着全球大气氮沉降的明显增加,将有可能显著影响我国西部地区受氮限制的亚高山森林生态系统。土壤微生物是生态系统的重要组成部分,是土壤物质循环和能量流动的重要参与者。由于生态系统类型、土壤养分、氮沉降背景值等的差异,土壤呼吸和土壤生物量碳氮对施氮的响应存在许多不确定性。而施氮会不会促进亚高山森林生态系统中土壤呼吸和微生物对土壤碳氮的固定?基于此假设,选择了川西60年生的四川红杉(Larix mastersiana)亚高山针叶林为研究对象,通过4个水平的土壤施氮控制试验(CK:0 g m~(-2) a~(-1)、N1:2 g m~(-2)a~(-1)、N2:5 g m~(-2) a~(-1)、N3:10 g m~(-2)a~(-1)),监测了土壤呼吸及土壤微生物生物量碳氮在一个生长季的动态情况。结果表明:施氮对土壤呼吸各指标和土壤微生物碳氮都有极显著的影响,施氮能促进土壤全呼吸、自养呼吸、异养呼吸通量和土壤微生物生物量碳氮的增长,施氮使土壤呼吸通量提高了11%—15%,土壤微生物量碳提高了5%—9%,土壤微生物量氮提高了23%—34%。在中氮水平下(5 g m~(-2) a~(-1))对土壤呼吸的促进最显著。相关分析发现,土壤呼吸与微生物生物量碳氮和微生物代谢商极呈显著正相关,微生物量碳氮与土壤温度呈极显著的正相关,与土壤湿度呈极显著负相关。通过一般线性回归拟合土壤呼吸速率与土壤10 cm温湿度的关系,发现土壤呼吸速率与土壤温度呈极显著的正相关,与土壤湿度极显著负相关(P0.001),中氮水平下土壤温度敏感性系数Q_(10)值(7.10)明显高于对照(4.26)。     

Altered N,P and C dynamics with absence of fire in Eucalyptus forests affected by premature decline

Absence of fire is increasingly recognized as an important driver of soil nutrient budgets in Eucalyptus forest, especially in forests affected by premature Eucalyptus decline, due to the effects of soil nutrient accumulation on nutrient balances and forest community dynamics. In this study, we present a dataset of soil and foliar nutrient analyses, and vegetation measurements from a fire chronosequence survey in native E. delegatensis forest. Measured indices include total soil and extractable soil nitrogen (N), or phosphorus (P), soil organic carbon (C), soil acid‐phosphatase (PME) activity, foliar N and foliar P, and understorey and overstorey vegetation canopy height. We show that in some cases indices are strongly linked to time since fire (2–46 years). Time since fire correlated positively with foliar N, total and extractable soil N, soil organic C, and also soil PME activity; the latter an indicator of biotic P demand. Differences in the strength of these relationships were apparent between two geology types, with stronger relationships on the potentially less‐fertile geology. The strong positive correlation with time since fire and understorey canopy height reflected increasing shrub biomass and thickening of the shrub layer. The strong positive correlation for soil or foliar N, but not P, with time since fire, indicates that P does not increase relative to N over time. P may, therefore, become limiting to growth in this plant community. Similarly, the significantly higher concentrations of soil N but not P, also found in both older and long‐unburnt forest stands (>100 years since management), may exacerbate a situation of soil nutrient limitation over several decades. A characteristic feature of long unmanaged stands is a developing tea tree (Leptospermum sp.) understorey, which may benefit from elevated soil N availability and increasing organic C accumulation with prolonged fire absence. This increased shrub biomass would outcompete Eucalyptus for resources, including soil nutrients and water.     

