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Carbon fluxes in coniferous and deciduous forest soils

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Abstract

Aims

Our aims were to identify responsible factors for the site-to-site variability in soil CO2 efflux and to assess the sources of soil CO2 of different forest types on a regional scale.

Methods

Soil CO2 effluxes were measured over 1–4 years in four coniferous and three deciduous forests of Bavaria, Germany, and related to climate, soil properties and forest productivity. Total belowground carbon allocation (TBCA) was assessed using soil CO2 effluxes and aboveground litterfall. Additionally, CO2 production of organic layers was examined over 10 months under constant conditions in an incubation experiment.

Results

Annual soil CO2 effluxes were not different among the forest sites, but predicted effluxes at a given temperature of 10°C revealed some significant differences and correlated with the phosphorous stock of the organic layers. The incubation study indicated 50% faster decomposition of organic layers from deciduous than from coniferous forests. TBCA related to soil CO2 efflux was smaller in the deciduous than in the coniferous forests. The ratio of TBCA to soil CO2 efflux was positively correlated with the C stock of organic layers.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that marked differences in site characteristics have little impact on soil CO2 effluxes at the regional scale, but the contribution of soil CO2 sources varies among the forest types.

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Acknowledgements

The monitoring programme was financially supported by the European Union under the contract No 2152/2003 (Forest Focus) until 2006 and afterwards under No 614/2007 (LIFE+). We like to thank, Alfred Schubert, Daniel Weindl, Dr. Uwe Blum and the team of the Central Laboratory from the Bayerische Landesanstalt für Wald und Forstwirtschaft, Freising, for the comprehensive preparation and chemical analysis of litter and soil samples of the forest sites. Measurements at the Waldstein were financially supported by the program 562 ‘Soil processes under extreme meteorological boundary conditions’ of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). We appreciate the contribution of Tim Froitzheim for the laboratory incubation of organic layers and of Dr. Jan Muhr for providing soil CO2 effluxes at the Waldstein for the years 2006 and 2007.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Ecology, University of Bayreuth, 95448, Bayreuth, Germany

    Steve Wunderlich & Werner Borken

  2. Bavarian State Institute of Forestry, 85354, Freising, Germany

    Christoph Schulz & Winfried Grimmeisen

Authors
  1. Steve Wunderlich
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  2. Christoph Schulz
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  3. Winfried Grimmeisen
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  4. Werner Borken
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Werner Borken.

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Responsible Editor: Zucong Cai.

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Wunderlich, S., Schulz, C., Grimmeisen, W. et al. Carbon fluxes in coniferous and deciduous forest soils. Plant Soil 357, 355–368 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-012-1158-y

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