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Contribution of root to soil respiration and carbon balance in disturbed and undisturbed grassland communities, northeast China

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Abstract

Changes in the composition of plant species induced by grassland degradation may alter soil respiration rates and decrease carbon sequestration; however, few studies in this area have been conducted. We used net primary productivity (NPP), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and soil organic carbon (SOC) to examine the changes in soil respiration and carbon balance in two Chinese temperate grassland communities dominated by Leymus chinensis (undisturbed community; Community 1) and Puccinellia tenuiflora (degraded community; Community 2), respectively. Soil respiration varied from 2.5 to 11.9 g CO2 m−2 d−1 and from 1.5 to 9.3 g CO2 m−2 d−1, and the contribution of root respiration to total soil respiration from 38% to 76% and from 25% to 72% in Communities 1 and 2, respectively. During the growing season (May–September), soil respiration, shoot biomass, live root biomass, MBC and SOC in Community 2 decreased by 28%, 39%, 45%, 55% and 29%, respectively, compared to those in Community 1. The considerably lower net ecosystem productivity in Community 2 than in Community 1 (104.56 vs. 224.73 g C m−2 yr−1) suggests that the degradation has significantly decreased carbon sequestration of the ecosystems.

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Abbreviations

ANPP:

above-ground net primary productivity

BNPP:

below-ground net primary productivity

MBC:

microbial biomass carbon

MR:

microbial respiration

NEP:

net ecosystem production

NPP:

net primary productivity

SOC:

soil organic carbon

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Jilin, 130024, China

    Wei Wang

  2. Department of Ecology, College of Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Wei Wang

  3. Key Laboratory for Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Jilin, 130024, China

    Jixun Guo

  4. Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Takehisa Oikawa

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  1. Wei Wang
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  2. Jixun Guo
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  3. Takehisa Oikawa
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Correspondence to Wei Wang.

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Wang, W., Guo, J. & Oikawa, T. Contribution of root to soil respiration and carbon balance in disturbed and undisturbed grassland communities, northeast China. J Biosci 32, 375–384 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-007-0036-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-007-0036-x

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