Microbial physiology and soil CO2 efflux after 9 years of soil warming in a temperate forest – no indications for thermal adaptations

Thermal adaptations of soil microorganisms could mitigate or facilitate global warming effects on soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition and soil CO₂ efflux. We incubated soil from warmed and control subplots of a forest soil warming experiment to assess whether 9 years of soil warming affected the rates and the temperature sensitivity of the soil CO₂ efflux, extracellular enzyme activities, microbial efficiency, and gross N mineralization. Mineral soil (0–10 cm depth) was incubated at temperatures ranging from 3 to 23 °C. No adaptations to long‐term warming were observed regarding the heterotrophic soil CO₂ efflux (R₁₀ warmed: 2.31 ± 0.15 μmol m^?2 s^?1, control: 2.34 ± 0.29 μmol m^?2 s^?1; Q₁₀ warmed: 2.45 ± 0.06, control: 2.45 ± 0.04). Potential enzyme activities increased with incubation temperature, but the temperature sensitivity of the enzymes did not differ between the warmed and the control soils. The ratio of C : N acquiring enzyme activities was significantly higher in the warmed soil. Microbial biomass‐specific respiration rates increased with incubation temperature, but the rates and the temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀ warmed: 2.54 ± 0.23, control 2.75 ± 0.17) did not differ between warmed and control soils. Microbial substrate use efficiency (SUE) declined with increasing incubation temperature in both, warmed and control, soils. SUE and its temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀ warmed: 0.84 ± 0.03, control: 0.88 ± 0.01) did not differ between warmed and control soils either. Gross N mineralization was invariant to incubation temperature and was not affected by long‐term soil warming. Our results indicate that thermal adaptations of the microbial decomposer community are unlikely to occur in C‐rich calcareous temperate forest soils.     

Microbial community responses reduce soil carbon loss in Tibetan alpine grasslands under short‐term warming

Changes in labile carbon (LC) pools and microbial communities are the primary factors controlling soil heterotrophic respiration (R_h) in warming experiments. Warming is expected to initially increase R_h but studies show this increase may not be continuous or sustained. Specifically, LC and soil microbiome have been shown to contribute to the effect of extended warming on R_h. However, their relative contribution is unclear and this gap in knowledge causes considerable uncertainty in the prediction of carbon cycle feedbacks to climate change. In this study, we used a two‐step incubation approach to reveal the relative contribution of LC limitation and soil microbial community responses in attenuating the effect that extended warming has on R_h. Soil samples from three Tibetan ecosystems—an alpine meadow (AM), alpine steppe (AS), and desert steppe (DS)—were exposed to a temperature gradient of 5–25°C. After an initial incubation period, soils were processed in one of two methods: (a) soils were sterilized then inoculated with parent soil microbes to assess the LC limitation effects, while controlling for microbial community responses; or (b) soil microbes from the incubations were used to inoculate sterilized parent soils to assess the microbial community effects, while controlling for LC limitation. We found both LC limitation and microbial community responses led to significant declines in R_h by 37% and 30%, respectively, but their relative contributions were ecosystem specific. LC limitation alone caused a greater R_h decrease for DS soils than AMs or ASs. Our study demonstrates that soil carbon loss due to R_h in Tibetan alpine soils—especially in copiotrophic soils—will be weakened by microbial community responses under short‐term warming.     

亚热带杉木和马尾松群落土壤系统呼吸及其影响因子

 亚热带杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)和马尾松(Pinus massoniana)在我国森林资源中占有十分重要的地位, 研究它们的土壤与表层凋落物的呼吸有助于了解它们的碳源汇时空分布格局及碳循环过程的关键驱动因子。采用Li-Cor 6400-09连接到Li-6400便携式CO2/H2O分析系统测定湖南两种针叶林群落(2007年1月至12月)的土壤呼吸及其相关根生物量和土壤水热因子。研究结果表明: 杉木和马尾松群落中土壤呼吸的季节变化显著, 在季节动态上的趋势相似, 都呈不规则曲线格局, 全年土壤呼吸速率平均值分别为186.9 mg CO₂•m^–2•h^–1和242.4 mg CO₂•m^–2•h^–1。从1月开始, 两种群落的土壤呼吸速率由最小值33.9 mg CO₂•m^–2•h^–1和38.6 mg CO₂•m^–2•h^–1随着气温的升高而升高, 杉木群落到7月底达到全年中最大值326.3 mg CO₂•m^–2•h^–1, 而马尾松群落到8月中旬达到最大值467.3 mg CO₂•m^–2•h^–1, 土壤呼吸的季节变化与土壤温度呈显著的指数相关, 土壤温度可以分别解释土壤呼吸变化的91.7%和78.0%, 和土壤含水量呈二次方程关系, 土壤含水量可以解释土壤呼吸变化的5.4%和8.4%。由土壤呼吸与土壤温度拟合的指数方程计算Q₁₀值, 杉木和马尾松群落中全年土壤呼吸的Q₁₀值分别为2.26和2.13, Q₁₀值随着温度升高逐渐减小。两种群落土壤呼吸的差异主要受群落植被的根生物量、群落的凋落物量的影响。     

