Environmental effects on CO2 efflux from riparian tundra in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range,Alaska, USA

Summary Carbon dioxide efflux and soil microenvironmental factors were measured diurnally in Carex aquatilus-and Eriophorum angustifolium-dominated riparian tundra communities to determine the relative importance of soil environmental factors controlling ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange with the atmosphere. Measurements were made weekly between 18 June and 24 July 1990. Diurnal patterns in carbon dioxide efflux were best explained by changes in soil temperature, while seasonal changes in efflux were correlated with changes in depth to water table, depth to frozen soil and soil moisture. Carbon dioxide efflux rates were lowest early in the growing season when high water tables and low soil temperatures limited microbial and root activity. Individual rainfall events that raised the water table were found to strongly reduce carbon dioxide efflux. As the growing season progressed, rainfall was low and depth to water table and soil temperatures increased. In response, carbon dioxide efflux increased strongly, attaining rates late in the season of approximately 10 g CO₂ m^–2 day^–1. These rates are as high as maxima recorded for other arctic sites. A mathematical model is developed which demonstrates that soil temperature and depth to water table may be used as efficient predictors of ecosystem CO₂ efflux in this habitat. In parallel with the field measurements of CO₂ efflux, microbial respiration was studied in the laboratory as a function of temperature and water content. Estimates of microbial respiration per square meter under field conditions were made by adjusting for potential respiring soil volume as water table changed and using measured soil temperatures. The results indicate that the effect of these factors on microbial respiration may explain a large part of the diurnal and seasonal variation observed in CO₂ efflux. As in coastal tundra sites, environmental changes that alter water table depth in riparian tundra communities will have large effects on ecosystem CO₂ efflux and carbon balance.     

Integration of Process-based Soil Respiration Models with Whole-Ecosystem CO2 Measurements

We integrated soil models with an established ecosystem process model (SIPNET, simplified photosynthesis and evapotranspiration model) to investigate the influence of soil processes on modelled values of soil CO₂ fluxes (R _Soil). Model parameters were determined from literature values and a data assimilation routine that used a 7-year record of the net ecosystem exchange of CO₂ and environmental variables collected at a high-elevation subalpine forest (the Niwot Ridge AmeriFlux site). These soil models were subsequently evaluated in how they estimated the seasonal contribution of R _Soil to total ecosystem respiration (TER) and the seasonal contribution of root respiration (R _Root) to R _Soil. Additionally, these soil models were compared to data assimilation output of linear models of soil heterotrophic respiration. Explicit modelling of root dynamics led to better agreement with literature values of the contribution of R _Soil to TER. Estimates of R _Soil/TER when root dynamics were considered ranged from 0.3 to 0.6; without modelling root biomass dynamics these values were 0.1–0.3. Hence, we conclude that modelling of root biomass dynamics is critically important to model the R _Soil/TER ratio correctly. When soil heterotrophic respiration was dependent on linear functions of temperature and moisture independent of soil carbon pool size, worse model-data fits were produced. Adding additional complexity to the soil pool marginally improved the model-data fit from the base model, but issues remained. The soil models were not successful in modelling R _Root/R _Soil. This is partially attributable to estimated turnover parameters of soil carbon pools not agreeing with expected values from literature and being poorly constrained by the parameter estimation routine. We conclude that net ecosystem exchange of CO₂ alone cannot constrain specific rhizospheric and microbial components of soil respiration. Reasons for this include inability of the data assimilation routine to constrain soil parameters using ecosystem CO₂ flux measurements and not considering the effect of other resource limitations (for example, nitrogen) on the microbe biomass. Future data assimilation studies with these models should include ecosystem-scale measurements of R _Soil in the parameter estimation routine and experimentally determine soil model parameters not constrained by the parameter estimation routine.     

