Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Short-term effects of rain on soil respiration in two New England forests

  • Regular Article
  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To gain new insights into the underlying mechanisms responsible for wetting-induced soil respiration, rain simulation field experiments were carried out in two temperate mixed-hardwood forests in New England (Great Mountain Forest and Harvard Forest). The rain-induced CO2 pulses were observed in both xeric and mesic soils. The pulse intensity was negatively correlated with the site moisture level and the pre-rain soil CO2 flux. At both forests, plots without O horizon responded to wetting with limited or even negative enhancement, confirming previous finding that the rain pulse was likely due to enhanced microbial consumption on substrates mainly of microbial origin. Our results show that the flux rain pulse was a reproducible phenomenon not limited to dry soils.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Barford CC, Wofsy SC, Goulden ML, Munger JW, Pyle EH, Urbanski SP, Hutyra L, Saleska SR, Fitzjarrald D, Moore K (2001) Factors controlling long- and short-term sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in a mid-latitude forest. Science 294:1688–1691

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Birch HF (1958a) The effect of soil drying on humus decomposition and nitrogen availability. Plant Soil 10:9–31

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Birch HF (1958b) Further aspects of humus decomposition. Nature 182:1172

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borken W, Matzner E (2009) Reappraisal of drying and wetting effects on C and N mineralization and fluxes in soils. Glob Chang Biol 15:808–824

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borken W, Xu Y-J, Brumme R, Lamersdorf N (1999) A climate change scenario for carbon dioxide and dissolved organic carbon fluxes from a temperate forest soil: drought and rewetting effects. Soil Sci Soc Am J 63:1848–1855

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borken W, Xu Y-J, Davidson EA, Beese F (2002) Site and temporal variation of soil respiration in European beach, Norway spruce and Scots pine forests. Glob Chang Biol 8:1205–1216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borken W, Davidson EA, Savage K, Gaudinski J, Trumbore SE (2003) Drying and wetting effects on carbon dioxide release from organic horizons. Soil Sci Soc Am J 67:1888–1896

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bowden RD, Nadelhoffer KJ, Boone RD, Melillo JM, Garrison JB (1993) Contributions of aboveground litter, belowground litter, and root respiration to total soil respiration in a temperature mixed hardwood forest. Can J For Res 23:1402–1407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cisneros-Dozal LM, Trumbore SE, Hanson PJ (2007) Effects of moisture on leaf litter decomposition and its contribution to soil respiration in a temperate forest. J Geophys Res-Biogeosciences 112:G01013. doi:10.1029/2006JG000197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clein JS, Schimel JP (1994) Reduction of microbial activity in birch litter due to drying and rewetting event. Soil Biol Biochem 26:403–406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland CC, Nemergut DR, Schmidt SK, Townsend AR (2007) Increase in soil respiration following labile carbon additions linked to rapid shifts in soil microbial community composition. Biogeochemistry 82:229–240

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Janssens IA (2006) Temperature sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition and feedbacks to climate change. Nature 440(7081):165–173

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Mason A, Vitousek PM (1993) Processes regulating soil emissions of NO and N2O in a seasonally dry tropical forest. Ecology 74:130–139

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Belk E, Boone RD (1998) Soil water content and temperature as independent or confounded factors controlling soil respiration in a temperate mixed hardwood forest. Glob Chang Biol 4:217–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Verchot LV, Cattânio JH, Ackerman IL, Carvalho J (2000) Effects of soil water content on soil respiration in forests and cattle pastures of eastern Amazonia. Biogeochemistry 48:53–69

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Richardson AD, Savage KE, Hollinger DY (2006a) A distinct seasonal pattern of the ratio of soil respiration to total ecosystem respiration in a spruce-dominated forest. Glob Chang Biol 12:230–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Janssens IA, Luo Y (2006b) On the variability of respiration in terrestrial ecosystems: moving beyond Q10. Glob Chang Biol 12:154–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Savage KE, Trumbore SE, Borken W (2006c) Vertical partitioning of CO2 production within a temperate forest soil. Glob Chang Biol 12:944–956

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fierer N, Schimel JP (2002) Effects of drying-rewetting frequency on soil carbon and nitrogen transformations. Soil Biol Biochem 34:777–787

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fierer N, Schimel JP (2003) A proposed mechanism for the pulse in carbon dioxide production commonly observed following the rapid rewetting of a dry soil. Soil Sci Soc Am J 67:798–805

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Franzluebbers AJ, Haney RL, Honeycutt CW, Schomberg HH, Hons FM (2000) Flush of carbon dioxide following rewetting of dried soil relates to active organic pools. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:613–623

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gaudinski JB, Trumbore SE, Davidson EA, Zheng S (2000) Soil carbon cycling in a temperate forest: radiocarbon-based estimates of residence times, sequestration rates and partitioning of fluxes. Biogeochemistry 51:33–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goulden ML, Daube BC, Fan SM, Sutton DJ, Bazzaz A, Munger JW, Wofsy SC (1997) Physiological responses of a black spruce forest to weather. J Geophys Res-Atmospheres 102(D24):28987–28996

