Contribution of Root and Microbial Respiration to Soil CO2 Efflux and Their Environmental Controls in a Humid Temperate Grassland of Japan

doi:10.1016/S1002-0160(08)60081-8

Pedosphere

Volume 19, Issue 1, February 2009, Pages 31-39

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1002-0160(08)60081-8 Get rights and content

Abstract

Soil CO₂ efflux, root mass, and root production were investigated in a humid temperate grassland of Japan over a growing season (Apr. to Sep.) of 2005 to reveal seasonal changes of soil CO₂ efflux, to separate the respective contributions of root and microbial respiration to the total soil CO₂ efflux, and to determine the environmental factors that control soil respiration. Minimal microbial respiration rate was estimated based on the linear regression equations between soil CO₂ efflux and root mass at different experimental sites. Soil CO₂ efflux, ranging from 4.99 to 16.29 μmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹, depended on the seasonal changes in soil temperature. The root mass at 0–10 cm soil depth was 0.82 and 1.27 kg m⁻² in Apr. and Sep., respectively. The root mass at 0–10 cm soil depth comprised 60% of the total root mass at 0–50 cm soil depth. The root productivity at 0–30 cm depth varied from 8 to 180 g m⁻² month⁻¹. Microbial and root respiration rates ranged from 1.35 to 5.51 and 2.72 to 12.06 μmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹, respectively. The contribution of root respiration to the total soil CO₂ efflux averaged 53%, ranging from 33% to 72%. The microbial respiration rate was exponentially related to soil temperature at 10 cm depth (R² = 0.9400, P = 0.002, n = 6), and the root respiration rate was linearly related to the root production at 0–30 cm depth (R² = 0.6561, P = 0.042, n = 6).

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^*1: Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 30670342 and 30870408) and the Jilin Provincial Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (No. 20060105).

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Contribution of Root and Microbial Respiration to Soil CO2 Efflux and Their Environmental Controls in a Humid Temperate Grassland of Japan*1

Abstract

Forest Ecol. Manag.

Soil Biol. Biochem.

Soil Biol. Biochem.

Soil Biol. Biochem.

Agr. Forest Meteorol.

Soil Biol. Biochem.

Soil Biol. Biochem.

Agr. Forest Meteorol.

Ecol. Model.

Pedobiologia.

Root respiration in temperate mountain grasslands differing in land use

Glob. Change Biol.

Resource limitation in plants—An economic analogy

Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst.

A global relationship between the heterotrophic and autotrophic components of soil respiration?

Glob. Change Biol.

Contributions of above-ground litter, belowground litter, and root respiration to total soil respiration in a temperate mixed hardwood forest

Can. J. Forest Res.

Determinants of growing season soil flux in a Minnesota grassland

Biogeochemistry.

Soil water content and temperature as independent or confounded factors controlling soil respiration in a temperate mixed hardwood forest

Glob. Change Biol.

Root production is determined by radiation flux in a temperate grassland community.

Glob. Change Biol.

Version 1.0

Root production, turnover and respiration under two grassland types along an altitudinal gradient: Influence of temperature and solar radiation

Oecologia.

Separating root and soil microbial contributions to soil respiration: A review of methods and observations

Biogeochemistry.

A comparison of four different fine root production estimates with ecosystem carbon balance data in a Fagus-Quercus mixed forest

Plant Soil.

Carbon sequestration: Do N inputs and elevated atmospheric CO2 alter soil solution chemistry and respiratory C losses?

Water Air Soil Poll.

Large-scale forest girdling shows that current photosynthesis drives soil respiration

Nature

Long-term carbon exchange in a sparse, seasonally dry tussock grassland

Glob. Change Biol.

A global budget for fine root biomass, surface area, and nutrient contents

P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA.

Rhizosphere carbon flow measurement and implications: From isotopes to reporter genes

Plant Soil.

Contribution of Root and Microbial Respiration to Soil CO₂ Efflux and Their Environmental Controls in a Humid Temperate Grassland of Japan^*1

Carbon sequestration: Do N inputs and elevated atmospheric CO₂ alter soil solution chemistry and respiratory C losses?