scholarly journals Interdependencies between temperature and moisture sensitivities of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions in European land ecosystems

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 4433-4464 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Gritsch ◽  
M. Zimmermann ◽  
S. Zechmeister-Boltenstern

Abstract. Soil respiration is one of the largest terrestrial fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. Hence, small changes in soil respiration rates could have large effects on atmospheric CO2. In order to assess CO2 emissions from diverse European soils under different land-use and climate (soil moisture and temperature) we conducted a laboratory incubation experiment. Emission measurements of carbon dioxide under controlled conditions were conducted using soil monoliths of nine sites from the ÉCLAIRE flux network. Sites are located all over Europe; from the UK in the west to the Ukraine in the east; Italy in the south to Finland in the north and can be separated according to four land-uses (forests, grasslands, arable lands and one peatland). Intact soil cores were incubated in the laboratory at the temperatures 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 °C in a two factorial design of five soil moisture levels (5, 20, 40, 60, 80 (100)% water filled pore space, WFPS), before analysed for CO2 fluxes with an automated laboratory incubation measurement system. Land-use generally had a substantial influence on carbon dioxide fluxes, with the order of CO2 emission rates of the different land-uses being grassland > peatland > forest/arable land (P < 0.001). CO2 efflux responded strongly to varying temperature and moisture content with optimum moisture contents for CO2 emissions between 40–70% WFPS and a positive relationship between CO2 emissions and temperature. The relationship between temperature and CO2 emissions could be well described by a Gaussian model. Q10 values ranged between 0.86–10.85 and were negatively related to temperature for most of the moisture contents and sites investigated. At higher temperatures the effect of water and temperature on Q10 was very low. In addition under cold temperatures Q10 varied with moisture contents indicating a stronger prospective effect of rain events in cold areas on temperature sensitivity. We found at both coniferous forest sites a strong increase of the temperature sensitivity at a moisture range between 20–40% WFPS. In our study moisture sensitivity (MS) of CO2 efflux was calculated as the slope of a polynomial function of second degree. Moisture sensitivities were highest under dry and wet conditions. In addition we found a positive relationship between MS of CO2 efflux and temperature for both arable lands.

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 5981-5993 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Gritsch ◽  
M. Zimmermann ◽  
S. Zechmeister-Boltenstern

Abstract. Soil respiration is one of the largest terrestrial fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. Hence, small changes in soil respiration rates could have large effects on atmospheric CO2. In order to assess CO2 emissions from diverse European soils with different land-use types and climate (soil moisture and temperature), we conducted a laboratory incubation experiment. Emission measurements of CO2 under controlled conditions were conducted using soil monoliths of nine sites from a European flux network (ÉCLAIRE). The sites are located all over Europe – from the United Kingdom in the west to Ukraine in the east, and from Italy in the south to Finland in the north – and can be separated according to four land-use types (forests, grasslands, arable lands and one peatland). Intact soil cores were incubated in the laboratory in a two-way factorial design, with temperature (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 °C) and water-filled pore space (WFPS; 5, 20, 40, 60 and 80 %) as the independent variables, while CO2 flux was the response variable. The latter was measured with an automated laboratory incubation measurement system. Land use generally had a substantial influence on carbon dioxide fluxes, with the order of CO2 emission rates of the different land-use types being grassland > peatland > forest/arable land (P < 0.001). CO2 efflux responded strongly to varying temperature and moisture content with optimum moisture contents for CO2 emissions between 40 and 70 % WFPS and a positive relationship between CO2 emissions and temperature. The relationship between temperature and CO2 emissions could be well described by a Gaussian model. Q10 values ranged between 0.86 and 10.85 and were negatively related to temperature for most of the moisture contents and sites investigated. At higher temperatures the effect of water and temperature on Q10 was very low. In addition, under cold temperatures Q10 varied with moisture contents, indicating a stronger prospective effect of rain events in cold areas on temperature sensitivity. At both coniferous forest sites we found a strong increase in the temperature sensitivity at a moisture range between 20 and 40 % WFPS. We developed a new approach to calculate moisture sensitivity (MS) of CO2 efflux. MS was calculated as the slope of a polynomial function of second degree. Moisture sensitivities were highest under dry and wet conditions. In addition we found a positive relationship between MS of CO2 efflux and temperature for both arable lands.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-179