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Griffiths E, Birch HF (1961) Microbiological changes in freshly moistened soil. Nature 189:424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halverson LJ, Jones TM, Firestone MK (2000) Release of intracellular solutes by four soil bacteria exposed to dilution stress. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:1630–1637

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hanson PJ, Wullschlesger SD, Bohlman SA, Todd DE (1993) Seasonal and topographic patterns of forest floor CO2 efflux. Tree Physiol 13:1–15

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Högberg P, Nordgren A, Buchmann N, Taylor AFS, Ekblad A, Hӧgberg MN, Nyberg G, Ottosson-Lofvenius M, Read DJ (2001) Large-scale forest girdling shows that current photosynthesis drives soil respiration. Nature 411:789–792

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard DM, Howard PJA (1993) Relationship between CO2 evolution, moisture content and temperature for a range of soil types. Soil Biol Biochem 25:1537–1546

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huxman TE, Cable JM, Ignace DD, Eits JA, Englaish NB, Weltzin J, Williams DG (2004) Response of net ecosystem gas exchange to a simulated precipitation pulse in a semiarid grassland: the role of native versus non-native grasses and soil texture. Oecologia 141:295–305

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Inglima I, Alberti G, Bertolini T, Vaccari FP, Gioli B, Miglietta F, Cotrufo MF, Peressotti A (2009) Precipitation pulses enhance respiration of Mediterranean ecosystems: the balance between organic and inorganic components of increased soil CO2 efflux. Glob Chang Biol 155:1289–1301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ivans CY, Leffler AJ, Spaulding U, Stark JM, Ryel RJ, Caldwell MM (2003) Root responses and nitrogen acquisition by Artemisia tridentate and Agropyron desertorum following small summer rainfall events. Oecologia 134:317–324

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Janssens IA, Lankreijer H, Matteucci G, Kowalski AS, Buchmann N, Epron D, Pilegaard K, Kutsch W, Longdoz B, Grunwald T, Montagnani L, Dore S, Rebmann C, Moors EJ, Grelle A, Rannik U, Morgenstern K, Oltchev S, Clement R, Gudmundsson J, Minerbi S, Berbigier P, Ibrom A, Moncrieff J, Aubinet M, Bernhofer C, Jensen NO, Vesala T, Granier A, Schulze ED, Lindroth A, Dolman AJ, Jarvis PG, Ceulemans R, Valentini R (2001) Productivity overshadows temperature in determining soil and ecosystem respiration across European forests. Glob Chang Biol 7:269–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis P, Rey A, Petsikos C, Wingate L, Rayment M, Pereira J, Banza J, David J, Miglietta F, Borghetti M, Manca G, Valentini R (2007) Drying and wetting of Mediterranean soils stimulates decomposition and carbon dioxide emission: the “Birch Effect”. Tree Physiol 27:292–940

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelliher FM, Lloyd J, Arneth A, Lühker B, Byers JN, McSeveny TM, Milukova I, Grigoriev S, Panfyorov M, Sogatchev A, Varlargin A, Ziegler W, Bauer G, Wong S-C, Schulze E-D (1999) Carbon dioxide efflux density from the floor of central Siberian pine forest. Agric For Meteorol 94:217–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kieft TL, Soroker E, Firestone MK (1987) Microbial biomass response to a rapid increase in water potential when dry soil is wetted. Soil Biol Biochem 19:119–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Law BE, Ryan MG, Anthoni PM (1999) Seasonal and annual respiration of a Ponderosa pine ecosystem. Glob Chang Biol 5:169–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee M-S, Nakane K, Nakatsubo T, Mo W-H, Koizumi H (2002) Effects of rainfall events on soil CO2 flux in a cool temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest. Ecol Res 17:401–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee X, Wu H-J, Sigler J, Oishi C, Siccama T (2004) Rapid and transient response of soil respiration to rain. Glob Chang Biol 10:1017–1026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linn DM, Doran JW (1984) Effect of water-willed pore space on carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide production in tilled and nontilled soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 48:1267–1272

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu XZ, Wan SQ, Su B, Hui DF, Luo YQ (2002) Response of soil CO2 efflux to water manipulation in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Plant Soil 240:213–223

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Longdoz B, Yernaux M, Aubinet M (2000) Soil CO2 efflux measurements in a mixed forest: impact of chamber disturbances, spatial variability and seasonal evolution. Glob Chang Biol 6:907–917

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovieno P, Bååth E (2008) Effect of drying and rewetting on bacterial growth rates in soil. FEMS Microbial Ecol 65:400–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melillo JM, Steudler PA, Aber JD, Newkirk K, Lux H, Bowles FP, Catricala C, Magill A, Ahrens T, Morrisseau S (2002) Soil warming and carbon-cycle feedbacks to the climate system. Science 298:2173–2176

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Orchard VA, Cook FJ (1983) Relation between soil respiration and soil moisture content. Soil Biol Biochem 15:447–453

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmroth S, Matier CA, McCarthy HR, Oishi AC, Kim H-S, Johnsen KH, Katul GG, Oren R (2005) Contrasting responses to drought of forest floor CO2 efflux in a Loblolly pine plantation and a nearby Oak-Hickory forest. Glob Chang Biol 11:421–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qi Y, Xu M (2001) Separating the effects of moisture and temperature on soil CO2 efflux in a coniferous forests in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Plant Soil 237:15–23