CO2 flux from soil in pastures and forests in southwestern Amazonia

Stocks of carbon in Amazonian forest biomass and soils have received considerable research attention because of their potential as sources and sinks of atmospheric CO₂. Fluxes of CO₂ from soil to the atmosphere, on the other hand, have not been addressed comprehensively in regard to temporal and spatial variations and to land cover change, and have been measured directly only in a few locations in Amazonia. Considerable variation exists across the Amazon Basin in soil properties, climate, and management practices in forests and cattle pastures that might affect soil CO₂ fluxes. Here we report soil CO₂ fluxes from an area of rapid deforestation in the southwestern Amazonian state of Acre. Specifically we addressed (1) the seasonal variation of soil CO₂ fluxes, soil moisture, and soil temperature; (2) the effects of land cover (pastures, mature, and secondary forests) on these fluxes; (3) annual estimates of soil respiration; and (4) the relative contributions of grass‐derived and forest‐derived C as indicated by δ¹³CO₂. Fluxes were greatest during the wet season and declined during the dry season in all land covers. Soil respiration was significantly correlated with soil water‐filled pore space but not correlated with temperature. Annual fluxes were higher in pastures compared with mature and secondary forests, and some of the pastures also had higher soil C stocks. The δ¹³C of CO₂ respired in pasture soils showed that high respiration rates in pastures were derived almost entirely from grass root respiration and decomposition of grass residues. These results indicate that the pastures are very productive and that the larger flux of C cycling through pasture soils compared with forest soils is probably due to greater allocation of C belowground. Secondary forests had soil respiration rates similar to mature forests, and there was no correlation between soil respiration and either forest age or forest biomass. Hence, belowground allocation of C does not appear to be directly related to the stature of vegetation in this region. Variation in seasonal and annual rates of soil respiration of these forests and pastures is more indicative of flux of C through the soil rather than major net changes in ecosystem C stocks.     

Shrub expansion stimulates soil C and N storage along a coastal soil chronosequence

Expansion of woody vegetation in grasslands is a worldwide phenomenon with implications for C and N cycling at local, regional and global scales. Although woody encroachment is often accompanied by increased annual net primary production (ANPP) and increased inputs of litter, mesic ecosystems may become sources for C after woody encroachment because stimulation of soil CO₂ efflux releases stored soil carbon. Our objective was to determine if young, sandy soils on a barrier island became a sink for C after encroachment of the nitrogen‐fixing shrub Morella cerifera, or if associated stimulation of soil CO₂ efflux mitigated increased litterfall. We monitored variations in litterfall in shrub thickets across a chronosequence of shrub expansion and compared those data to previous measurements of ANPP in adjacent grasslands. In the final year, we quantified standing litter C and N pools in shrub thickets and soil organic matter (SOM), soil organic carbon (SOC), soil total nitrogen (TN) and soil CO₂ efflux in shrub thickets and adjacent grasslands. Heavy litterfall resulted in a dense litter layer storing an average of 809 g C m^?2 and 36 g N m^?2. Although soil CO₂ efflux was stimulated by shrub encroachment in younger soils, soil CO₂ efflux did not vary between shrub thickets and grasslands in the oldest soils and increases in CO₂ efflux in shrub thickets did not offset contributions of increased litterfall to SOC. SOC was 3.6–9.8 times higher beneath shrub thickets than in grassland soils and soil TN was 2.5–7.7 times higher under shrub thickets. Accumulation rates of soil and litter C were highest in the youngest thicket at 101 g m^?2 yr^?1 and declined with increasing thicket age. Expansion of shrubs on barrier islands, which have low levels of soil carbon and high potential for ANPP, has the potential to significantly increase ecosystem C sequestration.     