Soil respiration is a major component of global carbon cycle. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the environmental controls on soil respiration for evaluating potential response of ecosystems to climate change. In a temperate deciduous forest (located in Northern-Hungary) we added or removed aboveground and belowground litter to determine total soil respiration. We investigated the relationship between total soil CO2 efflux, soil moisture, and soil temperature. Soil CO2 efflux was measured at each plot using soda-lime method. Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Q10) was monitored via measuring soil temperature on an hourly basis, while soil moisture was determined monthly. Soil respiration increased in control plots from the second year after implementing the treatment, but results showed fluctuations from one year to another. The effect of doubled litter was less significant than the effect of removal. Removed litter and root inputs caused substantial decrease in soil respiration. We found that temperature was more influential in the control of soil respiration than soil moisture. In plots with no litter Q10 varied in the largest interval. For treatment with doubled litter layer, temperature sensitivity of CO2 efflux did not change considerably. The effect of increasing soil temperature is more conspicuous to soil respiration in litter removal treatments since lack of litter causes greater irradiation. When exclusively leaf litter was considered, the effect of temperature on soil respiration was lower in treatments with added litter than with removed litter. Our results reveal that soil life is impacted by the absence of organic matter, rather than by an excess of organic matter. Results of CO2 emission from soils with different organic matter content can contribute to sustainable land use, considering the changed climatic factors caused by global climate change.


Soil Research ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 727 ◽  
Author(s):  
XiaoGuo Wang ◽  
Bo Zhu ◽  
MeiRong Gao ◽  
YanQiang Wang ◽  
XunHua Zheng

CO2 emissions from soils were measured under 3 land-use types at the adjacent plots of forest plantation, grassland, and cropland from January 2005 to December 2006. Mean soil CO2 efflux rates measured during the 2-year study varied from 59 to 527 mg CO2/m2.h in forest plantation, 37 to 498 mg CO2/m2.h in grassland, and 32 to 397 mg CO2/m2.h in cropland. Soil respiration in the 3 types of land-use showed a similar seasonal pattern in variation during both years, in which the single-peaked curve occurred in early summer and the minimum in winter. In particular, the date of maximum soil CO2 efflux rate in cropland occurred about 30 days earlier than in forest and grassland in both 2005 and 2006. The relationship of soil respiration rate (R) with soil temperature (T ) and soil moisture (W ) fitted well to the equation R = β0eβ1TW β2 (a, b, c were constants) than other univariate models which consider soil water content or soil temperature alone. Soil temperature and soil moisture together explained 69–92% of the temporal variation in soil respiration in the 3 land-use types. Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Q10) was affected positively by soil moisture of top 0.1 m layer and negatively by soil temperature at 0.05 m depth. The relationship between Q10 values and soil temperature (T ) or soil moisture (W ) indicated that a 1°C increase in soil temperature at 0.05 m depth will reduce the Q10 value by 0.07, 0.05, and 0.06 in forest, grassland, and cropland, respectively. Similarly, a 1% decrease in soil moisture of the top 0.1 m layer will reduce the Q10 value by 0.10, 0.09, and 0.11 in forest, grassland, and cropland.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Wang ◽  
T. S. Zha ◽  
X. Jia ◽  
B. Wu ◽  
Y. Q. Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract. The current understanding of the responses of soil respiration (Rs) to soil temperature (Ts) and soil moisture is limited for desert ecosystems. Soil CO2 efflux from a desert shrub ecosystem was measured continuously with automated chambers in Ningxia, northwest China, from June to October 2012. The diurnal responses of Rs to Ts were affected by soil moisture. The diel variation in Rs was strongly related to Ts at 10 cm depth under moderate and high volumetric soil water content (VWC), unlike under low VWC. Ts typically lagged Rs by 3–4 h. However, the lag time varied in relation to VWC, showing increased lag times under low VWC. Over the seasonal cycle, daily mean Rs was correlated positively with Ts, if VWC was higher than 0.08 m3 m−3. Under lower VWC, it became decoupled from Ts. The annual temperature sensitivity of Rs (Q10) was 1.5. The short-term sensitivity of Rs to Ts varied significantly over the seasonal cycle, and correlated negatively with Ts and positively with VWC. Our results highlight the biological causes of diel hysteresis between Rs and Ts, and that the response of Rs to soil moisture may result in negative feedback to climate warming in desert ecosystems. Thus, global carbon cycle models should account the interactive effects of Ts and VWC on Rs in desert ecosystems.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Urbanek ◽  
Stefan H. Doerr

