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Soil respiration under different land uses in Eastern China
Li-Chao Fan1, Ming-Zhen Yang2, Wen-Yan Han2
1Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China; Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
Plos One
|April 16, 2015
Summary
Land-use change significantly impacts soil respiration rates. Converting woodland to high-production tea gardens or vegetable fields alters soil carbon and nutrient cycling, primarily driven by soil temperature and organic carbon content.
Area of Science:
- Soil Science
- Ecology
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Land-use change profoundly influences soil respiration, affecting soil nutrient availability and carbon stock.
- Understanding these impacts is crucial for managing soil health and mitigating climate change.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of different land-use types on soil respiration rates.
- To evaluate the relationship between soil respiration and environmental factors, including soil temperature, moisture, and nutrient content.
- To assess the sensitivity of soil respiration to temperature (Q10) across various land-use scenarios.
Main Methods:
- Weekly monitoring of soil respiration rates over one year using the dynamic closed chamber method.
- Analysis of soil respiration in tea gardens (high, medium, low production), woodland, and vegetable fields.
- Statistical evaluation of correlations between soil respiration and environmental factors (soil temperature, moisture, organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus).
Main Results:
- Soil respiration exhibited a single annual peak in July/August and a minimum in January.
- Annual cumulative respiration flux was significantly higher in high-production tea gardens (25.6%) and vegetable fields (20.9%) compared to woodland.
- Soil respiration was positively correlated with soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and available phosphorus. Soil temperature explained 84-98% of the variation.
- A combined model of soil temperature and moisture provided better predictions of temporal variations than temperature alone.
Conclusions:
- Land-use conversion, particularly to high-production tea gardens and vegetable fields, increases soil respiration flux compared to woodland.
- Soil temperature is the primary driver of temporal soil respiration variations, while soil organic carbon, moisture, pH, and water-soluble aluminum influence spatial variations.
- Converting woodland to vegetable fields increases, while conversion to tea gardens decreases, the temperature sensitivity (Q10) of soil respiration.
