Complex terrain alters temperature and moisture limitations of forest soil respiration across a semiarid to subalpine gradient

Berryman, E. M.; Barnard, H. R.; Adams, H. R.; Burns, M. A.; Gallo, E.; Brooks, P. D.

doi:10.1002/2014JG002802

Title: Complex terrain alters temperature and moisture limitations of forest soil respiration across a semiarid to subalpine gradient

Journal Article · Tue Feb 10 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JG002802· OSTI ID:1454920

Berryman, E. M. ^[1]; Barnard, H. R. ^[2]; Adams, H. R. ^[2]; Burns, M. A. ^[2];

^[3]; Brooks, P. D. ^[4]

Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Inst. of Arctic and Alpine Research. Dept. of Geography; US Geological Survey, Denver, CO (United States). Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Inst. of Arctic and Alpine Research. Dept. of Geography
Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States). Dept. of Hydrology and Water Resources
Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States). Dept. of Geology and Geophysics

Abstract Forest soil respiration is a major carbon (C) flux that is characterized by significant variability in space and time. We quantified growing season soil respiration during both a drought year and a nondrought year across a complex landscape to identify how landscape and climate interact to control soil respiration. We asked the following questions: (1) How does soil respiration vary across the catchments due to terrain‐induced variability in moisture availability and temperature? (2) Does the relative importance of moisture versus temperature limitation of respiration vary across space and time? And (3) what terrain elements are important for dictating the pattern of soil respiration and its controls? Moisture superseded temperature in explaining watershed respiration patterns, with wetter yet cooler areas higher up and on north facing slopes yielding greater soil respiration than lower and south facing areas. Wetter subalpine forests had reduced moisture limitation in favor of greater seasonal temperature limitation, and the reverse was true for low‐elevation semiarid forests. Coincident climate poorly predicted soil respiration in the montane transition zone; however, antecedent precipitation from the prior 10 days provided additional explanatory power. A seasonal trend in respiration remained after accounting for microclimate effects, suggesting that local climate alone may not adequately predict seasonal variability in soil respiration in montane forests. Soil respiration climate controls were more strongly related to topography during the drought year highlighting the importance of landscape complexity in ecosystem response to drought.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0006968; EAR-0724960

OSTI ID:: 1454920

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1402216

Journal Information:: Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences, Vol. 120, Issue 4; ISSN 2169-8953

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 26 works

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Title: Complex terrain alters temperature and moisture limitations of forest soil respiration across a semiarid to subalpine gradient

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