Variations of root and heterotrophic respiration along environmental gradients in China’s forests

Aims Root and heterotrophic respiration may respond differently to environmental variability,but little evidence is available from largescale observations.Here we aimed to examine variations of root and heterotrophic respiration across broad geographic,climatic,soil and biotic gradients.Methods We conducted a synthesis of 59 field measurements on root and heterotrophic respiration across China’s forests.Important Findings Root and heterotrophic respiration varied differently with forest types,of which evergreen broadleaf forest was significantly different from those in other forest types on heterotrophic respiration but without statistically significant differences on root respiration.The results also indicated that root and heterotrophic respiration exhibited similar trends along gradients of precipitation,soil organic carbon and satellite-indicated vegetation growth.However,they exhibited different relationships with temperature:root respiration exhibited bimodal patterns along the temperature gradient,while heterotrophic respiration increased monotonically with temperature.Moreover,they showed different relationships with MOD17 GPP,with increasing trend observed for root respiration whereas insignificant change for heterotrophic respiration.In addition,root and heterotrophic respiration exhibited different changes along the age sequence,with insignificant change for root respiration and decreasing trend for heterotrophic respiration.Overall,these results suggest that root and heterotrophic respiration may respond differently to environmental variability.Our findings could advance our understanding on the different environmental controls of root and heterotrophic respiration and also improve our ability to predict soil CO_(2) flux under a changing environment.

Different responses of soil respiration and its components to nitrogen and phosphorus addition in a subtropical secondary forest

Background:Nitrogen(N)and phosphorus(P)deposition have largely affected soil respiration(Rs)in forest ecosystems.However,few studies have explored how N and P individually or in combination to influence Rs and its components(autotrophic respiration,Ra;heterotrophic respiration,Rh),especially in highly P-limited subtropical forests.To address this question,we conducted a field manipulation experiment with N and/or P addition in a 50-year-old subtropical secondary forest.Results:We found that N addition on average reduced Rs,Ra,and Rh by 15.2%,15%,and 11.7%,respectively during 2-year field study.P addition had an inconsistent effect on Ra,with Ra increasing by 50.5%in the first year but reducing by 26.6%in the second year.Moreover,P addition on average decreased Rh by 8.9%–30.9%and Rs by 6.7%–15.6%across 2 years.In contrast,N and P co-addition on average increased Rs,Ra,and Rh by 1.9%,7.9%,and 2.1%during the experimental period.Though Rs and Rh were significantly correlated with soil temperature,their temperature sensitivities were not significantly changed by fertilization.Ra was predominantly regulated by soil nitrogen availability(NH4+and NO3−),soil dissolved organic carbon(DOC),and enzyme activities,while the variation in Rh was mainly attributable to changes in soil microbial community composition and soilβ-D-Cellubiosidase(CB)andβ-Xylosidase(XYL)activities.Conclusion:Our findings highlight the contrasting responses of Rs and its components to N or P addition against N and P co-addition,which should be differentially considered in biogeochemical models in order to improve prediction of forest carbon dynamics in the context of N and P enrichment in terrestrial ecosystems.

Root exclusion methods for partitioning of soil respiration:Review and methodological considerations

Soil respiration is a vital process in all terrestrial ecosystems,through which the soil releases carbon dioxide(CO_(2))into the atmosphere at an estimated annual rate of 68–101 Pg carbon,making it the second highest terrestrial contributor to carbon fluxes.Since soil respiration consists of autotrophic and heterotrophic constituents,methods for accurately determining the contribution of each constituent to the total soil respiration are critical for understanding their differential responses to environmental factors and aiding the reduction of CO_(2)emissions.Owing to its low cost and simplicity,the root exclusion(RE)technique,combined with manual chamber measurements,is frequently used in field studies of soil respiration partitioning.Nevertheless,RE treatments alter the soil environment,leading to potential bias in respiration measurements.This review aims to elucidate the current understanding of RE,i.e.,trenching(Tr)and deep collar(DC)insertion techniques,by examining soil respiration partitioning studies performed in several ecosystems.Additionally,we discuss methodological considerations when using RE and the combinations of RE with stable isotopic and modeling approaches.Finally,future research directions for improving the Tr and DC insertion methods in RE are suggested.

Long-term(42 years)effect of thinning on soil CO_(2)emission in a mixed broadleaved-Korean pine(Pinus koraiensis)forest in Northeast China

Thinning is an important forest management practice that has great potential to influence regional soil carbon storage and dynamics.The present study measured soil respiration(RS,the efflux of CO2 emitted)and its two components(heterotrophic(RH)and autotrophic(RA)respiration)from soil 42 years after thinning in comparison to un-thinning(control).Autotrophic respiration was significantly greater in the thinning plot,approximately 44%higher compared to the control,while both RSand RHwere slightly,but not significantly,higher in the thinning plot.Higher fine root biomass might have contributed to the higher RAin the thinning plot.Both RSand RHshowed clear soil temperature-dependent seasonal patterns,whereas RAwas less responsive to changes in temperature,especially within one specific season.The annual and season-specific temperature sensitivities of RSand RHwere lower in the thinning plot,specifically during the mid-growing season.Furthermore,variations in the season-specific temperature sensitivity of RSand RHwere less intense in the thinning plot.We conclude that forest thinning can reduce the temperature sensitivity of RSand RHduring the mid-growing season and increase soil CO2 emission in the long term.