川西北高寒草甸不同放牧模式对土壤呼吸的影响

采用土壤二氧化碳(CO_2)通量自动测量系统,对不同放牧模式(全年禁牧、夏季放牧、冬季放牧和自由放牧)下川西北高寒草甸的土壤呼吸进行监测,比较了不同放牧模式下土壤呼吸的季节动态和温度敏感性。研究发现:1)放牧模式可以改变高寒草甸土壤呼吸的季节动态变化。禁牧、夏季放牧以及自由放牧样地的土壤呼吸在季节上的变化趋势基本相似,而冬季放牧样地的土壤呼吸最大值与前者相比明显向后推迟;2)放牧模式并不改变高寒草甸年平均土壤呼吸速率,但对不同季节土壤呼吸速率的影响不同;3)不同放牧模式可以改变土壤呼吸对温度的敏感性(Q_(10))。不同放牧模式下土壤呼吸Q_(10)值大小依次为:禁牧1a(8.13)冬季放牧(7.49)禁牧3a(5.46)夏季放牧(5.20)自由放牧(4.53)。该地区土壤呼吸的Q_(10)值均明显高于热带和其它温带草地土壤呼吸的Q_(10)值。结果表明,放牧模式是影响高寒草甸土壤碳排放的一个重要因素。此外,在未来全球气候变暖背景下,在生长季节无放牧干扰的高寒草甸可能比放牧干扰的高寒草甸释放出更多的CO_2到大气中。     

Temperature sensitivity of biomass‐specific microbial exo‐enzyme activities and CO2 efflux is resistant to change across short‐ and long‐term timescales

Accurate representation of temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) of soil microbial activity across time is critical for projecting soil CO₂ efflux. As microorganisms mediate soil carbon (C) loss via exo‐enzyme activity and respiration, we explore temperature sensitivities of microbial exo‐enzyme activity and respiratory CO₂ loss across time and assess mechanisms associated with these potential changes in microbial temperature responses. We collected soils along a latitudinal boreal forest transect with different temperature regimes (long‐term timescale) and exposed these soils to laboratory temperature manipulations at 5, 15, and 25°C for 84 days (short‐term timescale). We quantified temperature sensitivity of microbial activity per g soil and per g microbial biomass at days 9, 34, 55, and 84, and determined bacterial and fungal community structure before the incubation and at days 9 and 84. All biomass‐specific rates exhibited temperature sensitivities resistant to change across short‐ and long‐term timescales (mean Q₁₀ = 2.77 ± 0.25, 2.63 ± 0.26, 1.78 ± 0.26, 2.27 ± 0.25, 3.28 ± 0.44, 2.89 ± 0.55 for β‐glucosidase, N‐acetyl‐β‐d ‐glucosaminidase, leucine amino peptidase, acid phosphatase, cellobiohydrolase, and CO₂ efflux, respectively). In contrast, temperature sensitivity of soil mass‐specific rates exhibited either resilience (the Q₁₀ value changed and returned to the original value over time) or resistance to change. Regardless of the microbial flux responses, bacterial and fungal community structure was susceptible to change with temperature, significantly differing with short‐ and long‐term exposure to different temperature regimes. Our results highlight that temperature responses of microbial resource allocation to exo‐enzyme production and associated respiratory CO₂ loss per unit biomass can remain invariant across time, and thus, that vulnerability of soil organic C stocks to rising temperatures may persist in the long term. Furthermore, resistant temperature sensitivities of biomass‐specific rates in spite of different community structures imply decoupling of community constituents and the temperature responses of soil microbial activities.     

