Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Soil respiration of forest ecosystems in Japan and global implications

  • Special Issue
  • Global changes in terrestrial ecosystems
  • Published:
Ecological Research

Abstract

Within terrestrial ecosystems, soil respiration is one of the largest carbon flux components. We discuss the factors controlling soil respiration, while focusing on research conducted at the Takayama Experimental Site. Soil respiration was affected by soil temperature, soil moisture, rainfall events, typhoons, and root respiration. We consider the temporal and spatial variability of soil respiration at the Takayama Experimental Site and review the variability of annual soil respiration in Japanese forests. In the 26 compiled studies, the values of annual soil respiration ranged from 203 to 1,290 g C m−2 year−1, with a mean value of 669 g C m−2 year−1 (SD=264, CV=40). We note the need for more studies and data synthesis for the accurate prediction of soil respiration and soil carbon dynamics in Japanese forests. Finally, several methods for measuring soil respiration rates are compared and the implications of soil respiration rates for global climate change are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2a, b
Fig. 3a, b
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7a–d
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baldocchi D (2005) Environmental science: the carbon cycle under stress. Nature 437(7058):483–484

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baldocchi D, Black TA, Curtis PS, Falge E, Fuentes JD, Granier A, Gu L, Knohl A, Pilegaard K, Schmid HP, Valentini R, Wilson K, Wofsy S, Xu L, Yamamoto S (2005) Predicting the onset of net carbon uptake by deciduous forests with soil temperature and climate data: a synthesis of FLUXNET data. Int J Biometeorol 49(6):377–387

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowden RD, Boone RD, Melillo JM, Garrison JB (1993) Contributions of aboveground litter, belowground litter, and root respiration to total soil respiration in a temperate mixed hardwood forest. Can J For Res 23(7):1402–1407

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiba K, Tsutsumi T (1967) A study on the soil respiration of forests. 1. The relationships between the soil respiration and air temperature (in Japanese with English summary). Bull Kyoto Univ For 39:91–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiba K, Irie Y, Tsutsumi T (1968) A study on the soil respiration of forests. 2. Number of plots and days to measure the soil respiration (in Japanese with English summary). Bull Kyoto Univ For 40:131–139

    Google Scholar 

  • Ciais PH, Reichstein M, Viovy N, Granier A, Ogée J, Allard V, Aubinet M, Buchmann N, Bernhofer C, Carrara A, Chevallier F, De Noblet N, Friend AD, Friedlingstein P, Grünwald T, Heinesch B, Keronen P, Knohl A, Krinner G, Loustau D, Manca G, Matteucci G, Miglietta F, Ourcival JM, Papale D, Pilegaard K, Rambal S, Seufert G, Soussana JF, Sanz MJ, Schulze ED, Vesala T, Valentini R (2005) Europe-wide reduction in primary productivity caused by the heat and drought in 2003. Nature 437(7058):529–533

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Belk E, Boone RD (1998) Soil water content and temperature as independent or confounded factors controlling soil respiration in a temperate mixed hardwood forest. Glob Change Biol 4(2):217–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Verchot LV, Cattânio JH, Ackerman IL, Carvalho JEM (2000) Effects of soil water content on soil respiration in forests and cattle pastures of eastern Amazonia. Biogeochemistry 48(1):53–69

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Savage K, Bolstad P, Clark DA, Curtis PS, Ellsworth DS, Hanson PJ, Law BE, Luo Y, Pregitzer KS, Randolph CJ, Zak D (2002) Belowground carbon allocation in forests estimated from litterfall and IRGA-based soil respiration measurements. Agric For Meteorol 113(1):39–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagihara A, Katsuno M, Hozumi K (1984) Studies on soil respiration in a Cryptomeria japonica plantation. Trans Jpn For Soc 95:361–362

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson PJ, Edwards NT, Graten CT, Andrews JA (2000) Separating root and soil microbial contributions to soil respiration: a review of methods and observations. Biogeochemistry 48(1):115–146

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hirano T, Kim H-H, Tanaka Y (2003) Long-term half-hourly measurement of soil CO2 concentration and soil respiration in a temperate deciduous forest. J Geophys Res 108(D20):4631–4644

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Houghton RA, Woodwell GM (1989) Global climatic change. Sci Am 260(4):36–44

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ito A, Saigusa N, Murayama S, Yamamoto S (2005) Modeling of gross and net carbon dioxide exchange over a cool-temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest in Japan: analysis of seasonal and interannual change. Agric For Meteorol 134(1–4):122–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janssens IA, Pilegaard K (2003) Large seasonal changes in Q 10 of soil respiration in a beech forest. Glob Change Biol 9(6):911–918

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Japan FAO Association (1997) Forests and forestry in Japan, 2nd edn. Japan FAO Association, Tokyo, Japan

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkinson DS, Adams DE, Wild A (1991) Model estimates of CO2 emissions from soil in response to global warming. Nature 351(6322):304–306

