Microbe-mediated attenuation of soil respiration in response to soil warming in a temperate oak forest

Yi Wang; Shirong Liu; Jingxin Wang; Scott X Chang; Junwei Luan; Yanchun Liu; Haibo Lu; Xiaojing Liu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134563

Microbe-mediated attenuation of soil respiration in response to soil warming in a temperate oak forest

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Apr 1:711:134563. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134563. Epub 2019 Nov 21.

Authors

Yi Wang¹, Shirong Liu², Jingxin Wang³, Scott X Chang⁴, Junwei Luan¹, Yanchun Liu⁵, Haibo Lu⁶, Xiaojing Liu⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Bamboo and Rattan Science and Technology, State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Institute for Resources and Environment, International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan, Beijing 100102, China.
² Key Laboratory of Bamboo and Rattan Science and Technology, State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Institute for Resources and Environment, International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan, Beijing 100102, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, State Forestry and Grassland Administration The Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China. Electronic address: liusr@caf.ac.cn.
³ West Virginia University, Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.
⁴ Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E35, Canada.
⁵ International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, College of Life Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
⁶ School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
⁷ Baotianman Natural Reserve Administration, Neixiang County, Henan 474350, China.

PMID: 31812424
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134563

Abstract

Soil respiration (Rs) in response to climate warming received a wide concern due to its important role in terrestrial ecosystem carbon (C) cycling, but the warming-induced effects of soil microbes on soil respiration are still less understood, especially over time. Our study aims to understand the long-term warming induced effects of soil microbes on Rs. A field soil warming experiment using a completely randomized design was conducted in a naturally regenerated oak forest (Quercus aliena) in central China. Soil warming was executed by infrared heater throughout the period from 2011 to 2015. Our results showed that soil temperature was a main factor in regulating Rs in a temperate oak forest throughout the experiment, while soil water content determined Rs only when a naturally dry year occurred. The positive effect of soil warming on Rs that was observed (i.e., 37.5 to 42.0% in the first two years) gradually diminished in the following three years (i.e., 0.9 to 15.4%). Significant positive warming effects on the temperature sensitivity of Rs (Q₁₀) only occurred in the second year. Continuous soil warming caused the decline in nitrogen (N) availability, with a significant increase in microbial biomass-specific enzyme activities for N-acquisition. The attenuation of microbial biomass increment and the decreased ratio of enzymatic C:N acquisition contributed to the diminished warming effect on Rs over time. Our study suggests that microbe-mediated attenuation of Rs, accompanied by the concomitant decline in soil N availability in response to warming, should be taken into consideration in global C cycle modeling.

Keywords: Carbon cycling; Enzyme activities; Microbial biomass; Nitrogen availability; Soil respiration; Soil warming.

MeSH terms

Carbon
China
Forests
Nitrogen
Quercus*
Soil Microbiology
Soil*
Temperature

Substances

Soil
Carbon
Nitrogen