亚热带毛竹人工林土壤呼吸组分动态变化及其影响因素

利用Li-8100土壤碳通量测量系统,研究了2013年4月—2014年3月浙江临安市毛竹人工林土壤呼吸、异养呼吸和自养呼吸速率的动态变化规律.结果表明：毛竹人工林土壤总呼吸速率、异养呼吸速率和自养呼吸速率均呈现出明显的季节变化特征,最高值出现在7月,最低值出现在1月,年平均值分别为2.93、1.92和1.01 μmol CO₂·m^-2·s^-1.毛竹林土壤总呼吸、异养呼吸和自养呼吸年累积CO₂排放量分别为37.25、24.61和12.64 t CO₂·hm^-2·a^-1.土壤呼吸各组分均与土壤5 cm温度呈显著指数相关,土壤总呼吸、异养呼吸和自养呼吸的温度敏感系数Q₁₀值分别为2.05、1.95和2.34.土壤总呼吸速率、异养呼吸速率与土壤水溶性有机碳(WSOC)含量均呈显著相关,而自养呼吸与WSOC无显著相关性;土壤呼吸各组分与土壤含水〖JP2〗量以及微生物生物量碳均无显著相关性.土壤温度是影响毛竹人工林土壤呼吸及其组分季节变化的主要驱动因子,土壤WSOC含量是影响土壤总呼吸和异养呼吸的重要环境因子.     

不同环境因子对樟子松人工林土壤有机碳矿化的影响

土壤有机碳矿化是土壤向大气释放CO2的最大净输出途径,其与植被的净初级生产力的差值是判断生态系统碳源或碳汇的关键。本研究以科尔沁沙地10年生樟子松人工林生态系统为研究对象,采用室内培养实验方法,测定了不同温度、土壤含水量以及碳、氮添加条件下土壤有机碳矿化的速率。结果表明：土壤有机碳矿化速率随温度和土壤含水量的升高分别呈指数和线性增长,不同的土壤水分条件下土壤有机碳矿化的温度敏感性不同;在土壤含水量最小时（田间持水量的10％）,土壤有机碳矿化的温度敏感性最低;土壤有机碳矿化对水分的敏感性在低温条件下（10℃）显著低于在适温和高温条件下（20℃～30℃）。土壤中有机碳含量的增加显著提高土壤碳矿化速率,氮的添加对土壤有机碳矿化没有显著影响,但随着土壤有机碳含量的增加,土壤氮素含量对土壤碳矿化速率产生影响。     

施石灰对杉木人工林土壤呼吸及其温度敏感性的影响

我国酸沉降主要分布区域与杉木人工林主要分布区域重合,石灰添加是改良酸化土壤的有效措施。为探究酸沉降背景下施石灰对土壤呼吸及其温度敏感性的影响,本研究以杉木人工林土壤为对象,在2018年6月一次性添加0、1和5 t·hm^-2的氧化钙,于2020年6月开始进行为期一年的原位土壤呼吸速率观测。结果表明：与不施石灰相比,施石灰显著提高了土壤pH值和交换性Ca²⁺含量,不同石灰施用量之间无显著差异。杉木人工林土壤呼吸及其组分具有明显的季节差异,表现为夏季最高,冬季最低,施石灰未显著改变其季节动态特征。施石灰显著降低了土壤异养呼吸速率,提高了自养呼吸速率,最终导致施石灰对土壤呼吸无显著影响。土壤呼吸月动态变化与温度月动态变化基本保持一致,土壤呼吸与土壤温度呈显著的指数关系,施石灰后土壤呼吸及自养呼吸的温度敏感性(Q₁₀)呈上升趋势,土壤异养呼吸的Q₁₀呈下降趋势。综上,施石灰提高了杉木人工林土壤自养呼吸,显著降低了土壤异养呼吸,这有利于杉木人工林土壤固碳。     