Main determinants of forest soil respiration along an elevation/temperature gradient in the Italian Alps

The main determinants of soil respiration were investigated in 11 forest types distributed along an altitudinal and thermal gradient in the southern Italian Alps (altitudinal range 1520 m, range in mean annual temperature 7.8°C). Soil respiration, soil carbon content and principal stand characteristics were measured with standardized methods. Soil CO₂ fluxes were measured at each site every 15–20 days with a closed dynamic system (LI‐COR 6400) using soil collars from spring 2000 to spring 2002. At the same time, soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm and soil water content (m³ m^?3) were measured at each collar. Soil samples were collected to a depth of 30 cm and stones, root content and bulk density were determined in order to obtain reliable estimates of carbon content per unit area (kg C m^?2). Soil respiration and temperature data were fitted with a simple logistic model separately for each site, so that base respiration rates and mean annual soil respiration were estimated. Then the same regression model was applied to all sites simultaneously, with each model parameter being expressed as a linear function of site variables. The general model explained about 86% of the intersite variability of soil respiration. In particular, soil mean annual temperature explained the most of the variance of the model (0.41), followed by soil temperature interquartlile range (0.24), soil carbon content (0.16) and soil water content (0.05).     

Carbon exchange in biological soil crust communities under differential temperatures and soil water contents: implications for global change

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are an integral part of the soil system in arid regions worldwide, stabilizing soil surfaces, aiding vascular plant establishment, and are significant sources of ecosystem nitrogen and carbon. Hydration and temperature primarily control ecosystem CO₂ flux in these systems. Using constructed mesocosms for incubations under controlled laboratory conditions, we examined the effect of temperature (5–35 °C) and water content (WC, 20–100%) on CO₂ exchange in light (cyanobacterially dominated) and dark (cyanobacteria/lichen and moss dominated) biocrusts of the cool Colorado Plateau Desert in Utah and the hot Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico. In light crusts from both Utah and New Mexico, net photosynthesis was highest at temperatures >30 °C. Net photosynthesis in light crusts from Utah was relatively insensitive to changes in soil moisture. In contrast, light crusts from New Mexico tended to exhibit higher rates of net photosynthesis at higher soil moisture. Dark crusts originating from both sites exhibited the greatest net photosynthesis at intermediate soil water content (40–60%). Declines in net photosynthesis were observed in dark crusts with crusts from Utah showing declines at temperatures >25 °C and those originating from New Mexico showing declines at temperatures >35 °C. Maximum net photosynthesis in all crust types from all locations were strongly influenced by offsets in the optimal temperature and water content for gross photosynthesis compared with dark respiration. Gross photosynthesis tended to be maximized at some intermediate value of temperature and water content and dark respiration tended to increase linearly. The results of this study suggest biocrusts are capable of CO₂ exchange under a wide range of conditions. However, significant changes in the magnitude of this exchange should be expected for the temperature and precipitation changes suggested by current climate models.     

降雨对草地土壤呼吸季节变异性的影响

利用土壤碳通量自动观测系统(LI-8150)对呼伦贝尔草原在自然降雨条件下的土壤呼吸作用进行了野外定位连续观测,研究结果表明:降雨对土壤呼吸作用存在激发效应和抑制效应,降雨发生后1-2 h内土壤呼吸速率可增加约1倍,当单次或者连续降雨累积量大于7-8 mm,或土壤含水量大于29%-30%时,降雨对土壤呼吸会产生明显的抑制作用。土壤呼吸的激发效应往往体现在次日,表现为次日平均土壤呼吸速率的显著升高;而抑制效应则在当日即可体现出来,表现为观测当日平均土壤呼吸速率的明显下降。土壤呼吸季节变异性与降雨频率和降雨强度密切相关,在降雨量一定的情况下,较低的降雨频率和较高的降雨强度会增加土壤呼吸的变异性。呼伦贝尔草甸草原而言,在生长季土壤平均含水量为16.5%时,土壤呼吸的温度敏感性值(Q₁₀)为2.12;而平均土壤含水量为26%时,Q₁₀值为2.82,明显高于前者,土壤含水量与Q₁₀之间存在正相关关系。降雨导致土壤呼吸的激发效应和抑制效应交替发生,使草地土壤呼吸的季节变异性增加,降雨格局变化必然会对草地碳循环和碳通量特征产生深刻影响。     

Influence of temperature and soil drying on respiration of individual roots in citrus: integrating greenhouse observations into a predictive model for the field

