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Title: Changes in soil respiration components and their specific respiration along three successional forests in the subtropics

Abstract

1.Understanding how soil respiration components change with forest succession is critical for modelling and predicting soil carbon (C) processes and its sequestration below-ground. The specific respiration (a ratio of respiration to biomass) is increasingly being used as an indicator of forest succession conceptually based on Odum's theory of ecosystem development. However, the hypothesis that specific soil respiration declines with forest succession remains largely untested. 2.We used a trenching method to partition soil respiration into heterotrophic respiration and autotrophic respiration (RH and RA) and then evaluated the specific RH and specific RA in three successional forests in subtropical China. 3.Our results showed a clear seasonality in the influence of forest succession on RH, with no significant differences among the three forests in the dry season but a higher value in the old-growth forest than the other two forests in the wet season. RA in the old-growth forest tended to be the highest among the three forests. Both the specific RH and specific RA decreased with the progressive maturity of three forests. 4.Lastly, our results highlight the importance of forest succession in determining the variation of RH in different seasons. With forest succession, soil microbes and plant roots become more efficient tomore » conserve C resources, which would result in a greater proportion of C retained in soils.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [1];  [1]
  1. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou (China)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
OSTI Identifier:
1261539
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Functional Ecology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Functional Ecology; Journal ID: ISSN 0269-8463
Publisher:
British Ecological Society; Wiley
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 09 BIOMASS FUELS; autotrophic respiration; C accumulation; fine root biomass; heterotrophic respiration; forest succession; microbial biomass C

Citation Formats

Han, Tianfeng, Liu, Juxiu, Wang, Gangsheng, Huang, Wenjuan, and Zhou, Guoyi. Changes in soil respiration components and their specific respiration along three successional forests in the subtropics. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12624.
Han, Tianfeng, Liu, Juxiu, Wang, Gangsheng, Huang, Wenjuan, & Zhou, Guoyi. Changes in soil respiration components and their specific respiration along three successional forests in the subtropics. United States. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12624
Han, Tianfeng, Liu, Juxiu, Wang, Gangsheng, Huang, Wenjuan, and Zhou, Guoyi. Sat . "Changes in soil respiration components and their specific respiration along three successional forests in the subtropics". United States. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12624. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1261539.
@article{osti_1261539,
title = {Changes in soil respiration components and their specific respiration along three successional forests in the subtropics},
author = {Han, Tianfeng and Liu, Juxiu and Wang, Gangsheng and Huang, Wenjuan and Zhou, Guoyi},
abstractNote = {1.Understanding how soil respiration components change with forest succession is critical for modelling and predicting soil carbon (C) processes and its sequestration below-ground. The specific respiration (a ratio of respiration to biomass) is increasingly being used as an indicator of forest succession conceptually based on Odum's theory of ecosystem development. However, the hypothesis that specific soil respiration declines with forest succession remains largely untested. 2.We used a trenching method to partition soil respiration into heterotrophic respiration and autotrophic respiration (RH and RA) and then evaluated the specific RH and specific RA in three successional forests in subtropical China. 3.Our results showed a clear seasonality in the influence of forest succession on RH, with no significant differences among the three forests in the dry season but a higher value in the old-growth forest than the other two forests in the wet season. RA in the old-growth forest tended to be the highest among the three forests. Both the specific RH and specific RA decreased with the progressive maturity of three forests. 4.Lastly, our results highlight the importance of forest succession in determining the variation of RH in different seasons. With forest succession, soil microbes and plant roots become more efficient to conserve C resources, which would result in a greater proportion of C retained in soils.},
doi = {10.1111/1365-2435.12624},
journal = {Functional Ecology},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Jan 16 00:00:00 EST 2016},
month = {Sat Jan 16 00:00:00 EST 2016}
}

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Works referencing / citing this record:

Nitrogen fertilization changes the molecular composition of soil organic matter in a subtropical plantation forest
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Soil respiration in a subtropical forest of southwestern China: Components, patterns and controls
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