鄂东南低丘马尾松林和枫香林土壤异养呼吸及温湿度敏感性

采用野外监测方法,研究了鄂东南低丘地区主要森林类型枫香林和马尾松林土壤异养呼吸、土壤温湿度的年动态;并通过室内试验研究了土壤呼吸随土壤深度的变化以及表层土壤(0～5 cm)异养呼吸的温湿度敏感性,建立了表层土壤异养呼吸的温湿度响应模型,探讨全球温暖化对该区土壤异养呼吸的潜在影响.结果表明:枫香林和马尾松林0～5 cm土壤呼吸速率分别是5～10 cm、10～15 cm层的2.39、2.62倍和2.01、2.94倍,说明土壤异养呼吸主要发生在土壤表层(0～5 cm);枫香林和马尾松林0～5 cm、5～10 cm及10～15 cm土壤的Q10分别是2.10、1.86、1.78和1.86、1.77、1.44;枫香林和马尾松林表层土壤呼吸对温度(T)的响应符合指数模型[R=αexp(βT)],对湿度(W)的响应符合二次函数模型(R=a+bW+cW2);0～5 cm土壤对温湿度双因子的响应符合lnR=a+bW+cW2+dT+eT2模型,且异养呼吸对湿度的响应具有温度依赖性,即在高温下敏感,低温下敏感性下降;应用表层土壤异养呼吸温湿度模型预测枫香林和马尾松林土壤异养呼吸年动态及总量,枫香林土壤异养呼吸量的模拟值比实测值略高...     

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.     

施肥对麻栎人工林碳密度及休眠期土壤呼吸的影响

以安徽省滁州市红琊山林场麻栎人工林为研究对象,测定了4种施肥处理(0、0.15、0.30和0.45kg·株-1)林分碳密度,并采用开沟隔离法对不同处理林分休眠期土壤呼吸组分进行测定。结果表明:4种施肥处理林分总碳密度分别为73.68、84.49、87.20和91.70t·hm-2。与对照相比,各施肥处理麻栎树干碳密度、树枝碳密度和枯落物碳密度均有极显著提高(P<0.01)。不同处理林分的土壤总呼吸速率和异养呼吸速率随着施肥量增加呈递增趋势,施肥量为0.45kg·株-1样地土壤总呼吸速率和异养呼吸速率较对照样地分别增加了48.9%和38.6%。不同施肥样地土壤异养呼吸对土壤总呼吸的贡献率远大于根系呼吸,施肥量为0、0.15、0.30和0.45kg·株-1时分别是根系呼吸的5.0、3.8、3.4和3.2倍。土壤呼吸受生物因子和非生物因子共同调控,在所选取的4个指标中(土壤含水量、土壤C/N、根生物量和枯落物有机碳含量),土壤含水量和枯落物有机碳含量与土壤总呼吸及土壤异养呼吸速率均有显著相关性(P<0.05)。     

三峡库区不同林龄人工橘林土壤异养呼吸及其温度敏感性

土壤异养呼吸是土壤碳库净输出的主要途径, 其对气候变暖的响应已引起国内外学者的广泛关注。对森林生态系统来说, 林龄是影响生态系统碳平衡的一个重要因素。柑橘作为三峡库区第一大支柱产业, 种植面积极广, 对维持该区域的生态平衡起着巨大的调节作用。该文以三峡库区宜昌市郊区种植年限不同的3个橘林土壤为研究对象, 采用室内培养法, 研究在不同温度条件下, 不同林龄土壤的异养呼吸及其温度敏感系数的差异, 探讨该区域生态系统对未来气候变化的潜在响应。结果显示, 随着种植年限的增加, 橘林土壤pH值减小, 有机质和全氮含量显著增加, 土壤微生物生物量碳呈下降趋势。无论在低温、常温还是高温条件下, 林龄较小的橘树土壤异养呼吸及其累积释放量较低。与其他研究相比, 该区域人工橘林土壤异养呼吸的温度敏感系数Q₁₀值相对较低(1.45-1.69), 且随着培养时间的变化而变化。随着种植年限的增加, 人工橘林土壤异养呼吸的温度敏感性逐渐降低, 表明在未来全球气候变暖条件下, 幼龄人工橘林要比成熟林对温度的反应敏感。     

