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Updated: Mar 28, 2026

Simulating Temperature in a Soil Incubation Experiment
Published on: October 28, 2022
Are variations in heterotrophic soil respiration related to changes in substrate availability and microbial biomass
Hui Wei1, Xiaomei Chen2, Guoliang Xiao1,3
1Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China.
Abstract:
Soil temperature and moisture are widely-recognized controlling factors on heterotrophic soil respiration (Rh), although they often explain only a portion of Rh variability. How other soil physicochemical and microbial properties may contribute to Rh variability has been less studied. We conducted field measurements on Rh half-monthly and associated soil properties monthly for two years in four subtropical forests of southern China to assess influences of carbon availability and microbial properties on Rh. Rh in coniferous forest was significantly lower than that in the other three broadleaf species-dominated forests and exhibited obvious seasonal variations in the four forests (P < 0.05). Temperature was the primary factor influencing the seasonal variability of Rh while moisture was not in these humid subtropical forests. The quantity and decomposability of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were significantly important to Rh variations, but the effect of DOC content on Rh was confounded with temperature, as revealed by partial mantel test. Microbial biomass carbon (MBC) was significantly related to Rh variations across forests during the warm season (P = 0.043). Our results suggest that DOC and MBC may be important when predicting Rh under some conditions, and highlight the complexity by mutual effects of them with environmental factors on Rh variations.
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