In citrus, the majority of fine roots are distributed near the soil surface – a region where conditions are frequently dry and temperatures fluctuate considerably. To develop a better understanding of the relationship between changes in soil conditions and a plant’s below‐ground respiratory costs, the effects of temperature and soil drying on citrus root respiration were quantified in controlled greenhouse experiments. Chambers designed for measuring the respiration of individual roots were used. Under moist soil conditions, root respiration in citrus increased exponentially with changes in soil temperature (Q₁₀ = 1·8–2·0), provided that the changes in temperature were short‐term. However, when temperatures were held constant, root respiration did not increase exponentially with increasing temperatures. Instead, the roots acclimated to controlled temperatures above 23 °C, thereby reducing their metabolism in warmer soils. Under drying soil conditions, root respiration decreased gradually beginning at 6% soil water content and reached a minimum at <2% soil water content in sandy soil. A model was constructed from greenhouse data to predict diurnal patterns of fine root respiration based on temperature and soil water content. The model was then validated in the field using data obtained by CO₂ trapping on root systems of mature citrus trees. The trees were grown at a site where the soil temperature and water content were manipulated. Respiration predicted by the model was in general agreement with observed rates, which indicates the model may be used to estimate entire root system respiration for citrus.     

Soil Respiration and Belowground Carbon Allocation in Mangrove Forests

Mangrove forests cover large areas of tropical and subtropical coastlines. They provide a wide range of ecosystem services that includes carbon storage in above- and below ground biomass and in soils. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from soil, or soil respiration is important in the global carbon budget and is sensitive to increasing global temperature. To understand the magnitude of mangrove soil respiration and the influence of forest structure and temperature on the variation in mangrove soil respiration I assessed soil respiration at eleven mangrove sites, ranging from latitude 27°N to 37°S. Mangrove soil respiration was similar to those observed for terrestrial forest soils. Soil respiration was correlated with leaf area index (LAI) and aboveground net primary production (litterfall), which should aid scaling up to regional and global estimates of soil respiration. Using a carbon balance model, total belowground carbon allocation (TBCA) per unit litterfall was similar in tall mangrove forests as observed in terrestrial forests, but in scrub mangrove forests TBCA per unit litter fall was greater than in terrestrial forests, suggesting mangroves allocate a large proportion of their fixed carbon below ground under unfavorable environmental conditions. The response of soil respiration to soil temperature was not a linear function of temperature. At temperatures below 26°C Q10 of mangrove soil respiration was 2.6, similar to that reported for terrestrial forest soils. However in scrub forests soil respiration declined with increasing soil temperature, largely because of reduced canopy cover and enhanced activity of photosynthetic benthic microbial communities.     

降雨对旱作春玉米农田土壤呼吸动态的影响

土壤呼吸是调控全球碳平衡和气候变化的关键过程之一,降雨作为重要的扰动因子,在不同区域和不同环境条件下,对土壤呼吸具有复杂的影响.研究降雨对农田土壤呼吸及其分量的影响,对准确预测未来气候变化下陆地生态系统碳平衡具有重要意义.对黄土高原东部典型春玉米农田生态系统生长季内3次降雨前后土壤呼吸及其分量进行了原位连续观测,结果表明:在土壤湿润的条件下,降雨对春玉米农田土壤呼吸及其分量具有明显的抑制作用,在土壤湿度大于27％后土壤呼吸及其分量随土壤湿度上升呈明显下降,且对温度的敏感性降低.土壤呼吸及其分量在降雨前后的变化受土壤温度和土壤湿度的共同影响.降雨量、降雨历时和雨前土壤含水量决定了土壤呼吸及其分量对降雨响应的程度和时长.土壤呼吸及其分量对土壤温度的敏感性各不相同,微生物呼吸对温度的敏感性最高,Q10为5.14;其次是土壤呼吸,Q10为3.86;根呼吸的温度敏感性相对最低,Q10为3.24.由于土壤呼吸分量对温度和湿度的敏感性不同,降雨后根呼吸的比例有所升高.     

