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Different responses of stem and soil CO2 efflux to pruning in a Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) plantation

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Pruning significantly reduced stem CO 2 efflux, but had little effect on soil CO 2 efflux and root respiration. Pruning did not alter temperature sensitivity of CO 2 efflux from stem and soil.

Abstract

Pruning is one of the common silvicultural practices for Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) plantations to produce knot-free wood. However, little is known about the effects of pruning on stem and soil CO2 efflux in Chinese fir plantations. In this study, we experimentally manipulated the canopy of Chinese fir by pruning the lower 50 % of the green crown length in a Chinese fir plantation. We monitored the effects of pruning on the stem and soil CO2 efflux, stem radial growth, xylem sap flow, and nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) concentrations. Our results showed that pruning resulted in the significant reduction of stem CO2 efflux, particularly during the growing season. Despite the removal of the lower 50 % of the green crown length, we did not observe a pronounced reduction in soil CO2 efflux and its components. Moreover, pruning had only little effect on sap flow. No significant difference was observed in the NSC concentrations between treatments in the stem cores and fine roots. We speculated that the different responses of stem and soil CO2 efflux to pruning in the Chinese fir (sprouting species) plantation may have resulted from the different carbon allocations between aboveground and belowground tissues. However, further studies are required to confirm if our findings could be applied to other tree species or ecosystems.

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Author contribution statement

Qingpeng Yang participated in the experimental design, data analyses, and writing of the paper. Lanlan Liu carried out most of the experiments and participated in data analyses. Weidong Zhang participated in statistical analyses, discussion, and writing of the paper. Ming Xu participated in the experimental design and revised the manuscript. Silong Wang designed and directed the study.

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, Grant no. 2012CB416905), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. 31200302 and 41030533), and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA05050205). We thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions. We also thank Bing Fan, Xiuyong Zhang, Zhengqi Shen, Xiaojun Yu, and Ke Huang for their assistance in the laboratory and in field experiments.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Huitong Experimental Station of Forest Ecology, State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang, 100016, China

    Qingpeng Yang, Lanlan Liu, Weidong Zhang & Silong Wang

  2. Huitong National Research Station of Forest Ecosystem, Huitong, 418307, China

    Qingpeng Yang, Weidong Zhang & Silong Wang

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Lanlan Liu

  4. Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, 14 College Farm Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA

    Ming Xu

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  1. Qingpeng Yang
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  2. Lanlan Liu
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  3. Weidong Zhang
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  4. Ming Xu
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  5. Silong Wang
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Correspondence to Qingpeng Yang or Silong Wang.

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Communicated by R. Matyssek.

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Yang, Q., Liu, L., Zhang, W. et al. Different responses of stem and soil CO2 efflux to pruning in a Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) plantation. Trees 29, 1207–1218 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1201-8

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