土壤各组分呼吸区分方法研究进展

土壤呼吸分为自养型呼吸(根呼吸)和异养型呼吸(微生物和动物呼吸),区分各组分呼吸可了解在全球变化条件下土壤碳循环和碳平衡的动态。本文综述了3种主要区分自养呼吸和异养呼吸的方法:①组分法;②根去除术;③同位素法。其中同位素法对根和土壤的影响最小,是最可靠的一种方法;综合各方面考虑,根去除法是最切实可行的方法。     

施肥方式对紫色土土壤异养呼吸的影响

采用静态暗箱-气相色谱法于2010年12月至2011年10月对不同施肥方式下的紫色土土壤呼吸进行了研究,以揭示施肥方式对紫色土异养呼吸的影响。结果表明:施肥可对土壤异养呼吸产生激发效应。施肥后第5天出现峰值,猪厩肥处理的异养呼吸峰值为2356.8 mg CO2m-2h-1,显著高于秸秆配施氮磷钾(970.1 mgCO2m-2h-1)和常规氮磷钾处理(406.8 mgCO2m-2h-1)(P0.01);小麦季常规氮磷钾、猪厩肥和秸秆配施氮磷钾处理的平均土壤异养呼吸速率为212.9、285.8和305.8mgCO2m-2h-1,CO2排放量为255.1、342.3和369.5 gC/m2,玉米季为408.2、642.8和446.4 mgCO2m-2h-1,CO2排放量为344.7、542.8和376.9 gC/m2,玉米季土壤异养呼吸平均速率及CO2排放量均高于小麦季。全年平均土壤异养呼吸速率分别为310.6、446.3和377.4 mg CO2m-2h-1,CO2排放总量分别为599.8、885.1和746.4 gC/m2。猪厩肥对土壤异养呼吸速率和CO2排放量的影响最大,秸秆配施氮磷钾肥次之,氮磷钾肥最小,说明有机物料的投入是紫色土土壤异养呼吸速率的主要调控措施,低碳氮比的有机物料能促进土壤异养呼吸和CO2的排放。猪厩肥和秸秆配施氮磷钾肥处理相应地表和地下5 cm温度的Q10值分别为2.64、1.88和2.77、1.99,表明低碳氮比的有机物料还能增加土壤异养呼吸Q10值,使土壤异养呼吸速率对温度的敏感性加强。     

森林固碳释氧服务价值与异养呼吸损失量评估

固碳释氧是森林最重要的生态系统服务之一,将森林碳收支与固碳释氧服务价值评估相结合对于准确评估生态系统服务价值具有重要意义。应用森林碳收支模型(CBM-CFS3),分别基于净初级生产力(NPP)和净生态系统生产力(NEP)评估了2009—2030年湖北省兴山县森林生态系统总、净固碳释氧服务价值的时空动态,量化了异养呼吸造成的固碳释氧服务价值损失。模拟期间兴山县森林生态系统NPP逐渐增加(0.46—0.70 Tg/a),NEP由0.12 Tg/a先增加至0.21 Tg/a,然后逐渐下降至0.18 Tg/a;所对应的森林总、净固碳释氧服务价值范围分别为7.59—11.53亿元/a和2.21—3.70亿元/a。异养呼吸逐年增加,导致固碳释氧价值每年损失平均值为7.29亿元/a或4509元hm~(-2) a~(-1),约占总价值的68.6%。兴山县东南部异养呼吸造成的森林固碳释氧服务价值损失较高,而中部及西南部森林净固碳释氧价值较高。模拟期间兴山县森林为碳汇,稳定地提供固碳释氧服务。与NPP相比,使用NEP评估固碳释氧服务价值更为合理。忽视异养呼吸将严重高估森林生态系统固碳释氧服务价值;因而必须将物质循环过程与生态系统服务评估相结合,以降低评估结果的不确定性、提高生态系统服务的评估能力。     

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.     

