Forest management and soil respiration: Implications for carbon sequestration

Abstract

It is recognized that human activities, such as fossil fuel burning, land-use change, and forest harvesting at a large scale, have resulted in the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere since the onset of the industrial revolution. The increasing amounts of greenhouse gases, particularly CO2 in the atmosphere, is believed to have induced climate change and global warming. With the ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, forests play a critical role in the carbon cycle and carbon sequestration at both global and local scales. It is necessary to understand the relationship between forest soil carbon dynamics and carbon sequestration capacity, and the impact of forest management practices on soil CO2 efflux for sustainable carbon management in forest ecosystems. This paper reviews a number of current issues related to (1) carbon allocation, (2) soil respiration, and (3) carbon sequestration in the forest ecosystems through forest management strategies. The contribution made by forests and forest management in sequestrating carbon to reduce the CO2 concentration level in the atmosphere is now well recognized. The overall carbon cycle, carbon allocation of the above-and belowground compartments of the forests, soil carbon storage and soil respiration in forest ecosystems and impacts of forest management practices on soil respiration are described. The potential influences of forest soils on the buildup of atmospheric carbon are reviewed.Résumé : On reconnaît que les activités humaines, comme le brûlage d'huiles fossiles, les modifications de l'utilisation du territoire et la récolte des forêts sur de grandes échelles ont conduit à une augmentation de l'effet serre dans l'atmosphère, depuis le début de la révolution industrielle. On croit que l'augmentation des gaz à effet serre dans l'atmosphère, particulièrement le CO 2 , a induit le changement climatique et le réchauffement global. Avec leur capacité à éliminer le CO 2 de l'atmosphère par la photosynthèse, les forêts jouent un rôle critique dans le cycle du carbone et la séquestration du carbone, à la fois à l'échelle globale et à l'échelle locale. On doit comprendre les relations qui existent entre la dynamique du carbone des sols forestiers et leur capacité de séquestration, ainsi que l'impact des pratiques d'aménagement sur l'efflux de CO 2 , dans la perspective de l'aménagement durable des écosystèmes forestiers. Les auteurs présentent une synthèse des problématiques actuelles reliées à (1) l'allocation du carbone (2) la respiration du sol et (3) la séquestration du carbone dans les écosystèmes forestiers par des stratégies d'aménagement forestier. On reconnaît maintenant très bien le rôle des forêts et de l'aménagement forestier dans la séquestration du carbone pour réduire la teneur en CO2 de l'atmosphère. Les auteurs décrivent le cycle global du carbone, l'allocation du carbone aux compartiments épigés et hypogés des forêts, l'accumulation du carbone dans le sol et la respiration des sols des écosystèmes forestiers, ainsi que...

Greenhouse gas fluxes in southeastern U.S. coastal plain wetlands under contrasting land uses

“…We had expected that soil respiration in both reference forested wetlands would be lower than in the Ag site, as is typically the case for reducing environments (Schlesinger 1997, Peng et al 2008), but we found no differences. A drought during the first year of the study period likely suppressed soil respiration in the drier Ag soils and increased soil respiration in the reference forested wetlands, but patterns were not markedly different in the second year, when precipitation patterns were closer to normal (Fig.…”

“…Since this restored wetland is a young, aggrading forest, compared to the conventionally managed Ag site and the two mature forested wetlands (FW-dry and FW-wet), the restored wetland undoubtedly represents a stronger CO 2 sink in soils and plant biomass (Odum 1969, Pregitzer and Euskirchen 2004, Peng et al 2008. Furthermore, if we only consider N 2 O and CH 4 fluxes, the drier areas of the restored wetland produced significantly less trace gas CO 2 equivalents than either the agricultural field or the forested wetlands (Fig.…”

Short-time effect of harvesting methods on soil respiration dynamics in a beech forest in southern Mediterranean Italy

“…Therefore, studies examining patterns and mechanisms of soil CO2 in response to management practices are essential. Such studies are critical to accurately predict effects of forest management on the C cycle and to develop appropriate forest management strategies aimed at reducing atmospheric CO2 concentrations (Peng et al 2008).…”

Seasonal Variations of Soil CO2Efflux Rates and Soil Environmental Factors in Pinus densiflora and Quercus variabilis Stands

“…산림을 통한 토양 CO 2 방출에 관여하는 일련의 과정 들은 인간의 활동이나 자연 재해로부터 영향을 받으며 (Jandl et al, 2007;Peng et al, 2008), 이러한 반응에 가 장 크게 기여하는 요인은 토양 온도, 토양 수분 및 양분 유 효도 같은 입지환경요인과 토양 내 유기탄소 같은 기질 (substrate quality)의 차가 원인으로 알려져 있다 (Dong et al, 1998;Deng et al, 2010). 한편, 산림토양에서 발생 하는 CO 2 방출은 시⋅공간적으로 상당한 변이가 발생 하며 (Konda et al, 2010), 토양 수분 및 양분 유효도 같은 산림환경 요인과 산림생태계가 위치한 지리적 위치 및 계절 변화에 민감하게 반응하였다 (Konda et al, 2010).…”