Global Warming and Soil Microclimate: Results from a Meadow-Warming Experiment

Harte, John; Torn, M. S.; Chang, Fang-Ru Chou; Feifarek, Brian P.; Kinzig, Ann P.; Shaw, Rebecca; Shen, Karin P.

doi:10.2307/1942058

Cited by 277 publications

(242 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Greenhous gas emission could also be impacted indirectly by temperature increases (Gregorich et al 2006) by influencing soil nutrient interactions (Mosier 1998) and availability (Hyde et al 2006). Increases in soil temperature are generally associated with a decrease in moisture content (Harte et al 1995) but, in some cases, warming may increase soil moisture content through accelerated canopy senescence and reduced transpiration losses (Zavaleta et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of increasing temperature and nitrogen input on greenhouse gas emissions from a desert steppe soil in Inner Mongolia

Wang

Hao

Shan

et al. 2011

Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

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We investigated the effect of increasing soil temperature and nitrogen on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O)] from a desert steppe soil in Inner Mongolia, China. Two temperature levels (heating versus no heating) and two nitrogen (N) fertilizer application levels (0 and 100 kg N ha C or applying 100 kg ha À1 year À1 N fertilizer had no effect on the overall GHG emissions. Seasonal variability in GHG emission reflected changes in temperature and soil moisture content. At an average CH 4 consumption rate of 31.65 mg C m À2 h À1 , the 30.73 million ha of desert steppe soil in Inner Mongolia can consume (sequestrate) about 85 Â 10 6 kg CH 4 -C, an offset equivalent to 711 Â 10 6 kg CO 2 -C emissions annually. Thus, desert steppe soil should be considered an important CH 4 sink and its potential in reducing GHG emission and mitigating climate change warrants further investigation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of increasing temperature and nitrogen input on greenhouse gas emissions from a desert steppe soil in Inner Mongolia

Wang

Hao

Shan

et al. 2011

Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

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“…Global warming and elevated atmospheric [CO 2 ] also alter ecosystem water availability. Warming usually induces drought by increasing evapotranspiration [Wan et al, 2002], leading to higher possibility of drought stress to terrestrial ecosystems [Harte et al, 1995]. Elevated CO 2 usually results in increases in soil moisture by reducing leaf stomatal conductance and mitigates plant water stress [Knapp et al, 1993;Owensby et al, 1999;Morgan et al, 2004;Moore and Field, 2006].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil hydrological properties regulate grassland ecosystem responses to multifactor global change: A modeling analysis

Weng¹,

Luo²

2008

J. Geophys. Res.

107

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[1] We conducted a modeling study to evaluate how soil hydrological properties regulate water and carbon dynamics of grassland ecosystems in response to multifactor global change. We first calibrated a process-based terrestrial ecosystem (TECO) model against data from two experiments with warming and clipping or doubled precipitation in Great Plains. The calibrated model was used to simulate responses of soil moisture, evaporation, transpiration, runoff, net primary production (NPP), ecosystem respiration (R h ), and net ecosystem production (NEP) to changes in precipitation amounts and intensity, increased temperature, and elevated atmospheric [CO 2 ] along a soil texture gradient (sand, sandy loam, loam, silt loam, and clay loam). Soil available water capacity (AWC), which is the difference between field capacity and wilting point, was used as the index to represent soil hydrological properties of the five soil texture types. Simulation results showed that soil AWC altered partitioning of precipitation among runoff, evaporation, and transpiration, and consequently regulated ecosystem responses to global environmental changes. The fractions of precipitation that were used for evaporation and transpiration increased with soil AWC but decreased for runoff. High AWC could greatly buffer water stress during long drought periods, particularly after a large rainfall event. NPP, R h , and NEP usually increased with AWC under ambient and 50% increased precipitation scenarios. With the halved precipitation amount, NPP, R h , and NEP only increased from 7% to 7.5% of AWC followed by declines. Warming and CO 2 effects on soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and runoff were magnified by soil AWC. Regulatory patterns of AWC on responses of NPP, R h , and NEP to warming were complex. In general, CO 2 effects on NPP, R h , and NEP increased with soil AWC. Our results indicate that variations in soil texture may be one of the major causes underlying variable responses of ecosystems to global changes observed from different experiments.Citation: Weng, E., and Y. Luo (2008), Soil hydrological properties regulate grassland ecosystem responses to multifactor global change: A modeling analysis,

