SOIL RESPIRATION UNDER DIFFERENT LAND USE SYSTEMS IN THE KUMAON REGION OF CENTRAL HIMALAYA, INDIA

Abstract

Soil respiration (SR) is chiefly controlled by microclimatic conditions, microbial activity, and land use management practices of the particular ecosystem. In the present study, SR was measured under three different land-use systems viz. arable land (AL), a kitchen garden (KG), and peach orchard (PO) in the Almora and Nainital districts of Uttarakhand to observe the effect of soil temperature (ST) and soil moisture (SMC) on the rate of SR. The cumulative seasonal mean SR rate (g CO 2 m -2 h -1 ) was 2.67 ± 0.33, 4.3 ± 0.06, 8.29 ± 2.59 for the year 2017‒18, and 1.37 ± 0.28, 1.85 ± 0.05 and 2.27 ± 0.03 for the year 2018‒19 in AL, KG and PO respectively. The highest SR was found in PO followed by KG and AL. This study also found the spatial and temporal variations of SR in the selected land-use systems. The SR was positively correlated with SMC but negatively correlated with ST. Thus the ST explained the maximum variability of SR in the selected land-use systems. Overall, the results of this study clearly indicate that the microclimatic variables and land use management practices have a greater role in changes in SR of the studied region.