Contribution of aboveground litter to soil respiration in Populus davidiana Dode plantations at different stand ages

Soil respiration from decomposing aboveground litter is a major component of the terrestrial carbon cycle. However, variations in the contribution of aboveground litter to the total soil respiration for stands of varying ages are poorly understood. To assess soil respiration induced by aboveground litter, treatments of litter and no litter were applied to 5-, l0-, and 20-year-old stands of Populus davidiana Dode in the sandstorm source area of Beijing-Tianjin, equations were applied to China. Optimal nonlinear model the combined effects of soil temperature and soil water content on soil respiration. Results showed that the monthly average contribution of aboveground litter to total soil respiration were 18.46% ± 4.63%, 16.64% ± 9.31%, and 22.37% ± 8.17% for 5-, 10-, and ao-year-old stands, respectively. The relatively high contribution in 5- and 20-year-old stands could be attributed to easily decomposition products and high accumulated litter, resoectivelv. Also. it fluctuated monthly for all stand ages due to substrate availability caused by phenology and environmental factors. Litter removal significantly decreased soil respiration and soil water content for all stand ages （P 〈 0.05） but not soil temperature （P 〉 0.05）. Variations of soil respiration could be explained by soil temperature at 5-cm depth using an exponential equation and by soil water content at lo-cm depth using a quadratic equation, whereas soil respiration was better modeled using the combined parameters of soil temperature and soil water content than with either soil temperature or soil water content alone. Temperature sensitivity （Q10） increased with stand age in both the litter and the no litter treatments. Considering the effects of aboveground litter, this study provides insights for predicting future soil carbon fluxes and for accurately assessing soil carbon budgets.

Propagation techniques on root turion sprout browse of Populus davidiana Dode

The root segments selected from dominant trees of Populus davidiana Dode were taken as reproductive material and were buried in different depths to carry out the reproduction of root turion sprout. The affecting factors of germination rate, survival rate, and height growth for cutting wood of root sprout were comparatively analyzed. The results showed that the best suitable substrate for burying root is pearlite, with a germination rate of 15.16%. 3-4-cm root segments has the highest rate of germination (12.4%). The mixture of sand and soil (2:1) is the best cutting substrate, with a survival rate of 81.3%, while as to height growth of cutting wood, the mixture of turfy and soil (1:1) is the best. The cutting woods selected from different positions of stem show difference in height growth. The cutting wood from top stem is higher obviously than those from middle or low stem.