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reth S, Reichstein M, Falge E (2005) The effect of soil moisture content, soil temperature, soil pH-value and root mass on soil CO2 efflux — a modified model. Plant Soil 268:21–33

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rey A, Pegoraro EP, Tedeschi V, Parri ID, Jarvis PG, Valentini R (2002) Annual variation in soil respiration and its components in a coppice oak forest in Central Italy. Glob Chang Biol 8:851–866

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rey A, Petsikos C, Jarvis PG, Grace J (2005) Effect of temperature and moisture on rates of carbon mineralization in a Mediterranean oak forest soil under controlled and field conditions. Eur J Soil Sci 56:589–599

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saetre P, Stark JM (2005) Microbial dynamics and carbon and nitrogen cycling following re-wetting of soils beneath two semi-arid plant species. Oecologia 142:247–260

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson DA, Janssens IA, Yuste JC, Ceulemans R (2007) Basal rates of soil respiration are correlated with photosynthesis in a mixed temperate forest. Glob Chang Biol 13:2008–2017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savage KE, Davidson EA (2001) Interannual variation of soil respiration in two New England forests. Glob Chang Biol 15:337–350

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Savage K, Davidson EA, Richardson AD, Hollinger DY (2009) Three scales of temporal resolution from automated soil respiration measurements. Agric For Meteorol 149:2012–2021

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimel JP, Gulledge JM, Clein-Curley JS, Lindstrom JE, Braddock JF (1999) Moisture effects on microbial activity and community structure in decomposing birch litter in the Alaskan taiga. Soil Biol Biochem 31:831–838

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Skopp J, Jawson MD, Doran DW (1990) Steady-state aerobic microbial activity as a function of soil-water content. Soil Sci Soc Am J 54:1619–1625

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sponseller RA (2007) Precipitation pulses and soil CO2 flux in a Sonoran Desert ecosystem. Glob Chang Biol 13:426–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor BR, Parkinson D (1988) Does repeated wetting and drying accelerate decay of leaf litter. Soil Biol Biochem 20:647–656

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Unger S, Santos-Pereira J, Máguas C, Werner C (2010) The Birch effect controls δ13CR and δ13CSoil after rewetting of dry soils in a Mediterranean forest. Oecologia 163(4):1043–1057

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Gestel M, Ladd JN, Amato M (1991) Carbon and nitrogen mineralization from 2 soils of contrasting texture and microaggregate stability: influence of sequential fumigation, drying and storage. Soil Biol Biochem 23:313–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Gestel M, Merckx R, Vlassak K (1993) Soil drying and rewetting and the turnover of C-14-labelled plant residues — 1st order decay rates of biomass and non-biomass 14C. Soil Biol Biochem 25:125–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wofsy SC, Goulden ML, Munger JW, Fan S-M, Bakwin PS, Daube BC, Bassow SL, Bazzaz FA (1993) Net exchange of CO2 in a mid-latitude forest. Science 260:1314–1317

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wu H-J (2010) Wetting induced soil carbon dioxide pulses in temperate forests and in agricultural fields. PhD Dissertation, Yale University (available at http://pantheon.yale.edu/~xhlee/wu_dissertation_final.pdf)

  • Wu J, Brooks PC (2005) The proportional mineralization of microbial biomass and organic matter caused by air-drying and rewetting of a grassland soil. Soil Biol Biochem 37:507–515

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu H-J, Lee X (2010) Effects of wetting on soil respiration in Nebraska Cropland. Manuscript in preparation

  • Xiang SR, Doyle A, Holden PA, Schimel JP (2008) Drying and rewetting effects on C and N mineralization and microbial activity in surface and subsurface California grassland soils. Soil Biol Biochem 40:2281–2289

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu L, Baldocchi DD, Tang J (2004) How soil moisture, rain pulses, and growth alter the response of ecosystem respiration to temperature. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 18:GB4002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuste JC, Janssens IA, Carrara A, Meiresonne L, Ceulemans R (2003) Interactive effects of temperature and precipitation on soil respiration in a temperate maritime pine forest. Tree Physiol 23:1263–1270

    Google Scholar 

  • Yuste JC, Nagy M, Janssens IA, Carrara A, Ceulemans R (2005) Soil respiration in a mixed temperate forest and its contribution to total ecosystem respiration. Tree Physiol 25:609–619

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science (BER) through the Northeastern Regional Center of the National Institute for Climatic Change Research and by a Yale University graduate fellowship. We thank Peter Raymond and Graeme Berlyn for their comments on this work, Jeff Sigler, Gelan, Carmen and Wei-Chien for assitance with the field experiment, and Kyounghee Kim for help with statistical data analysis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA

    Hui-Ju Wu & Xuhui Lee

Authors
  1. Hui-Ju Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xuhui Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hui-Ju Wu.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Tim Moore.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wu, HJ., Lee, X. Short-term effects of rain on soil respiration in two New England forests. Plant Soil 338, 329–342 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0548-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0548-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation