Correlations Between Plant Biomass and Soil Respiration in a Leymus chinensis Community in the Xilin River Basin of Inner Mongolia

This paper reports on two years of measurement of soil respiration and canopy-root biomass in a Leymus chinensis community in the Xilin River basin of Inner Mongolia. Correlations between components of plant biomass and soil respiration rates were examined. From respiration data based on CO2 uptake by NaOH and corresponding root biomass values for each run of 10 plots, a linear regression of CO2 evolution rates on root dry weights has been achieved for every ten days. By applying the approach of extrapolating the regressive line to zero root biomass, the proportion of the total soil respiration flux that is attributable to live root respiration was estimated to be about 27% on average, ranging from 14% to 39% in the growing season in 1998. There were no evident relations between the total canopy biomass or root biomass and CO2 evolution rates, but a significant exponential relation did exist between tire live-canopy biomass and CO2 evolution rates.

Soil and Root Respiration Under Elevated CO_2 Concentrations During Seedling Growth of Pinus sylvestris var.sylvestriformis

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of higher CO2 concentrations （500 and 700 μmol mol^-1） in atmosphere on total soil respiration and the contribution of root respiration to total soil respiration during seedling growth of Pinus sylvestris vat. sylvestriformis. During the four growing seasons （May-October） from 1999 to 2003, the seedlings were exposed to elevated concentrations of CO2 in open-top chambers. The total soil respiration and contribution of root respiration were measured using an LI-6400-09 soil CO2 flux chamber on June 15 and October 8, 2003. To separate root respiration from total soil respiration, three PVC cylinders were inserted approximately 30 cm deep into the soil in each chamber. There were marked diurnal changes in air and soil temperatures on June 15. Both the total soil respiration and the soil respiration without roots showed a strong diurnal pattern, increasing from before sunrise to about 14：00 in the afternoon and then decreasing before the next sunrise. No increase in the mean total soil respiration and mean soil respiration with roots severed was observed under the elevated CO2 treatments on June 15, 2003, as compared to the open field and control chamber with ambient CO2. However, on October 8, 2003, the total soil respiration and soil respiration with roots severed in the open field were lower than those in the control and elevated CO2 chambers. The mean contribution of root respiration measured on June 15, 2003, ranged from 8.3% to 30.5% and on October 8, 2003, from 20.6% to 48.6%.