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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Simulating Temperature in a Soil Incubation Experiment
Published on: October 28, 2022
Ecosystem warming does not affect photosynthesis or aboveground autotrophic respiration for boreal black spruce
Dustin R Bronson1, Stith T Gower
1Department of Renewable Resources, 1000 E. University Avenue, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA. dustin.bronson@uwyo.edu
Abstract:
We measured light-saturated photosynthesis (A(net)), foliage respiration (R(fol)) and stem respiration (R(stem)) of black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) in heated (+5 degrees C) and control plots during 2005, 2006 and 2007 in Thompson, MB, Canada. Large greenhouses and soil-heating cables were used to maintain air and soil temperature 5 degrees C above ambient air and soil temperature. Each greenhouse contained approximately nine black spruce trees and the majority of their fine root mass. Treatments were soil and air warming, soil-only warming, greenhouses maintained at ambient air temperature and control. Gas exchange rates ranged 0.71-4.66, 0.04-0.74 and 0.1-1.0 micromol m(-)(2) s(-)(1) for A(net), R(fol) and R(stem), respectively. Treatment differences for A(net), R(fol) and R(stem) were not significant in any of the 3 years of measurements. The results of this experiment suggest that in a warmer climate, black spruce may not have significant changes in the rate of photosynthesis or respiration.
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