Dataset Information

Heterotrophic respiration does not acclimate to continuous warming in a subtropical forest.

ABSTRACT: As heterotrophic respiration (R(H)) has great potential to increase atmospheric CO2 concentrations, it is important to understand warming effects on R(H) for a better prediction of carbon-climate feedbacks. However, it remains unclear how R(H) responds to warming in subtropical forests. Here, we carried out trenching alone and trenching with warming treatments to test the climate warming effect on R(H) in a subtropical forest in southwestern China. During the measurement period, warming increased annual soil temperature by 2.1 °C, and increased annual mean R(H) by 22.9%. Warming effect on soil temperature (WE(T)) showed very similar pattern with warming effect on R(H) (WE(RH)), decreasing yearly. Regression analyses suggest that WE(RH) was controlled by WE(T) and also regulated by the soil water content. These results showed that the decrease of WE(RH) was not caused by acclimation to the warmer temperature, but was instead due to decrease of WE(T). We therefore suggest that global warming will accelerate soil carbon efflux to the atmosphere, regulated by the change in soil water content in subtropical forests.

SUBMITTER: Wu C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4761939 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Heterotrophic respiration does not acclimate to continuous warming in a subtropical forest.

Wu Chuansheng C Liang Naishen N Sha Liqing L Xu Xingliang X Zhang Yiping Y Lu Huazheng H Song Liang L Song Qinghai Q Xie Youneng Y

Scientific reports 20160222

As heterotrophic respiration (R(H)) has great potential to increase atmospheric CO2 concentrations, it is important to understand warming effects on R(H) for a better prediction of carbon-climate feedbacks. However, it remains unclear how R(H) responds to warming in subtropical forests. Here, we carried out trenching alone and trenching with warming treatments to test the climate warming effect on R(H) in a subtropical forest in southwestern China. During the measurement period, warming increase ...[more]

PMID: 26900028

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Project description:The forest floor of boreal forest stores large amounts of organic C that may react to a warming climate and increased N deposition. It is therefore crucial to assess the impact of these factors on the temperature sensitivity of this C pool to help predict future soil CO2 emissions from boreal forest soils to the atmosphere. In this study, soil warming (+2-4°C) and canopy N addition (CNA; +0.30-0.35 kg·N·ha-1·yr-1) were replicated along a topographic gradient (upper, back and lower slope) in a boreal forest in Quebec, Canada. After nine years of treatment, the forest floor was collected in each plot, and its organic C composition was characterized through solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Forest floor samples were incubated at four temperatures (16, 24, 32 and 40°C) and respiration rates (RR) measured to assess the temperature sensitivity of forest floor RR (Q10 = e10k) and basal RR (B). Both soil warming and CNA had no significant effect on forest floor chemistry (e.g., C, N, Ca and Mg content, amount of soil organic matter, pH, chemical functional groups). The NMR analyses did not show evidence of significant changes in the forest floor organic C quality. Nonetheless, a significant effect of soil warming on both the Q10 of RR and B was observed. On average, B was 72% lower and Q10 45% higher in the warmed, versus the control plots. This result implies that forest floor respiration will more strongly react to changes in soil temperature in a future warmer climate. CNA had no significant effect on the measured soil and respiration parameters, and no interaction effects with warming. In contrast, slope position had a significant effect on forest floor organic C quality. Upper slope plots had higher soil alkyl C:O-alkyl C ratios and lower B values than those in the lower slope, across all different treatments. This result likely resulted from a relative decrease in the labile C fraction in the upper slope, characterized by lower moisture levels. Our results point towards higher temperature sensitivity of RR under warmer conditions, accompanied by an overall down-regulation of RR at low temperatures (lower B). Since soil C quantity and quality were unaffected by the nine years of warming, the observed patterns could result from microbial adaptations to warming.

Dataset Information

Heterotrophic respiration does not acclimate to continuous warming in a subtropical forest.

Publications

Heterotrophic respiration does not acclimate to continuous warming in a subtropical forest.

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