武夷山不同林龄甜槠林土壤呼吸特征及影响因素

为揭示中亚热带常绿阔叶林群落优势种一甜槠天然林不同林龄林下土壤呼吸(Soil respiration,RS)差异及影响因素,采用LI-8100开路式土壤碳通量系统对武夷山自然保护区不同林龄(18、36、54、72 a)天然甜槠林进行了1年的野外原位测定。结果表明:(1)不同林龄甜槠林RS季节动态呈现明显的单峰趋势,林龄对冬季RS影响并不显著(P>0.05),秋季18 a甜槠林RS与其他3种林龄差异显著(P<0.05),林龄对土壤含水率的季节变化没有显著影响(P>0.05);(2)不同林龄甜槠林5 cm深土壤温度与RS拟合R2明显高于土壤含水率与RS拟合R2,随着林龄增大,RS温度敏感性指数Q10值呈上升趋势,依次为1.551、1.589、1.640、1.664,且54、72 a甜槠林RS温度敏感性指数Q10值显著高于18、36 a(P<0.05);(3)土壤含水率与5 cm深土壤温度共同解释了RS变异的86%—90.3%;0—60 cm土层根系生物量与5 cm深土壤温度共同解释了RS变异的88.3%—91.8%,由此可见,生物因子与非生物因子双因素拟合可以更好地解释不同林龄RS差异。在对未来森林植被土壤呼吸及碳汇功能进行研究时,应在考虑林龄及季节差异的基础上,加强对生物因子的测定。     

陆地生态系统土壤CO2排放对模拟增温的响应特征及影响因素

全球变暖已经成为不争的事实,陆地生态系统碳循环的研究受到了各界广泛关注,是当前全球变化研究中的重点。土壤CO₂排放是陆地生态系统与大气间二氧化碳交换的最大通量之一,当前陆地生态系统中土壤CO₂排放如何响应全球气候变暖及其影响因素仍不清楚,限制了对土壤碳循环过程及影响机制的深入认识。旨在明确全球变暖背景下陆地生态系统中土壤CO₂排放格局及影响因素。基于Web of Science、PubMed和中国知网等中英文期刊数据库,充分收集全球范围内的相关野外试验文献81篇,提取出65个研究位置和213组相关研究数据,采用Meta分析方法探讨陆地生态系统土壤CO₂排放对增温的响应特征,分析其与海拔、气候、土壤含水量、容重(BD)、pH、全氮(TN)和土壤有机碳(SOC)的相关关系。结果表明:陆地生态系统中土壤CO₂排放对增温整体有显著的正向响应,在农、林、草生态系统中,增温使土壤CO₂排放分别显著增加13.1%、18.0%、5.9% (P<0.05),森林生态系统对增温响应的正效应最强烈;增温能在短时期内促进土壤呼吸,但随着增温持续时间增加,土壤呼吸对温度的敏感性会降低,对温度变化产生适应性,从而使其对增温的响应能力减弱;响应特征受到环境因子、土壤特性以及其他试验条件等的影响,绝大多数条件下对增温表现出显著的正响应特征,不同影响因子之间共同作用、相互影响。增温通常能够改变植物生物量、土壤养分含量及微生物数量和活性,从而影响到植被根际呼吸和土壤呼吸速率。相关分析表明,海拔对土壤CO₂排放有显著负向影响,而年均气温、年均降水量、土壤含水量和仪器嵌入土壤深度则对土壤CO₂排放产生显著正向影响。这些结果对于理解全球土壤CO₂排放的时空变化格局有重要意义,也为准确评价全球变暖背景下土壤碳汇功能及其持续性提供理论依据。     

Soil water content and temperature as independent or confounded factors controlling soil respiration in a temperate mixed hardwood forest

