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Contrasting diurnal variations in soil organic carbon decomposition and root respiration due to a hysteresis effect with soil temperature in a Gossypium s. (cotton) plantation

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Abstract

To understand the characteristics of the diurnal variation in soil respiration and its response to temperature, we used root exclusion plots, and buried CO2 sensors in situ during the late growing season in northwestern China. Soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition and root respiration dynamics were quantified. In our study, we found that the diurnal variations in root respiration and soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition showed a contrasting diurnal pattern. SOC decomposition peaked in the afternoon and was in phase with an increase in soil temperature at 10 cm; whereas root respiration decreased from ~08:00–09:00 and was minimal at ~17:00–18:00 despite an increase in soil temperature. Furthermore, an exponential function explained the diurnal variation in total soil respiration and SOC decomposition (r2 > 0.6, n = 504), but not so for root respiration (r2 < 0.3, n = 504). The fitted Q 10 value of 4.3 for SOC decomposition was significantly higher than the Q 10 value of 3.1 for root respiration. This result suggested that the root respiration rate had a different temperature sensitivity to the microbial respiration rate. In addition, we observed a significant (p < 0.001) clockwise hysteretic effect for SOC decomposition with respect to soil temperature at 10 cm over a 24 h period, with higher rates when soil temperature was increasing and lower rates when soil temperature was decreasing. By contrast, the diurnal hysteresis in root respiration with soil temperature at 10 cm was always counter-clockwise, with lower rates when soil temperature was increasing than when soil temperature was decreasing. This study emphasizes that root respiration and SOC decomposition have different responses to changing soil temperature. Therefore, modeling the impact of global climate change on soil carbon efflux should consider simultaneously, but separately, the impact of the two components.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the projects of National Natural Science Foundation of China (40971148) and the Program for 100 Distinguished Young Scientists of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology and Desert Environment, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China

    Zhiguo Li, Xiujun Wang, Juan Zhang & Changyan Tian

  2. Nanjing Institute of Soil Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Runhua Zhang

  3. Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20740, USA

    Xiujun Wang

Authors
  1. Zhiguo Li
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  2. Xiujun Wang
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  3. Runhua Zhang
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  4. Juan Zhang
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  5. Changyan Tian
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Correspondence to Changyan Tian.

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Responsible Editor: Ute Skiba.

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Li, Z., Wang, X., Zhang, R. et al. Contrasting diurnal variations in soil organic carbon decomposition and root respiration due to a hysteresis effect with soil temperature in a Gossypium s. (cotton) plantation. Plant Soil 343, 347–355 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0722-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0722-1

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