Short-term temperature impact on soil heterotrophic respiration in limed agricultural soil samples

This study sought to investigate the hourly and daily timescale responses of soil CO₂ fluxes to temperature in a limed agricultural soil. Observations from different incubation experiments were compared with the results of a model combining biotic (heterotrophic respiration) and abiotic (carbonate weathering) components. Several samples were pre-incubated for 8–9 days at three temperatures (5, 15 and 25 °C) and then submitted to short-term temperature (STT) cycles (where the temperature was increased from 5 to 35 °C in 10 °C stages, with each stage being 3 h long). During the temperature cycles (hourly timescale), the soil CO₂ fluxes increased significantly with temperature under all pre-incubation temperature (PIT) treatments. A hysteresis effect and negative fluxes during cooling phases were also systematically observed. At a given hourly timescale temperature, there was a negative relationship of the CO₂ fluxes with the PIT. Using the combined model allowed the experimental results to be clearly described, including the negative fluxes and the hysteresis effect, showing the potentially large contribution of abiotic fluxes to total fluxes in limed soils, after STT changes. The fairly good agreement between the measured and simulated flux results also suggested that the biotic flux temperature sensitivity was probably unaffected by timescale (hourly or daily) or PIT. The negative relationship of the CO₂ fluxes with the PIT probably derived from very labile soil carbon depletion, as shown in the simulations. This was not, however, confirmed by soil carbon measurements, which leaves open the possibility of adaptation within the microbial community.     

Fertilization of boreal forest reduces both autotrophic and heterotrophic soil respiration

The boreal forest is expected to experience the greatest warming of all forest biomes, raising concerns that some of the large quantities of soil carbon in these systems may be added to the atmosphere as CO₂. However, nitrogen deposition or fertilization has the potential to increase boreal forest production and retard the decomposition of soil organic matter, hence increasing both tree stand and soil C storage. The major contributors to soil‐surface CO₂ effluxes are autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration. To evaluate the effect of nutrient additions on the relative contributions from autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration, a large‐scale girdling experiment was performed in a long‐term nutrient optimization experiment in a 40‐year‐old stand of Norway spruce in northern Sweden. Trees on three nonfertilized plots and three fertilized plots were girdled in early summer 2002, and three nonfertilized and three fertilized plots were used as control plots. Each plot was 0.1 ha and contained around 230 trees. Soil‐surface CO₂ fluxes, soil moisture, and soil temperature were monitored in both girdled and nongirdled plots. In late July, the time of the seasonal maximum in soil‐surface CO₂ efflux, the total soil‐CO₂ efflux in nongirdled plots was 40% lower in the fertilized than in the nonfertilized plots, while the efflux in girdled fertilized and nonfertilized plots was 50% and 60% lower, respectively, than in the corresponding nongirdled controls. We attribute these reductions to losses of the autotrophic component of the total soil‐surface CO₂ efflux. The estimates of autotrophic respiration are conservative as root starch reserves were depleted more rapidly in roots of girdled than in nongirdled trees. Thus, heterotrophic activity was overestimated. Calculated on a unit area basis, both the heterotrophic and autotrophic soil respiration was significantly lower in fertilized plots, which is especially noteworthy given that aboveground production was around three times higher in fertilized than in nonfertilized plots.     