Topographic and climatic controls on soil respiration in six temperate mixed-hardwood forest slopes, Korea

To better understand the effects of local topography and climate on soil respiration, we conducted field measurements and soil incubation experiments to investigate various factors influencing spatial and temporal variations in soil respiration for six mixed‐hardwood forest slopes in the midst of the Korean Peninsula. Soil respiration and soil water content (SWC) were significantly greater (P=0.09 and 0.003, respectively) on north‐facing slopes compared to south‐facing slopes, while soil temperature was not significantly different between slopes (P>0.5). At all sites, soil temperature was the primary factor driving temporal variations in soil respiration (r²=0.84–0.96) followed by SWC, which accounted for 30% of soil respiration spatial and temporal variability. Results from both field measurements and incubation experiments indicate that variations in soil respiration due to aspect can be explained by a convex‐shaped function relating SWC to normalized soil respiration rates. Annual soil respiration estimates (1070–1246 g C m^?2 yr^?1) were not closely related to mean annual air temperatures among sites from different climate regimes. When soils from each site were incubated at similar temperatures in a laboratory, respiration rates for mineral soils from wetter and cooler sites were significantly higher than those for the drier and warmer sites (n=4, P<0.01). Our results indicate that the application of standard temperature‐based Q₁₀ models to estimate soil respiration rates for larger geographic areas covering different aspects or climatic regimes are not adequate unless other factors, such as SWC and total soil nitrogen, are considered in addition to soil temperature.     

Consistent effects of nitrogen amendments on soil microbial communities and processes across biomes

Ecosystems worldwide are receiving increasing amounts of reactive nitrogen (N) via anthropogenic activities with the added N having potentially important impacts on microbially mediated belowground carbon dynamics. However, a comprehensive understanding of how elevated N availability affects soil microbial processes and community dynamics remains incomplete. The mechanisms responsible for the observed responses are poorly resolved and we do not know if soil microbial communities respond in a similar manner across ecosystems. We collected 28 soils from a broad range of ecosystems in North America, amended soils with inorganic N, and incubated the soils under controlled conditions for 1 year. Consistent across nearly all soils, N addition decreased microbial respiration rates, with an average decrease of 11% over the year‐long incubation, and decreased microbial biomass by 35%. High‐throughput pyrosequencing showed that N addition consistently altered bacterial community composition, increasing the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Firmicutes, and decreasing the relative abundance of Acidobacteria and Verrucomicrobia. Further, N‐amended soils consistently had lower activities in a broad suite of extracellular enzymes and had decreased temperature sensitivity, suggesting a shift to the preferential decomposition of more labile C pools. The observed trends held across strong gradients in climate and soil characteristics, indicating that the soil microbial responses to N addition are likely controlled by similar wide‐spread mechanisms. Our results support the hypothesis that N addition depresses soil microbial activity by shifting the metabolic capabilities of soil bacterial communities, yielding communities that are less capable of decomposing more recalcitrant soil carbon pools and leading to a potential increase in soil carbon sequestration rates.     

祁连山北坡退化林地植被群落的自然恢复过程及土壤特征变化

采用长期定位观测的方法,研究了祁连山北坡退化林地人工抚育下2001-2008年间植被群落的自然恢复过程和土壤特征变化。结果表明:人为干扰消除后,退化林地群落环境逐渐优化,群落的科、属、种均明显增加,物种成员更替频繁;灌木和乔木物种出现后,群落垂直高度增大,群落结构出现成层现象;群落总体多样性指数呈不断增大的趋势,在空间结构上,Patrick丰富度指数、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和Simpson优势度指数表现出:草本层>灌木层>乔木层的规律,而Pielou均匀度指数变化相反;土壤含水量、土壤有机碳和全氮含量随植被恢复均不断增加。在实施封育禁牧措施后,退化林地实现了由草本群落-灌木群落-乔木群落方向的快速演替,当恢复到早期的先锋乔灌混交阶段时,群落的物种组成、结构和多样性趋于复杂化,土壤性状也得到一定改善,显示出相对较好的适应性和恢复效果。     

