Comparing ecosystem and soil respiration: Review and key challenges of tower-based and soil measurements

Barba, Josep; Cueva, Alejandro; Bahn, Michael; Barron‐Gafford, Greg A.; Bond-Lamberty, Benjamin; Hanson, Paul J.; Jaimes, Aline; Kulmala, Liisa; Pumpanen, Jukka; Scott, Russell L.; Wohlfahrt, Georg; Vargas, Rodrigo

doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2017.10.028

Cited by 108 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 101 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Soil CO 2 efflux, commonly referred to as soil respiration (R S ), is the primary path by which C fixed by land plants returns to the atmosphere (Barba et al, 2018). Estimated at approximately 75 × 10 15 gC/ year, this large natural flux is likely to increase due to changes in the earth's condition (Bond-Lamberty & Thomson, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil respiration of four forests along elevation gradient in northern subtropical China

Zang

Xie

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background and aimsSoil respiration is the second‐largest terrestrial carbon (C) flux, and soil temperature and soil moisture are the main drivers of temporal variation in soil respiration and its components. Here, we quantified the contribution of soil temperature, soil moisture, and their intersection on the variation in soil respiration and its components of the evergreen broad‐leaved forests (EBF), mixed evergreen and deciduous broad‐leaved forests (MF), deciduous broad‐leaved forests (DBF), and subalpine coniferous forests (CF) along an elevation gradient.MethodsWe measured soil respiration of four types of forests along the elevation gradient in Shennongjia, Hubei China based on the trenching experiments. We parameterized the relationships between soil respiration and soil temperature, soil moisture, and quantified the intersection of temperature and moisture on soil respiration and its components.ResultsTotal soil respiration (R S), heterotrophic respiration (R H), and autotrophic respiration (R A) were significantly correlated with soil temperature in all four forests. The Q 10 value of soil respiration significantly differed among the four types of forest, and the Q 10 was 3.06 for EBF, 3.75 for MF, 4.05 for DBF, and 4.49 for CF, respectively. The soil temperature explained 62%–81% of the variation in respiration, while soil temperature and soil moisture together explained 91%–97% of soil respiration variation for the four types of forests. The variation from the intersection of soil temperature and moisture were 12.1%–25.0% in RS, 1.0%–7.0% in R H, and 17.1%–19.6% in R A, respectively.ConclusionsOur results show that the temperature sensitivity (Q 10) of soil respiration increased with elevation. The intersection between soil temperature and soil moisture had strong effects on soil respiration, especially in R H. We demonstrated that the intersection effects between soil temperature and soil moisture on soil respiration were essential to understand the response of soil respiration and its components to climate change.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil respiration of four forests along elevation gradient in northern subtropical China

Zang

Xie

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Understanding its sources (Subke et al, ), magnitude, variability, and drivers such as soil temperature and moisture (Hursh et al, ) provides opportunities to explore its climate feedback potential (Bond‐Lamberty et al, ; Hashimoto et al, ) and biogeochemical constraints (Hursh et al, ). R S can also be used to probe other parts of the C cycle (Bond‐Lamberty et al, ; C. L. Phillips et al, ), for example, as a constraint on eddy covariance‐derived estimates of net ecosystem exchange (Barba et al, ; Wang et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Respiration Variability and Correlation Across a Wide Range of Temporal Scales

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The high temporal variability of the soil-to-atmosphere CO 2 flux (soil respiration, R S ) has been studied at hourly to multiannual time scales but remains less well understood than R S spatial variability. How R S fluxes vary and are autocorrelated at various time lags has practical implications for sampling and more fundamentally for our understanding of its abiotic and biotic underlying mechanisms. We examined the variability, correlation, and sampling requirements of R S over a wide range of temporal scales in a temperate deciduous forest in eastern Maryland, USA, using both automated (temporally continuous, N = 30,036 over 10 months) and survey (spatially diverse, temporally sparse, N = 1,912 over 17 months) data. Data from a global R S database were also used to examine interannual variability in comparable forests. The coefficient of variability of successive measurements generally varied from the minute (median coefficient of variation 16%) to hourly and daily (11-12%) time scales. Successive R S values measured at a given collar exhibited a strong hour-to-hour correlation (r = 0.931) and a moderate correlation at a 2-hr lag (0.289); day-to-day (i.e., 24 hr lag) hourly observations were uncorrelated. Daily R S means were well correlated at a 1-day lag (r = 0.856) but not at any further time lag. In a linear mixed-effects model predicting R S , soil temperature and moisture exerted consistently strong effects regardless of time scale, and model coefficient of variability was generally high (>80%). These results provide new opportunities to explore the drivers and variability of R S fluxes, quantify sampling requirements, and improve error propagation.Plain Language Summary Soils give off carbon dioxide, generated by microbes and plant roots, to the atmosphere. How this "soil respiration" (R S ) varies in time, as one measures at minute, hourly, daily, or longer time scales, is related to the processes driving it and has implications for how we estimate this flow of carbon across space and time. We measured R S in a coastal deciduous forest in Maryland, USA, and found that the variability of R S -how much it changed between successive measurementsvaried at the different time scales. R S values quickly became increasingly random (i.e., uncorrelated with each other) as one measured repeatedly over time. These results help us understand the factors driving this large flow of carbon to the atmosphere and improve our ability to estimate R S at times and places not directly measured.