Heterotrophy-coordinated diazotrophy is associated with significant changes of rare taxa in soil microbiome

Soil heterotrophic respiration during decomposition of carbon(C)-rich organic matter plays a vital role in sustaining soil fertility.However,it remains poorly understood whether dinitrogen(N_(2))fixation occurs in support of soil heterotrophic respiration.In this study,^(15)N_(2)-tracing indicated that strong N_(2)fixation occurred during heterotrophic respiration of carbon-rich glucose.Soil organic ^(15)N increased from 0.37 atom%to 2.50 atom%under aerobic conditions and to 4.23 atom%under anaerobic conditions,while the concomitant CO_(2)flux increased by 12.0-fold under aerobic conditions and 5.18-fold under anaerobic conditions.Soil N_(2)fixation was completely absent in soils replete with inorganic N,although soil N bioavailability did not alter soil respiration.High-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene further indicated that:i)under aerobic conditions,only 15.2%of soil microbiome responded positively to glucose addition,and these responses were significantly associated with soil respiration and N_(2)fixation and ii)under anaerobic conditions,the percentage of responses was even lower at 5.70%.Intriguingly,more than 95%of these responses were originally rare with<0.5%relative abundance in background soils,including typical N_(2)-fixing heterotrophs such as Azotobacter and Clostridium and well-recognized non-N_(2)-fixing heterotrophs such as Sporosarcina,Agromyces,and Sedimentibacter.These results suggest that only a small portion of the soil microbiome could respond quickly to the amendment of readily accessible organic C in a fluvo-aquic soil and highlighted that rare phylotypes might have played more important roles than previously appreciated in catalyzing soil C and nitrogen turnovers.Our study indicates that N_(2)fixation could be closely associated with microbial turnover of soil organic C when available in excess.

Net ecosystem carbon exchange for Bermuda grass growing in mesocosms as affected by irrigation frequency

Intensification of grazed grasslands following conversion from dryland to irrigated farming has the potential to alter ecosystem carbon(C)cycling and affect components of carbon dioxide(CO_(2))exchange that could lead to either net accumulation or loss of soil C.While there are many studies on the effect of water availability on biomass production and soil C stocks,much less is known about the effect of the frequency of water inputs on the components of CO_(2)exchange.We grew Bermuda grass(Cynodon dactylon L.)in mesocosms under irrigation frequencies of every day(I_(1) treatment,30 d),every two days(I_(2) treatment,12 d),every three days(I_(3) treatment,30 d),and every six days(I_(6) treatment,18 d,after I_(2) treatment).Rates of CO_(2)exchange for estimating net ecosystem CO_(2)exchange(F_(N)),ecosystem respiration(R_(E)),and soil respiration(R_(S))were measured,and gross C uptake by plants(F_(G))and respiration from leaves(R_(L))were calculated during two periods,1–12 and 13–30 d,of the 30-d experiment.During the first 12 d,there were no significant differences in cumulative F_(N)(mean±standard deviation,61±30 g C m^(-2),n=4).During the subsequent 18 d,cumulative F_(N) decreased with decreasing irrigation frequency and increasing cumulative soil water deficit(W),with values of 70±22,60±16,and 18±12 g C m^(-2) for the I_(1),I_(3),and I_(6) treatments,respectively.There were similar decreases in F_(G),R_(E),and R_(L) with increasing W,but differences in R_(S) were not significant.Use of the C_(4) grass growing in a C_(3)-derived soil enabled partitioning of R_(S) into its autotrophic(R_(A))and heterotrophic(R_(H))components using a^(13)C natural abundance isotopic technique at the end of the experiment when differences in cumulative W between the treatments were the greatest.The values of R_(H) and its percentage contributions to R_(S)(43%±8%,42%±8%,and 8%±5%for the I_(1),I_(3),and I_(6) treatments,respectively)suggested that R_(H) remained unaffected across a wide range of W and then decreased under extreme W.There were no significant differences in aboveground biomass between the treatments.Nitrous oxide(N_(2)O)emission was measured to determine if there was a trade-off effect between irrigation frequency and increasing W on net greenhouse gas emission,but no significant differences were found between the treatments.These findings suggest that over short periods in well-drained soil,irrigation frequency could be managed to manipulate soil water deficit in order to reduce net belowground respiratory C losses,particularly those from the microbial decomposition of soil organic matter,with no significant effect on biomass production and N_(2)O emission.