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Soil CO2 efflux among four coniferous forest types of Kashmir Himalaya, India

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Abstract

Soil CO2 efflux was measured in four different coniferous forest types (Cedrus deodara (CD), Pinus wallichiana (PW), mixed coniferous (MC), and Abies pindrow (AP)) for a period of 2 years (April 2012 to December 2013). The monthly soil CO2 efflux ranged from 0.8 to 4.1 μmoles CO2 m−2 s−1 in 2012 and 1.01 to 5.48 μmoles CO2 m−2 s−1 in 2013. The soil CO2 efflux rate was highest in PW forest type in both the years, while it was lowest in MC and CD forest types during 2012 and 2013, respectively. Soil temperature (TS) at a depth of 10 cm ranged from 3.8 to 19.4 °C in 2012 and 3.5 to 19.1 °C in 2013 in all the four forest types. Soil moisture (MS) ranged from 19.8 to 58.6 % in 2012 and 18.5 to 58.6 % in 2013. Soil CO2 efflux rate was found to be significantly higher in summer than the other seasons and least during winter. Soil CO2 efflux showed a significant positive relationship with TS (R 2 = 0.52 to 0.74), SOC % (R 2 = 0.67), pH (R 2 = 0.68), and shrub biomass (R 2 = 0.51), whereas, only a weak positive relationship was found with soil moisture (R 2 = 0.16 to 0.41), tree density (R 2 = 0.25), tree basal area (R 2 = 0.01), tree biomass (R 2 = 0.07), herb biomass (R 2 = 0.01), and forest floor litter (R 2 = 0.02). Thus, the study indicates that soil CO2 efflux in high mountainous areas is greatly influenced by seasons, soil temperature, and other environmental factors.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance provided by University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of India for its fellowship and Forest Departments of Anantnag and Lidder Divisions, Jammu and Kashmir, India for permission and help during field work. We also thank Dr. S. Jayakumar, Associate Professor, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University for preparing the study area map.

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  1. Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605014, India

    Javid Ahmad Dar & Somaiah Sundarapandian

  2. Department of Botany, Islamia College of Science and Commerce, Srinagar, India

    Khursheed Ahmad Ganie

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  1. Javid Ahmad Dar
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  2. Khursheed Ahmad Ganie
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Correspondence to Somaiah Sundarapandian.

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The first author, Dr. Javid Ahmad Dar, received fellowship from Pondicherry University, which was funded by UGC that was acknowledged. The first author executed the field work in Kashmir Himalaya and devoted full time in the preparation of manuscript with the other two co-authors. The second author, Dr. Khursheed Ahmad Ganie, helped in fieldwork besides providing all the facilities required for this research. The third author, Dr. SM. Sundarapandian, is the Research Supervisor, who is involved in planning and designing the experiments, besides preparing the manuscript.

This work has not been published previously or currently submitted for publication elsewhere.

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Dar, J.A., Ganie, K.A. & Sundarapandian, S. Soil CO2 efflux among four coniferous forest types of Kashmir Himalaya, India. Environ Monit Assess 187, 715 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4927-2

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