show abstract

“…Our annual estimate of ecosystem‐ F s exceeding ecosystem respiration ( R eco ) supports similar results pointing out issue(s) in the measurement or calculation of those fluxes, the causes of which are still a matter of debate (Barba et al ., ). We acknowledge that our ecosystem‐ F s was potentially overestimated because of few spatial replicates; in particular, more replicates are necessary for bare soil and Genista sp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

From microhabitat to ecosystem: identifying the biophysical factors controlling soil CO₂ dynamics in a karst shrubland

Lopez‐Canfin

Sánchez‐Cañete

Serrano-Ortíz

et al. 2018

European J Soil Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary The soil CO2 efflux (Fs) remains the least constrained component of the terrestrial carbon cycle; its estimates are still largely uncertain, mainly because of its considerable variation related to the many factors that interact over different temporal and spatial scales. Therefore, our aims were to: (i) identify the biophysical factors that control the soil CO2 molar fraction (χs) and characterize their time‐frequency patterns in a karst shrubland, (ii) explore χs variation with soil cover type (microhabitat) and (iii) estimate Fs at the ecosystem scale. Continuous measurements of aboveground variables, including net CO2 exchanges at the ecosystem level, were compared with pedoclimatic variables collected from four microhabitats (Festuca scariosa (Lag.) Asch. & Graebn., Hormathophylla spinosa (L.) P. Küpfer, Genista pumila (Hervier) Vierh. and bare soil). The microhabitat‐scale controlling factors of χs were identified by a top‐down statistical analysis, and time‐frequency patterns were analysed by wavelet spectral decomposition. Finally, Fs was upscaled from the microhabitat to the ecosystem scale by considering the spatial heterogeneity of ground cover. We determined that in addition to soil water content and temperature, which are traditionally used to predict χs or Fs, the wind (friction velocity) can also have a significant effect. Furthermore, the sensitivity of χs to the main factors identified here varied with microhabitat and season. Over a year, Fs upscaled to the ecosystem level and its uncertainty was 175 ± 13 g C m−2 compared with 155 ± 8 g C m−2 estimated from ecosystem respiration. These results provide new insight into mechanisms of soil CO2 production and transport that question and can improve models traditionally used to quantify ecosystem CO2 emissions. Highlights Explored the variation of soil CO2 in relation to its biophysical controlling factors. Used a top‐down statistical analysis and a wavelet time‐frequency decomposition. Identified controlling factors of soil CO2 dynamics: soil water content, temperature, wind, microhabitat and season. Provides new insight into soil CO2 production and transport, and improves CO2 emission modelling.

show abstract

Comparing ecosystem and soil respiration: Review and key challenges of tower-based and soil measurements

Cited by 108 publications

References 101 publications

Soil respiration of four forests along elevation gradient in northern subtropical China

Soil respiration of four forests along elevation gradient in northern subtropical China

Soil Respiration Variability and Correlation Across a Wide Range of Temporal Scales

From microhabitat to ecosystem: identifying the biophysical factors controlling soil CO₂ dynamics in a karst shrubland

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Comparing ecosystem and soil respiration: Review and key challenges of tower-based and soil measurements

Cited by 108 publications

References 101 publications

Soil respiration of four forests along elevation gradient in northern subtropical China

Soil respiration of four forests along elevation gradient in northern subtropical China

Soil Respiration Variability and Correlation Across a Wide Range of Temporal Scales

From microhabitat to ecosystem: identifying the biophysical factors controlling soil CO2 dynamics in a karst shrubland

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

From microhabitat to ecosystem: identifying the biophysical factors controlling soil CO₂ dynamics in a karst shrubland