Soil respiration constitutes the second largest flux of carbon (C) between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. This study provides a synthesis of soil respiration (R s ) in 20 European grasslands across a climatic transect, including ten meadows, eight pastures and two unmanaged grasslands. Maximum rates of R s (R s max ), R s at a reference soil temperature (10°C; R s 10 ) and annual R s (estimated for 13 sites) ranged from 1.9 to 15.9 μmol CO 2 m −2 s −1 , 0.3 to 5.5 μmol CO 2 m −2 s −1 and 58 to 1988 g C m −2 y −1 , respectively. Values obtained for Central European mountain meadows are amongst the highest so far reported for any type of ecosystem. Across all sites R s max was closely related to R s 10 .Assimilate supply affected R s at timescales from daily (but not necessarily diurnal) to annual.Reductions of assimilate supply by removal of aboveground biomass through grazing and cutting resulted in a rapid and a significant decrease of R s . Temperature-independent seasonal fluctuations of R s of an intensively managed pasture were closely related to changes in leaf area index (LAI). Across sites R s 10 increased with mean annual soil temperature (MAT), LAI and gross primary productivity (GPP), indicating that assimilate supply overrides potential acclimation to prevailing temperatures. Also annual R s was closely related to LAI and GPP. Because the latter two parameters were coupled to MAT, temperature was a suitable surrogate for deriving estimates of annual R s across the grasslands studied. These findings contribute to our understanding of regional patterns of soil C fluxes and highlight the importance of assimilate supply for soil CO 2 emissions at various timescales.

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[1] The role and relative importance of weather and cutting for the seasonal and interannual variability of the net ecosystem CO 2 exchange (NEE) of a temperate mountain grassland was investigated. Eddy covariance CO 2 flux data and associated measurements of the green plant area index and the major environmental driving forces acquired during 2001-2006 at the study site Neustift (Austria) were analyzed. Driven by three cutting events per year which kept the investigated grassland in a stage of vigorous growth, the seasonal variability of NEE was primarily modulated by gross primary productivity (GPP). The role of environmental parameters in modulating the seasonal variability of NEE was obscured by the strong response of GPP to changes in the amount of green plant area, as well as the cutting-mediated decoupling of phenological development and the seasonal course of environmental drivers. None of the environmental and management metrics examined was able to explain the inter-annual variability of annual NEE. This is thought to result from (1) a high covariance between GPP and ecosystem respiration (R eco ) at the annual timescale which results in a comparatively small inter-annual variation of NEE, (2) compensating effects between carbon exchange during and outside the management period, and (3) changes in the biotic response to rather than the environmental variables per se. GPP was more important in modulating inter-annual variations in NEE in spring and before the first and second cut, while R eco explained a larger fraction of the inter-annual variability of NEE during the remaining periods, in particular the post-cut periods.Citation: Wohlfahrt, G., A. Hammerle, A. Haslwanter, M. Bahn, U. Tappeiner, and A. Cernusca (2008), Seasonal and inter-annual variability of the net ecosystem CO 2 exchange of a temperate mountain grassland: Effects of weather and management, J. Geophys.

In grasslands the proportionally largest emission of CO 2 comes from the soil. This study aimed to assess how root respiration, a major flux component, is affected by land management and changes in land use. Respiration of roots, separated to classes of different diameter, was measured in 11 temperate mountain grasslands, including meadows, pastures and abandoned sites at three geographic locations. Specific root respiration was affected by nitrogen (N) concentration, root class and land use. The relationship between root N concentration and respiration differed between locations. With increasing root diameter there was a decrease in root respiration, N concentration, respiration per unit N and Q 10 . In grasslands abandoned for several years specific root respiration was lower than in meadows, pastures and a recently abandoned site. This was due to lower root N concentrations and/or lower respiration rates per unit N within each root class. Since root biomass was higher on abandoned grasslands, total ecosystem root respiration did not differ consistently between sites. Ecosystem root respiration showed distinct seasonal changes due to changes in root biomass, which were less pronounced on abandoned grasslands. Fine roots generally made up the largest portion of ecosystem root respiration, their contribution varying between 35% and 96%. On meadows, clipping increased soil and root respiration by increasing soil temperature. When corrected for temperature effects soil respiration was reduced by 20-50%, whilst root respiration was little affected, suggesting that carbohydrate reserves sustained root metabolism for several days and that microbial respiration strongly responded to short-term changes in assimilate supply.

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