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 varyin...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-,10-,and 20-year-old stands of Populus davidiana Dode in the sandstorm source area of Beijing -Tianjin,China.Optimal nonlinear equations were applied to 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 20-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,respectively.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 10-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(Q_(10))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.展开更多
Alpine Kobresia meadows are major vegetation types on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. There is growing concern over their relationships among biodiversity, productivity and environments. Despite the im-portance of specie...Alpine Kobresia meadows are major vegetation types on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. There is growing concern over their relationships among biodiversity, productivity and environments. Despite the im-portance of species composition, species richness, the type of different growth forms, and plant bio-mass structure for Kobresia meadow ecosystems, few studies have been focused on the relationship between biomass and environmental gradient in the Kobresia meadow plant communities, particularly in relation to soil moisture and edaphic gradients. We measured the plant species composition, her-baceous litter, aboveground and belowground biomass in three Kobresia meadow plant communities in Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station from 2001 to 2004. Community differences in plant species composition were reflected in biomass distribution. The total biomass showed a de-crease from 13196.96±719.69 g/m2 in the sedge-dominated K. tibetica swamp to 2869.58±147.52 g/m2 in the forb and sedge dominated K. pygmaea meadow, and to 2153.08±141.95 g/m2 in the forbs and grasses dominated K. humilis along with the increase of altitude. The vertical distribution of below-ground biomass is distinct in the three meadow communities, and the belowground biomass at the depth of 0-10 cm in K. tibetica swamp meadow was significantly higher than that in K. humilis and K. pygmaea meadows (P<0.01). The herbaceous litter in K. tibetica swamp was significantly higher than those in K. pygnaeca and K. humilis meadows. The effects of plant litter are enhanced when ground water and soil moisture levels are raised. The relative importance of litter and vegetation may vary with soil water availability. In the K. tibetica swamp, total biomass was negatively correlated to species richness (P<0.05); aboveground biomass was positively correlated to soil organic matter, soil moisture, and plant cover (P<0.05); belowground biomass was positively correlated with soil moisture (P<0.05). However, in the K. pygnaeca and K. humilis meadow communities, aboveground biomass was posi-tively correlated to soil organic matter and soil total nitrogen (P<0.05). This suggests that the distribu-tion of biomass coincided with soil moisture and edaphic gradient in alpine meadows.展开更多
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.31170414)the 100 Talents Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences,and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No.XDA05060600)
文摘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-,10-,and 20-year-old stands of Populus davidiana Dode in the sandstorm source area of Beijing -Tianjin,China.Optimal nonlinear equations were applied to 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 20-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,respectively.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 10-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(Q_(10))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.
基金Supported by the Hundred Talents Programs of the Chinese Academy of Sciencesthe National Natural Science Important Foundation of China (Grant No. 30730069)
文摘Alpine Kobresia meadows are major vegetation types on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. There is growing concern over their relationships among biodiversity, productivity and environments. Despite the im-portance of species composition, species richness, the type of different growth forms, and plant bio-mass structure for Kobresia meadow ecosystems, few studies have been focused on the relationship between biomass and environmental gradient in the Kobresia meadow plant communities, particularly in relation to soil moisture and edaphic gradients. We measured the plant species composition, her-baceous litter, aboveground and belowground biomass in three Kobresia meadow plant communities in Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station from 2001 to 2004. Community differences in plant species composition were reflected in biomass distribution. The total biomass showed a de-crease from 13196.96±719.69 g/m2 in the sedge-dominated K. tibetica swamp to 2869.58±147.52 g/m2 in the forb and sedge dominated K. pygmaea meadow, and to 2153.08±141.95 g/m2 in the forbs and grasses dominated K. humilis along with the increase of altitude. The vertical distribution of below-ground biomass is distinct in the three meadow communities, and the belowground biomass at the depth of 0-10 cm in K. tibetica swamp meadow was significantly higher than that in K. humilis and K. pygmaea meadows (P<0.01). The herbaceous litter in K. tibetica swamp was significantly higher than those in K. pygnaeca and K. humilis meadows. The effects of plant litter are enhanced when ground water and soil moisture levels are raised. The relative importance of litter and vegetation may vary with soil water availability. In the K. tibetica swamp, total biomass was negatively correlated to species richness (P<0.05); aboveground biomass was positively correlated to soil organic matter, soil moisture, and plant cover (P<0.05); belowground biomass was positively correlated with soil moisture (P<0.05). However, in the K. pygnaeca and K. humilis meadow communities, aboveground biomass was posi-tively correlated to soil organic matter and soil total nitrogen (P<0.05). This suggests that the distribu-tion of biomass coincided with soil moisture and edaphic gradient in alpine meadows.
