Contribution of litter layer to soil greenhouse gas emissions in a temperate beech forest

Leitner, Sonja; Sae-Tun, Orracha; Kranzinger, Lukas; Zechmeister‐Boltenstern, Sophie; Zimmermann, Michael

doi:10.1007/s11104-015-2771-3

Cited by 66 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 69 publications

(71 reference statements)

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“…Furthermore our study revealed that temperature sensitivities of litter CO 2 emissions were clearly lower than those of soil CO 2 emissions (Figure ). This is in agreement with field studies which were performed at a beech forest site in Austria [ Leitner et al , ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

The effect of temperature and moisture on trace gas emissions from deciduous and coniferous leaf litter

et al. 2016

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The forest litter layer lies at the boundary between soil and atmosphere and is a major factor in biogeochemical cycles. While there are several studies on how the litter layer controls soil trace gas emissions, litter emissions itself are less well understood, and it is still unclear how important gases respond to changing temperature and moisture. In order to assess leaf litter gas exchange, we conducted laboratory incubation experiments in which the full set of climate relevant gases, i.e., carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and nitric oxide (NO) coming from deciduous and coniferous leaf litter were measured at five temperatures and seven moisture contents. In addition, we compared litter and soil from different origin in terms of temperature/moisture responses of gas fluxes and investigated possible interactions between the two climate factors. Deciduous litter emitted more CO2 (up to 335 mg CO2‐C kg−1 h−1) than coniferous litter, whereas coniferous litter released maximum amounts of NO (207 µg NO‐N kg−1 h−1). N2O was only emitted from litter under very moist and warm conditions (>70% wet weight, >10°C). CH4 emissions were close to zero. Temperature sensitivities of litter emissions were generally lower than for soil emissions. Nevertheless, wet and warm conditions always enhanced litter emissions, suggesting a strong feedback effect of the litter layer to predicted future climate change.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

The effect of temperature and moisture on trace gas emissions from deciduous and coniferous leaf litter

et al. 2016

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“…The litterfall represents a substantial and rather constant proportion (33.9%) of NPP (Tables and ). The C in litterfall is mostly released to the atmosphere after decay, which makes the litter pool important for understanding greenhouse gas emissions from the forest floor (Leitner et al, ). It appears that litterfall rates have increased since 2002 at an annual rate of 1.3 g C · m −2 · year −1 and NPP decreased by 5.0 g C m −2 · year −1 , although trends were not statistically significant (Table ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Carbon and Nutrient Input From Litterfall in European Forests Using Field Observations and Modeling

Neumann

Ukonmaanaho

Johnson

et al. 2018

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Litterfall is a major, yet poorly studied, process within forest ecosystems globally. It is important for carbon dynamics, edaphic communities, and maintaining site fertility. Reliable information on the carbon and nutrient input from litterfall, provided by litter traps, is relevant to a wide audience including policy makers and soil scientists. We used litterfall observations of 320 plots from the pan‐European forest monitoring network of the “International Co‐operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests” to quantify litterfall fluxes. Eight litterfall models were evaluated (four using climate information and four using biomass abundance). We scaled up our results to the total European forest area and quantified the contribution of litterfall to the forest carbon cycle using net primary production aggregated by bioregions (north, central, and south) and by forest types (conifers and broadleaves). The 1,604 analyzed annual litterfall observations indicated an average carbon input of 224 g C · m−2 · year−1 (annual nutrient inputs 4.49 g N, 0.32 g P, and 1.05 g K · m−2), representing a substantial percentage of net primary production from 36% in north Europe to 32% in central Europe. The annual turnover of carbon and nutrient in broadleaf canopies was larger than for conifers. The evaluated models provide large‐scale litterfall predictions with a bias less than 10%. Each year litterfall in European forests transfers 351 Tg C, 8.2 Tg N, 0.6 Tg P, and 1.9 Tg K to the forest floor. The performance of litterfall models may be improved by including foliage biomass and proxies for forest management.

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“…This is most likely a consequence of changes in litter quantity and quality after the input of organic matter via leaf fall. In beech forests, CO 2 fluxes reduced by 30% after litter removal was found [49], suggesting a high influence of the forest floor on soil respiration. Raich and Tufekciogul [24] also point to better decomposable leaf litter and faster nutrient cycling rates under deciduous species.…”

Section: Soil Respiration and Soc Stocksmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…While the very high forest floor SOC stocks in coniferous forests might be vulnerable to disturbance or temperature increases, the SOC stocks in both forest floor and mineral soil of mixed deciduous/coniferous stands appear to be more resilient to disturbance and climate change [51]. SOC stocks are influenced by C input through root and leaf litter and rhizodeposition [24,49,52]. It has been shown that the age of carbon residues in recently fallen litter as well as in the soil of deciduous forests is lower than in coniferous forests [53], indicating a faster turnover.…”

Section: Soil Respiration and Soc Stocksmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Admixing Fir to European Beech Forests Improves the Soil Greenhouse Gas Balance

Rehschuh

Fuchs

Tejedor

et al. 2019

Forests

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Research highlights: The admixture of fir to pure European beech hardly affected soil-atmosphere CH4 and N2O fluxes but increased soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks at a site in the Black Forest, Southern Germany. Background and objectives: Admixing deep-rooting silver fir has been proposed as a measure to increase the resilience of beech forests towards intensified drying-wetting cycles. Hence, the goal of this study was to quantify the effect of fir admixture to beech forests on the soil-atmosphere-exchange of greenhouse gases (GHGs: CO2, CH4 and N2O) and the SOC stocks by comparing pure beech (BB) and mixed beech-fir (BF) stands in the Black Forest, Germany. Materials and methods: To account for the impact of drying-wetting events, we simulated prolonged summer drought periods by rainout shelters, followed by irrigation. Results: The admixture of fir to pure beech stands reduced soil respiration, especially during autumn and winter. This resulted in increased SOC stocks down to a 0.9 m depth by 9 t C ha−1 at BF. The mixed stand showed an insignificantly decreased sink strength for CH4 (−4.0 under BB and −3.6 kg C ha−1 year−1 under BF). With maximal emissions of 25 µg N m−2 h−1, N2O fluxes were very low and remained unchanged by the fir admixture. The total soil GHG balance of forest conversion from BB to BF was strongly dominated by changes in SOC stocks. Extended summer droughts significantly decreased the soil respiration in both BB and BF stands and increased the net CH4 uptake. Conclusions: Overall, this study highlights the positive effects of fir admixture to beech stands on SOC stocks and the total soil GHG balance. In view of the positive impact of increased SOC stocks on key soil functions such as water and nutrient retention, admixing fir to beech stands appears to be a suitable measure to mitigate climate change stresses on European beech stands.

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Contribution of litter layer to soil greenhouse gas emissions in a temperate beech forest

Cited by 66 publications

References 69 publications

The effect of temperature and moisture on trace gas emissions from deciduous and coniferous leaf litter

The effect of temperature and moisture on trace gas emissions from deciduous and coniferous leaf litter

Quantifying Carbon and Nutrient Input From Litterfall in European Forests Using Field Observations and Modeling

Admixing Fir to European Beech Forests Improves the Soil Greenhouse Gas Balance

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