Above- and belowground patterns in a subalpine grassland-shrub mosaic

Many mountain pastures consist of a mosaic of grassland and shrub communities. Ongoing changes in mountain agriculture have affected the balance between the two elements of the mosaic. In order to understand the consequences of these changes for ecosystem functioning, we studied patterns in vegetation, root structure and soil properties along transects of varying grassland-to-shrub proportions. Our hypothesis was that differences in the vegetation aboveground are accompanied by differences belowground, related to soil properties and depth. The research was conducted at a subalpine site in the Trentino region (South-eastern Alps), consisting of Nardus stricta grasslands alternating with shrub patches of Rhododendron ferrugineum. Our investigation showed that the composition of vegetation was mainly governed by R. ferrugineum cover and less by soil properties. Plant species richness peaked at low to intermediate degrees of shrub cover and composition between transects became more similar with increasing shrub cover. Where R. ferrugineum cover was higher, Hemicryptophytes caespitosae were replaced by Nano-phanerophytes with consequences for belowground structures. At increasing shrub cover, root length density decreased, especially in the top soil, while root weight density remained stable and C content increased insignificantly. We discuss that theses structural changes along the gradient of R. ferrugineum cover affect a number of ecosystem services. The presented evidence suggests that maintaining grasslands with a low cover of R. ferrugineum balances a number of services, namely plant species diversity, carbon stabilization in soil and the prevention of soil erosion.     

Carbon dioxide concentrations within forest canopies—variation with time, stand structure, and vegetation type

Vertical CO₂ profiles (between 0.02 and 14.0 m) were studied in forest canopies of Pinus contorta, Populus tremuloides, and in a riparian forest with Acer negundo and Acer grandidentatum during two consecutive growing seasons. Profiles, measured continuously during 1- to 13-day periods in four to five stands differing in overstorey canopy area index (CAI < 4.5; including leaves, branches and stems), were well stratified, with highest [CO₂] just above the forest floor. Canopy [CO₂] profiles were influenced by stand structure (CAI, presence of understorey vegetation), and were highly dependent on vegetation type (deciduous and evergreen). A doubling of CAI in Acer spp. and P. tremuloides stands did not show an effect on upper canopy [CO₂], when turbulent mixing was high. However, increasing understorey biomass in Acer spp. stands had a profound effect on lower canopy [CO₂]. In open stands with a vigorous understorey layer, higher soil respiration rates were offset by increased understorey gas exchange, resulting in [CO₂] below those of the convective boundary layer (CBL). Midday depletions up to 20 ppmv below CBL values could be frequently observed in deciduous canopies. In evergreen canopies, [CO₂] stayed generally above the CBL background values, [CO₂] profiles were more uniform, and gradients were smaller than in deciduous stands with similar CAI. Seasonal changes of canopy [CO₂] reflected changes in soil respiration rates as well as plant phenology and gas exchange of both dominant tree and understorey vegetation. Seasonal patterns were less pronounced in evergreen than in deciduous forests.     

降雨量改变对黄河三角洲滨海湿地土壤呼吸的影响

全球变化背景下,降雨模式变化造成土壤水分波动是引起土壤呼吸动态变化的重要驱动力。但滨海湿地如何响应降雨模式变化,进而引起生态系统蓝碳功能改变的机制尚不清楚。依托黄河三角洲滨海湿地增减雨野外控制试验平台,采用土壤碳通量观测系统(LI—8100)对湿地土壤呼吸速率进行监测,探究了2017年黄河三角洲滨海湿地土壤呼吸及环境、生物因子对减雨60%、减雨40%、对照60%、对照40%、增雨40%、增雨60%等变化的响应及机制。结果表明:1)随着降雨量增加,湿地土壤温度逐渐降低;同时增雨和减雨处理均显著提高了湿地土壤湿度(P0.05)。(2)降雨量变化显著影响湿地植被物种组成、地上和地下生物量分配以及植被根冠比(P0.05)。增雨40%和增雨60%均显著提高了湿地植物种类和植被根冠比,但同时显著降低了湿地植被地上生物量。此外,增雨40%和减雨60%处理均显著提高了湿地植被地下生物量。(3)降雨量变化对2017年湿地季节土壤呼吸无显著影响,但在湿地非淹水期,增雨60%和增雨40%均显著提高了湿地土壤呼吸速率(P0.05)。(4)2017年湿地不同降雨处理的土壤呼吸与土壤湿度均呈二次曲线关系(P0.05),相关系数随降雨量增加而降低;同时在非淹水期不同降雨处理的土壤呼吸与土壤温度均指数相关(P0.05),土壤呼吸温度敏感性(Q_(10))随降雨量增加而增大。在淹水期不同降雨处理土壤呼吸与土壤温度无显著相关关系。(5)淹水期土壤呼吸速率与地表水位呈指数负相关(P0.001)。