南方型杨树人工林土壤呼吸及其组分分析

采用开沟隔离法,利用LI-8100型土壤呼吸测定系统,对15年生的南方型杨树(Populus deltoides)人工林土壤呼吸进行了研究,并试图区分根系呼吸和土壤微生物呼吸。结果表明,开沟隔离处理后的10个月内,由于土壤中被截断根系具有自养呼吸和分解作用,土壤呼吸中的根系呼吸与微生物呼吸尚难以区分。尽管如此,研究表明15年生杨树人工林的土壤总呼吸通量为9.74 tC.hm-.2a-1,其中,枯枝落叶等土壤表层凋落物分解所释放的碳通量是2.63 tC.hm-.2a-1,占总量的27.0%;林木根系呼吸与土壤微生物呼吸通量的和为7.11 tC.hm-.2a-1,占总量的73.0%。土壤各组分呼吸速率与10 cm深处的土壤温度之间存在着显著的指数函数关系。不同直径的杨树根系被截断后的活力变化有所不同,根系越粗,存活时间越长。     

Apparent thermal acclimation of soil heterotrophic respiration mainly mediated by substrate availability

Multiple lines of existing evidence suggest that increasing CO₂ emission from soils in response to rising temperature could accelerate global warming. However, in experimental studies, the initial positive response of soil heterotrophic respiration (R_H) to warming often weakens over time (referred to apparent thermal acclimation). If the decreased R_H is driven by thermal adaptation of soil microbial community, the potential for soil carbon (C) losses would be reduced substantially. In the meanwhile, the response could equally be caused by substrate depletion, and would then reflect the gradual loss of soil C. To address uncertainties regarding the causes of apparent thermal acclimation, we carried out sterilization and inoculation experiments using the soil samples from an alpine meadow with 6 years of warming and nitrogen (N) addition. We demonstrate that substrate depletion, rather than microbial adaptation, determined the response of R_H to long-term warming. Furthermore, N addition appeared to alleviate the apparent acclimation of R_H to warming. Our study provides strong empirical support for substrate availability being the cause of the apparent acclimation of soil microbial respiration to temperature. Thus, these mechanistic insights could facilitate efforts of biogeochemical modeling to accurately project soil C stocks in the future climate.     

Rhizospheric and heterotrophic components of soil respiration in six Chinese temperate forests

Partitioning soil respiration (R_S) into heterotrophic (R_H) and rhizospheric (R_R) components is an important step for understanding and modeling carbon cycling in forest ecosystems, but few studies on R_R and R_H exist in Chinese temperate forests. In this study, we used a trenching plot approach to partition R_S in six temperate forests in northeastern China. Our specific objectives were to (1) examine seasonal patterns of soil surface CO₂ fluxes from trenched (R_T) and untrenched plots (R_UT) of these forests; (2) quantify annual fluxes of R_S components and their relative contributions in the forest ecosystems; and (3) examine effects of plot trenching on measurements of R_S and related environmental factors. The R_T maximized in early growing season, but the difference between R_UT and R_T peaked in later summer. The annual fluxes of R_H and R_R varied with forest types. The estimated values of R_H for the Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc.), Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii Rupr.), aspen‐birch (Populous davidiana Dode and Betula platyphylla Suk.), hardwood (Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr., Juglans mandshurica Maxim. and Phellodendron amurense Rupr.), Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica Fisch.) and mixed deciduous (no dominant tree species) forests averaged 89, 196, 187, 245, 261 and 301 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹, respectively; those of R_R averaged 424, 209, 628, 538, 524 and 483 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹, correspondingly; calculated contribution of R_R to R_S (RC) varied from 52% in the larch forest to 83% in the pine forest. The annual flux of R_R was strongly correlated to biomass of roots <0.5 cm in diameter, while that of R_H was weakly correlated to soil organic carbon concentration at A horizon. We concluded that vegetation type and associated carbon metabolisms of temperate forests should be considered in assessing and modeling R_S components. The significant impacts of changed soil physical environments and substrate availability by plot trenching should be appropriately tackled in analyzing and interpreting measurements of R_S components.     

