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Patterns and determinants of soil CO2 efflux in major forest types of Central Himalayas, India

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Abstract

Soil CO2 efflux (Fsoil) is a significant contributor of labile CO2 to the atmosphere. The Himalayas, a global climate hotspot, condense several climate zones on account of their elevational gradients, thus, creating an opportunity to investigate the Fsoil trends in different climate zones. Presently, the studies in the Indian Himalayan region are localized to a particular forest type, climate zone, or area of interest, such as seasonal variation. We used a portable infrared gas analyzer to investigate the Fsoil rates in Himalayan tropical to alpine scrub forest along a 3100-m elevational gradient. Several study parameters such as seasons, forest types, tree species identity, age of trees, distance from tree base, elevation, climatic factors, and soil physico-chemical and enzymatic parameters were investigated to infer their impact on Fsoil regulation. Our results indicate the warm and wet rainy season Fsoil rates to be 3.8 times higher than the cold and relatively dry winter season. The tropical forest types showed up to 11 times higher Fsoil rates than the alpine scrub forest. The temperate Himalayan blue pine and tropical dipterocarp sal showed significant Fsoil rates, while the alpine Rhododendron shrubs the least. Temperature and moisture together regulate the rainy season Fsoil maxima. Spatially, Fsoil rates decreased with distance from the tree base (ρ =  − 0.301; p < 0.0001). Nepalese alder showed a significant positive increase in Fsoil with stem girth (R2 = 0.7771; p = 0.048). Species richness (r, 0.81) and diversity (r, 0.77) were significantly associated with Fsoil, while elevation and major edaphic properties showed a negative association. Surface litter inclusion presented an elevation-modulated impact. Temperature sensitivity was exorbitantly higher in the sub-tropical pine (Q10, 11.80) and the alpine scrub (Q10, 9.08) forests. We conclude that the rise in atmospheric temperature and the reduction in stand density could enhance the Fsoil rates on account of increased temperature sensitivity.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) & Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW), Uttarakhand Forest Department, Uttarakhand, along with the director of Rajaji National Park, and the Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) for Dehradun, Chakrata, and Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary for providing the required field permissions and assistance during the field surveys. We thank Mr. Aakash Goswami for his assistance during the field visits. All authors thank the three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions which considerably improved the manuscript and its readability.

Funding

This study is funded by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) through research project no. EEQ/2016/000164. The first author is thankful to the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, for CSIR-UGC senior research fellowship. The corresponding author acknowledges the Institution of Eminence (IoE), University of Delhi for providing additional funds for the study through Faculty Research Programme (FRP) grant (IoE/2021/12/FRP).

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  1. Department of Botany, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India

    Siddhartha Kaushal, K. S. Rao, Prem Lal Uniyal & Ratul Baishya

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Contributions

S. K. and R. B conceptualized this study. S. K. collected the in situ soil CO2 efflux data and soil sampling, conducted laboratory experiments, performed statistical data analyses and wrote the original manuscript draft. K. S. R., P. L. U., and R. B. reviewed and edited the manuscript. All the authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ratul Baishya.

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Kaushal, S., Rao, K.S., Uniyal, P.L. et al. Patterns and determinants of soil CO2 efflux in major forest types of Central Himalayas, India. Environ Monit Assess 195, 876 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11470-9

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