Abstract. Soil CO2 emissions are strongly dependent on water distribution in soil pores, which in turn can be affected by soil water repellency (SWR; hydrophobicity). SWR restricts infiltration and movement of water, affecting soil hydrology as well as biological and chemical processes. Effects of SWR on soil carbon dynamics and specifically on soil respiration (CO2 efflux) have been studied in a few laboratory experiments but they remain poorly understood. Existing studies suggest that soil respiration is reduced in water repellent soils, but the responses of soil CO2 efflux to varying water distribution created by SWR are not yet known. Here we report on the first field-based study that tests whether soil water repellency indeed reduces soil respiration, based on in situ field measurements carried out over three consecutive years at a grassland and pine forest site under the humid temperate climate of the UK. CO2 efflux was reduced on occasions when soil exhibited consistently high SWR and low soil moisture following long dry spells. However, the highest respiration rates occurred not when SWR was absent, but when SWR, and thus soil moisture, was spatially patchy, a pattern observed for the majority of the measurement period. This somewhat surprising phenomenon can be explained by SWR-induced preferential flow, directing water and nutrients to microorganisms decomposing organic matter concentrated in hot spots near preferential flow paths. Water repellent zones provide air-filled pathways through the soil, which facilitate soil-atmosphere O2 and CO2 exchanges. This study demonstrates that SWR have contrasting effects on CO2 fluxes and, when spatially-variable, can enhance CO2 efflux. Spatial variability in SWR and associated soil moisture distribution needs to be considered when evaluating the effects of SWR on soil carbon dynamics under current and predicted future climatic conditions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 771-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie C. Pennington ◽  
Nate G. McDowell ◽  
J. Patrick Megonigal ◽  
James C. Stegen ◽  
Ben Bond-Lamberty

Abstract. Soil respiration (Rs), the flow of CO2 from the soil surface to the atmosphere, is one of the largest carbon fluxes in the terrestrial biosphere. The spatial variability of Rs is both large and poorly understood, limiting our ability to robustly scale it in space. One factor in Rs spatial variability is the autotrophic contribution from plant roots, but it is uncertain how the presence of plants affects the magnitude and temperature sensitivity of Rs. This study used 1 year of Rs measurements to examine the effect of localized basal area on Rs in the growing and dormant seasons, as well as during moisture-limited times, in a temperate, coastal, deciduous forest in eastern Maryland, USA. In a linear mixed-effects model, tree basal area within a 5 m radius (BA5) exerted a significant positive effect on the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration. Soil moisture was the dominant control on Rs during the dry portions of the year, while soil moisture, temperature, and BA5 all exerted significant effects on Rs in wetter periods. Our results suggest that autotrophic respiration is more sensitive to temperature than heterotrophic respiration at these sites, although we did not measure these source fluxes directly, and that soil respiration is highly moisture sensitive, even in a record-rainfall year. The Rs flux magnitudes (0.46–15.0 µmol m−2 s−1) and variability (coefficient of variability 10 %–23 % across plots) observed in this study were comparable to values observed in similar forests. Six Rs observations would be required in order to estimate the mean across all study sites to within 50 %, and 518 would be required in order to estimate it to within 5 %, with 95 % confidence. A better understanding of the spatial interactions between plants and microbes, as well as the strength and speed of above- and belowground coupling, is necessary to link these processes with large-scale soil-to-atmosphere C fluxes.


Author(s):  
Ryoko Araki ◽  
Flora Branger ◽  
Inge Wiekenkamp ◽  
Hilary McMillan

Soil moisture signatures provide a promising solution to overcome the difficulty of evaluating soil moisture dynamics in hydrologic models. Soil moisture signatures are metrics that represent catchment dynamics extracted from time series of data and enable process-based model evaluations. To date, soil moisture signatures have been tested only under limited land-use types. In this study, we explore soil moisture signatures’ ability to discriminate different dynamics among contrasting land-uses. We applied a set of nine soil moisture signatures to datasets from six in-situ soil moisture networks worldwide. The dataset covers a range of land-use types, including forested and deforested areas, shallow groundwater areas, wetlands, housing areas, grazed areas, and cropland areas. These signatures characterize soil moisture dynamics at three temporal scales: event, seasonal, and time-series scales. Statistical and visual assessment of extracted signatures showed that (1) storm event-based signatures can distinguish different dynamics for most land-uses, (2) season-based signatures are useful to distinguish different dynamics for some types of land-uses (forested vs. deforested area, greenspace vs. housing area, and deep vs. shallow groundwater area), (3) timeseries-based signatures can distinguish different dynamics for some types of land-uses (forested vs. deforested area, deep vs. shallow groundwater area, non-wetland vs. wetland area, and ungrazed vs. grazed area). We compared signature-based process interpretations against literature knowledge: event-based and time series-based signatures were generally matched well with previous process understandings from literature, but season-based signatures did not. This study demonstrates the best practices of extracting soil moisture signatures under various land-use and climate environments and applying signatures for model evaluations.


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