Roots affect the response of heterotrophic soil respiration to temperature in tussock grass microcosms

Aims and Background

While the temperature response of soil respiration (R_S) has been well studied, the partitioning of heterotrophic respiration (R_H) by soil microbes from autotrophic respiration (R_A) by roots, known to have distinct temperature sensitivities, has been problematic. Further complexity stems from the presence of roots affecting R_H, the rhizosphere priming effect. In this study the short-term temperature responses of R_A and R_H in relation to rhizosphere priming are investigated.

Methods

Temperature responses of R_A, R_H and rhizosphere priming were assessed in microcosms of Poa cita using a natural abundance δ¹³C discrimination approach.

Results

The temperature response of R_S was found to be regulated primarily by R_A, which accounted for 70 % of total soil respiration. Heterotrophic respiration was less sensitive to temperature in the presence of plant roots, resulting in negative priming effects with increasing temperature.

Conclusions

The results emphasize the importance of roots in regulating the temperature response of R_S, and a framework is presented for further investigation into temperature effects on heterotrophic respiration and rhizosphere priming, which could be applied to other soil and vegetation types to improve models of soil carbon turnover.     

Management intensification effects on autotrophic and heterotrophic soil respiration in subtropical grasslands

Sustainable management of grassland ecosystems for improved productivity can enhance their potential to sequester atmospheric CO₂ in the soil. However, land-use management influences the quantity and quality of carbon (C) inputs which may, in turn, affect microbial activity and soil C decomposition rates. Understanding the potential changes in magnitude of soil C loss through respiration is critical for a comprehensive assessment of land-use conversion and grassland management impacts on terrestrial C dynamics. Thus, this study was designed to assess the effect of land-use management intensification on soil respiration in subtropical grasslands. Experimental sites consisted of a gradient of management intensities ranging from native rangeland (lowest), silvopasture (intermediate), to sown pasture (highest). Increasing management intensity from native rangeland to sown pasture elevated soil respiration. There was a significant effect of ‘season vs. management’ interaction on total soil respiration (R_S), with greater increases in R_S from summer to winter in sown pasture (∼200%) compared to native rangeland and silvopasture (∼91%). The temperature sensitivity of R_S and heterotrophic soil respiration (R_H) increased with management intensification, with a highest Q₁₀ of 1.55 and 2.29, in sown pasture, compared to Q₁₀ values of 1.09 and 1.48 in native rangelands. These results suggested that potential increases in soil C stock with intensification may be susceptible to faster turnover under warming climate scenarios. Improved resilience (and longer residence) of additionally sequestered soil C after intensification may be crucial for long-term ecological resilience, especially with changing climatic conditions. These findings are relevant for sustainable grassland management, especially within subtropical ecoregions, and add to the understanding of changes that may occur in rates of soil C losses as native grasslands are converted to more productive grassland ecosystems.     

Increasing microbial carbon use efficiency with warming predicts soil heterotrophic respiration globally

The degree to which climate warming will stimulate soil organic carbon (SOC) losses via heterotrophic respiration remains uncertain, in part because different or even opposite microbial physiology and temperature relationships have been proposed in SOC models. We incorporated competing microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE)–mean annual temperature (MAT) and enzyme kinetic–MAT relationships into SOC models, and compared the simulated mass‐specific soil heterotrophic respiration rates with multiple published datasets of measured respiration. The measured data included 110 dryland soils globally distributed and two continental to global‐scale cross‐biome datasets. Model–data comparisons suggested that a positive CUE–MAT relationship best predicts the measured mass‐specific soil heterotrophic respiration rates in soils distributed globally. These results are robust when considering models of increasing complexity and competing mechanisms driving soil heterotrophic respiration–MAT relationships (e.g., carbon substrate availability). Our findings suggest that a warmer climate selects for microbial communities with higher CUE, as opposed to the often hypothesized reductions in CUE by warming based on soil laboratory assays. Our results help to build the impetus for, and confidence in, including microbial mechanisms in soil biogeochemical models used to forecast changes in global soil carbon stocks in response to warming.