Abstract
Understanding the response mechanisms of litter respiration to soil moisture in water-limited semi-arid regions is of vital importance to better understanding the interplay between ecological processes and the local carbon cycle. In situ soil respiration was monitored during 2010–2012 under various conditions (normal litter, no litter, and double litter treatments) in a 30-year-old artificial black locust plantation (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) on the Loess Plateau. Litter respiration with normal and double litter treatments exhibited similar seasonal variation, with the maximum value obtained in summer (0.57 and 1.51 μmol m−2 s−1 under normal and double litter conditions, respectively) and the minimum in spring (0.27 and 0.69 μmol m−2 s−1 under normal and double litter conditions, respectively). On average, annual cumulative litter respiration was 115 and 300 g C m−2 y−1 under normal and double litter conditions, respectively. Using a soil temperature of 17°C as the critical point, the relationship between litter respiration and soil moisture was found to follow quadratic functions well, whereas the determination coefficient was much greater at high soil temperature than at low soil temperature (33–35% vs. 22–24%). Litter respiration was significantly higher in 2010 and 2012 than in 2011 under both normal litter (132–165 g C m−2 y−1 vs. 48 g C m−2 y−1) and double litter (389–418 g C m−2 y−1 vs. 93 g C m−2 y−1) conditions. Such significant interannual variations were largely ascribed to the differences in summer rainfall. Our study demonstrates that, apart from soil temperature, moisture also has significant influence on litter respiration in semi-arid regions.
Highlights
In forests, above-ground litter plays an important role in controlling soil erosion, determining nutrient cycling, and improving the ecological environment [1, 2, 3, 4]
Soil respiration across the three treatments exhibited similar seasonal variation, with patterns of variation corresponding to variations in temperature; the maximum value occurred in summer and the minimum value was recorded in the spring or autumn (Figs. 1 and 4)
Understanding the effect of soil moisture on litter respiration is of prime importance in water-limited regions in order to better understand the carbon cycle
Summary
In forests, above-ground litter plays an important role in controlling soil erosion, determining nutrient cycling, and improving the ecological environment [1, 2, 3, 4]. Environmental conditions are highly influential in determining whether litter will be a source for a soil carbon pool, as a greater proportion of litter may be humified under sub-optimal conditions such as cold temperatures or excessive moisture; otherwise, it may be decomposed and released into the atmosphere as CO2 [7]. Extensive investigations have been conducted around the world [10, 11, 12], with studies focusing mainly on tropical regions [13, 14], subtropical regions [12, 15], and cold temperature regions [16, 17], as well as natural forest ecosystems [11, 8, 14, 18].
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