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“…In perennial-dominated arctic and alpine systems with short summer growing seasons, experimental warming has led to soil drying (10,11). However, these effects appear to be mediated in part by warming-induced changes in the rate and timing of snowmelt as well as by increased evapotranspiration during the relatively brief time when plants are exposed.…”

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confidence: 99%

Plants reverse warming effect on ecosystem water balance

Zavaleta

Thomas

Chiariello

et al. 2003

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

131

100

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Models predict that global warming may increase aridity in waterlimited ecosystems by accelerating evapotranspiration. We show that interactions between warming and the dominant biota in a grassland ecosystem produced the reverse effect. In a 2-year field experiment, simulated warming increased spring soil moisture by 5-10% under both ambient and elevated CO 2. Warming also accelerated the decline of canopy greenness (normalized difference vegetation index) each spring by 11-17% by inducing earlier plant senescence. Lower transpirational water losses resulting from this earlier senescence provide a mechanism for the unexpected rise in soil moisture. Our findings illustrate the potential for organism-environment interactions to modify the direction as well as the magnitude of global change effects on ecosystem functioning. G lobal warming is expected to increase evapotranspiration, causing soil moisture declines that may offset modest increases in continental precipitation and lead to greater aridity in waterlimited systems around the world (1-6). The models that predict this drying do not, however, incorporate direct biotic responses to warming. Several kinds of vegetation responses to warming, including changes in phenology, leaf area index, and rooting depth, could influence evapotranspiration rates and soil moisture availability (7-9).Experimental observations of the effects of warming on ecosystem water balance, however, are scarce. In perennial-dominated arctic and alpine systems with short summer growing seasons, experimental warming has led to soil drying (10, 11). However, these effects appear to be mediated in part by warming-induced changes in the rate and timing of snowmelt as well as by increased evapotranspiration during the relatively brief time when plants are exposed.For the snow-free majority of ecosystems in which vegetation interacts directly with the atmosphere for more of the year, biotic mechanisms could play important roles in mediating water balance. In particular, warming effects on plant production or phenology could influence soil moisture losses by changing the rate or annual duration of plant transpiration (12). We followed the responses of soil moisture availability and plant canopy phenology in a temperate grassland to 2 years of simulated warming under both ambient and elevated CO 2 . We present experimental evidence of a mechanism controlled by temperature responses of grassland vegetation, through which warming increases moisture availability at a critical period in a seasonally dry ecosystem. MethodsOur study site was an annual-dominated California grassland at the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, Stanford, CA (37°24ЈN 122°13ЈW). In this region's Mediterranean-type climate, annual plants germinate with the onset of fall͞winter rains. Plants set seed and senesce as water limitation becomes severe with cessation of rain in March-May. In 1997, we established 32 circular plots 2 m in diameter and surrounded each with a solid below-ground partition to 50-cm depth. Since November 19...

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Global Warming and Soil Microclimate: Results from a Meadow-Warming Experiment

Cited by 277 publications

References 28 publications

Influence of increasing temperature and nitrogen input on greenhouse gas emissions from a desert steppe soil in Inner Mongolia

Influence of increasing temperature and nitrogen input on greenhouse gas emissions from a desert steppe soil in Inner Mongolia

Soil hydrological properties regulate grassland ecosystem responses to multifactor global change: A modeling analysis

Plants reverse warming effect on ecosystem water balance

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