Variation in soil temperature can account for most of the seasonal and diel variation in soil CO₂ efflux, but the temperature effect is not always consistent, and other factors such as soil water content are known to influence soil respiration. The objectives of this research were to study the spatial and temporal variation in soil respiration in a temperate forested landscape and to evaluate temperature and soil water functions as predictors of soil respiration. Soil CO₂ fluxes were measured with chambers throughout an annual cycle in six study areas at the Harvard Forest in central Massachusetts that include soil drainage classes from well drained to very poorly drained. The mean annual estimate of soil CO₂ efflux was 7.2 Mg ha^–1, but ranged from 5.3 in the swamp site to 8.5 in a well-drained site, indicating that landscape heterogeneity is related to soil drainage class. An exponential function relating CO₂ fluxes to soil temperature accounted for 80% of the seasonal variation in fluxes across all sites (Q₁₀ = 3.9), but the Q₁₀ ranged from 3.4 to 5.6 for the individual study sites. A significant drought in 1995 caused rapid declines in soil respiration rates in August and September in five of the six sites (a swamp site was the exception). This decline in CO₂ fluxes correlated exponentially with decreasing soil matric potential, indicating a mechanistic effect of drought stress. At moderate to high water contents, however, soil water content was negatively correlated with soil temperature, which precluded distinguishing between the effects of these two confounded factors on CO₂ flux. Occurrence of high Q₁₀ values and variation in Q₁₀ values among sites may be related to: (i) confounding effects of high soil water content; (ii) seasonal and diel patterns in root respiration and turnover of fine roots that are linked to above ground phenology and metabolism; and (iii) variation in the depth where CO₂ is produced. The Q₁₀ function can yield reasonably good predictions of annual fluxes of CO₂, but it is a simplification that masks responses of root and microbial processes to variation in temperature and water content throughout the soil.     

Pore-scale investigation on the response of heterotrophic respiration to moisture conditions in heterogeneous soils

The relationship between microbial respiration rate and soil moisture content is an important property for understanding and predicting soil organic carbon degradation, CO₂ production and emission, and their subsequent effects on climate change. This paper reports a pore-scale modeling study to investigate the response of heterotrophic respiration to moisture conditions in soils and to evaluate various factors that affect this response. X-ray computed tomography was used to derive soil pore structures, which were then used for pore-scale model investigation. The pore-scale results were then averaged to calculate the effective respiration rates as a function of water content in soils. The calculated effective respiration rate first increases and then decreases with increasing soil water content, showing a maximum respiration rate at water saturation degree of 0.75, which is consistent with field and laboratory observations. The relationship between the respiration rate and moisture content is affected by various factors, including pore-scale organic carbon bioavailability, the rate of oxygen delivery, soil pore structure and physical heterogeneity, soil clay content, and microbial drought resistivity. Overall, this study provides mechanistic insights into the soil respiration response to the change in moisture conditions, and reveals a complex relationship between heterotrophic microbial respiration rate and moisture content in soils that is affected by various hydrological, geophysical, and biochemical factors.     

Responses of soil respiration to elevated CO2, air warming, and changing soil water availability in a model old-field grassland

Responses of soil respiration to atmospheric and climatic change will have profound impacts on ecosystem and global carbon (C) cycling in the future. This study was conducted to examine effects on soil respiration of the concurrent driving factors of elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration, air warming, and changing precipitation in a constructed old‐field grassland in eastern Tennessee, USA. Model ecosystems of seven old‐field species were established in open‐top chambers and treated with factorial combinations of ambient or elevated (+300 ppm) CO₂ concentration, ambient or elevated (+3 °C) air temperature, and high or low soil moisture content. During the 19‐month experimental period from June 2003 to December 2004, higher CO₂ concentration and soil water availability significantly increased mean soil respiration by 35.8% and 15.7%, respectively. The effects of air warming on soil respiration varied seasonally from small reductions to significant increases to no response, and there was no significant main effect. In the wet side of elevated CO₂ chambers, air warming consistently caused increases in soil respiration, whereas in the other three combinations of CO₂ and water treatments, warming tended to decrease soil respiration over the growing season but increase it over the winter. There were no interactive effects on soil respiration among any two or three treatment factors irrespective of time period. Treatment‐induced changes in soil temperature and moisture together explained 49%, 44%, and 56% of the seasonal variations of soil respiration responses to elevated CO₂, air warming, and changing precipitation, respectively. Additional indirect effects of seasonal dynamics and responses of plant growth on C substrate supply were indicated. Given the importance of indirect effects of the forcing factors and plant community dynamics on soil temperature, moisture, and C substrate, soil respiration response to climatic warming should not be represented in models as a simple temperature response function, and a more mechanistic representation including vegetation dynamics and substrate supply is needed.     

Rapid laboratory measurement of the temperature dependence of soil respiration and application to changes in three diverse soils through the year

Determining the temperature dependence of soil respiration is needed to test predictive models such as Arrhenius-like functions and macro-molecular rate theory (MMRT). We tested a method for rapid measurement of respiration using a temperature gradient block, cooled at one end (~2 °C) and heated at the other (~50 °C) that accommodated 44 tubes containing soil incubated at roughly 1 °C increments. Gas samples were taken after 5 h incubation and analysed for CO₂. The temperature gradient block allowed rapid assessment of temperature dependence of soil respiration with the precision needed to test models and explore existing theories of how temperature and moisture interact to control biochemical processes. Temperature response curves were well fitted by MMRT and allowed calculation of the temperature at which absolute temperature sensitivity was maximal (T_inf). We measured temperature response of three soils at seven moisture contents and showed that the absolute rate and sensitivity of respiration was partly dependent on adjusted moisture content. This result implied that comparisons between soils need to be made at a common moisture content. We also measured potential changes in the temperature dependence (and sensitivity) of respiration for three different soils collected at one site throughout a year. T_inf ranged from 43 to 51 °C for the three soils. T_inf and temperature sensitivity were not dependent on soil type collected but was partly dependent on time of year of collection. Temporal changes in temperature response suggested that the microbial communities may tune their metabolisms in response to changes in soil temperatures.     

水热因子对退化草原羊草恢复演替群落土壤呼吸的影响

 对内蒙古锡林郭勒白音锡勒牧场退化恢复羊草（Leymus chinensis）草原生态系统土壤呼吸作用的主要影响因子分析表明,环境因子对土壤呼吸作用的影响程度依次表现为：土壤水分>温度;水分对土壤呼吸作用的影响可分成3段,即<7.5%、7.5%～18.4%和>18.4%。当0～10cm土壤含水量＜7.5%时,土壤温度是土壤呼吸作用的主导控制因子,土壤呼吸作用与5cm土壤温度呈幂函数关系;而当0～10cm土壤含水量＞7.5%时,土壤呼吸作用受土壤水分和土壤温度的共同作用。研究还表明：在植物生长季内,当土壤水分接近羊草草原土壤萎蔫系数6.0%时所测得土壤呼吸作用为植被在干旱胁迫下的土壤呼吸作用,而当土壤水分大于羊草草原土壤萎蔫系数6.0%时,土壤呼吸作用的增加主要是由于植物生长及其引起的根系活动和微生物数量、组成及其活性共同影响的,进而可以解释不同水分条件下土壤及植物根系在土壤呼吸作用中的不同贡献,为建立土壤呼吸作用模型及正确地理解陆地碳收支及其固碳潜力提供依据。     

Consistent temperature dependence of respiration across ecosystems contrasting in thermal history

Ecosystem respiration is a primary component of the carbon cycle and understanding the mechanisms that determine its temperature dependence will be important for predicting how rates of carbon efflux might respond to global warming. We used a rare model system, comprising a network of geothermally heated streams ranging in temperature from 5 °C to 25 °C, to explore the nature of the relationship between respiration and temperature. Using this ‘natural experiment’, we tested whether the natal thermal regime of stream communities influenced the temperature dependence of respiration in the absence of other potentially confounding variables. An empirical survey of 13 streams across the thermal gradient revealed that the temperature dependence of whole‐stream respiration was equivalent to the average activation energy of the respiratory complex (0.6–0.7 eV). This observation was also consistent for in‐situ benthic respiration. Laboratory experiments, incubating biofilms from four streams across the thermal gradient at a range of temperatures, revealed that the activation energy and Q₁₀ of respiration were remarkably consistent across streams, despite marked differences in their thermal history and significant turnover in species composition. Furthermore, absolute rates of respiration at standardised temperature were also unrelated to ambient stream temperature, but strongly reflected differences in biofilm biomass. Together, our results suggest that the core biochemistry, which drives the kinetics of oxidative respiratory metabolism, may be well conserved among diverse taxa and environments, and that the intrinsic sensitivity of respiration to temperature is not influenced by ambient environmental temperature.     

Aspen-associated mycorrhizal fungal production and respiration as a function of changing CO2, O3 and climatic variables

The relationships of mycorrhizal fungal respiration and productivity to climate and atmospheric chemistry remain under characterized. We quantified mycorrhizal sporocarp and hyphal respiration, as well as growing season net hyphal production, under ambient and elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂) and ozone (O₃) in relation to natural temperature and moisture variation. Hyphal respiration did not respond significantly to elevated CO₂ and O₃. Sporocarp respiration was affected by temperature and moisture content while hyphal respiratory response to temperature was undetected over the narrower range of soil temperatures captured. Hyphal respiration comprised 31 % of soil respiration, and the ratio of hyphal respiration to soil respiration declined with elevated CO₂. Hyphal biomass was reduced under all treatments though not statistically significant. Given the large fraction of soil respiration represented by mycorrhizal fungi and its sensitivity to climate, a small change in fungal respiration could strongly affect carbon budgets and cycling under climate change.     

Soil respiration under prolonged soil warming: are rate reductions caused by acclimation or substrate loss?

The world's soils contain a large amount of carbon so that even a fractionally small loss or gain could have a quantitatively important feedback effect on net CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere. It is therefore important to fully understand the temperature dependence of soil‐carbon decomposition. Evidence from various observations can be used to quantify the temperature dependence of carbon efflux, but it is important to ensure that confounding factors, such as changing water relations or availability of readily decomposable substrate, are fully considered in inferring an underlying temperature response from observed response patterns. A number of recent findings from soil‐warming experiments have led to the suggestion that stimulation of soil‐carbon efflux by increasing temperature is only transitory before acclimation takes place and carbon efflux rates return to similar rates as before the increase in temperature. It is shown here that this response pattern can be explained through a simple two‐pool soil‐carbon model with no acclimation response needing to be invoked. The temporal pattern is, instead, due to depletion of readily decomposable substrate. It shows that findings of reduced respiration rate in soil‐warming experiments are consistent with unchanged high temperature sensitivity of organic carbon decomposition and affirms that there is, indeed, a danger of positive feedback between global warming and the release of soil organic carbon that can lead to further warming.     

植物源和土壤有机质源土壤呼吸组分的拆分原理、方法与应用进展

区分土壤呼吸组分并揭示其与环境因素的相关关系,对于准确评估土壤碳过程及其环境影响机制至关重要。根据底物来源和作用机制的差异,土壤呼吸主要包括根系呼吸、根际微生物呼吸、凋落物分解、自然条件下和激发效应下土壤有机质（SOM）分解。现有土壤呼吸组分拆分方法可以分为基于植物源CO₂测定或土壤有机质源CO₂测定的差分拆分方法,以及基于土壤呼吸组分同位素信号差异的拆分方法。土壤呼吸组分拆分研究可以解决不同土壤呼吸组分对环境变化的响应机制、植物光合碳输入与地下土壤呼吸组分的交互作用、土壤呼吸组分变化对土壤碳库周转的影响机制等科学问题,但其理论假设、观测技术方法、潜在的误差来源等仍需要继续关注并系统研究。     

Spatial patterns in temperature sensitivity of soil respiration in China: Estimation with inverse modeling

Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Q₁₀) is an important parameter in modeling the effects of global warming on ecosystem carbon release. Experimental studies of soil respiration have ubiquitously indicated that Q₁₀ has high spatial heterogeneity. However, most biogeochemical models still use a constant Q₁₀ in projecting future climate change and no spatial pattern of Q₁₀ values at large scales has been derived. In this study, we conducted an inverse modeling analysis to retrieve the spatial pattern of Q₁₀ in China at 8 km spatial resolution by assimilating data of soil organic carbon into a process-based terrestrial carbon model (CASA model). The results indicate that the optimized Q₁₀ values are spatially heterogeneous and consistent to the values derived from soil respiration observations. The mean Q10 values of different soil types range from 1.09 to 2.38, with the highest value in volcanic soil, and the lowest value in cold brown calcic soil. The spatial pattern of Q₁₀ is related to environmental factors, especially precipitation and top soil organic carbon content. This study demonstrates that inverse modeling is a useful tool in deriving the spatial pattern of Q₁₀ at large scales, with which being incorporated into biogeochemical models, uncertainty in the projection of future carbon dynamics could be potentially reduced.