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jia S, Akiyama T (2005) A precise, unified method for estimating carbon storage in cool-temperate deciduous forest ecosystems. Agric For Meteorol 134(1–4):70–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jia S, Akiyama T, Mo W, Inatomi M, Koizumi H (2003) Temporal and spatial variability of soil respiration in a cool temperate broad-leaved forest. 1. Measurement of spatial variance and factor analysis (in Japanese with English abstract). Jpn J Ecol 53(1):13–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Kang S, Doh S, Lee DS, Lee D, Jin V, Kimball JS (2003) Topographic and climatic controls on soil respiration in six temperate mixed-hardwood forest slopes, Korea. Glob Change Biol 9(10):1427–1437

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katagiri S (1988) Estimation of proportion of root respiration in total soil respiration in deciduous broadleaved stands (in Japanese with English summary). J Jpn For Soc 70:151–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Katagiri S, Ishii H, Miyake N, Fukuyoshi T (1979) Studies on mineral cycling in a deciduous broad-leaved forest at Sanbe forest of Shimane University. 7. Rate of soil respiration and a few factors affected (in Japanese with English summary). Bulletin of the Faculty of Agriculture, Shimane University 13:50–56

  • Kawahara T (1976) Decomposition of litter on forest floor. 4. Estimation of root respiration amount in CO2 evolution from forest floor. J Jpn For Soc 58:353–359

    Google Scholar 

  • Kawamura K, Hashimoto Y, Sakai T, Akiyama T (2001) Effects of pheonological changes in canopy leaf on the spatial and seasonal variations of understory light environment in a cool-temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest (in Japanese with English abstract). J Jpn For Soc 83:231–237

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirita H (1971) Studies of soil respiration in warm-temperate evergreen broadleaf forests of southwestern Japan (in Japanese with English summary). Jpn J Ecol 21:230–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee M-S (2003) Method for assessing forest carbon sinks by ecological process-based approach. Korean J Ecol 26(5):289–296

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee M-S, Nakane K, Nakatsubo T, Mo W, Koizumi H (2002) Effects of rainfall events on soil CO2 flux in a cool temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest. Ecol Res 17(3):401–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee M-S, Nakane K, Nakatsubo T, Koizumi H (2003) Seasonal changes in the contribution of root respiration to total soil respiration in a cool-temperate deciduous forest. Plant Soil 255(1):311–318

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee X, Wu H, Sigler J, Oishi C, Siccama T (2004) Rapid and transient response of soil respiration to rain. Glob Change Biol 10(6):1017–1026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee M-S, Nakane K, Nakatsubo T, Koizumi H (2005) The importance of root respiration in annual soil carbon fluxes in a cool-temperate deciduous forest. Agric For Meteorol 134:95–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang N, Inoue G, Fujinuma Y (2003) A multichannel automated chamber system for continuous measurement of forest soil CO2 efflux. Tree Physiol 23(12):825–832

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liang N, Nakadai T, Hirano T, Qu L, Koike T, Fujinuma Y, Inoue G (2004) In situ comparison of four approaches to estimating soil CO2 efflux in a northern larch (Larix kaempheri Sarg.) forest. Agri For Meteorol 123:97–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd J, Taylor JA (1994) On the temperature dependence of soil respiration. Funct Ecol 8(3):315–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Longdoz B, Yernaux M, Aubinet M (2000) Soil CO2 efflux measurements in a mixed forest: impact of chamber disturbances, spatial variability and seasonal evolution. Glob Change Biol 6(8):907–917

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lund CP, Riley WJ, Pierce LL, Field CB (1999) The effects of chamber pressurization on soil-surface CO2 flux and the implications for NEE measurements under evaluated CO2. Glob Change Biol 5:269–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mariko S, Nishimura N, Mo W, Matsui Y, Kibe T, Koizumi H (2000) Winter CO2 flux from soil and snow surfaces in a cool-temperate deciduous forest, Japan. Ecol Res 15(4):363–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitani T, Kosugi T, Tani M, Takahashi S, Katayama T, Wada T (2003) Spatial and temporal variation of soil respiration rate in an artificial forest of Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) (in Japanese with English summary). J Jpn Soc Reveg Technol 29:153–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Mo W, Lee M-S, Uchida M, Inatomi M, Saigusa N, Mariko S, Koizumi H (2005a) Seasonal and annual variations in soil respiration in a cool-temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest in Japan. Agric For Meteorol 134(1–4):81–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mo W, Nishimura N, Mariko S, Uchida M, Inatomi M, Koizumi H (2005b) Interannual variation in CO2 effluxes from soil and snow surfaces in a cool-temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest. Phyton 45(4):99–107

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murayama S, Saigusa N, Chan D, Yamamoto S, Kondo H, Eguchi Y (2003) Temporal variations of atmospheric CO2 concentration in a temperate deciduous forest in central Japan. Tellus 55B(2):232–243

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nakane K (1975) Dynamics of soil organic matter in different parts on a slope under evergreen oak forest (in Japanese with English summary). Jpn J Ecol 25:206–216

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakane K (1978) Dynamics of soil organic carbon and its seasonal variation in a cool-temperate beech/fir forest on Mt. Odaigahara (in Japanese with English summary). Jpn J Ecol 28:335–346

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nakane K (1995) Soil carbon cycling in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) plantation. For Ecol Manage 72(2):185–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakane K, Tsubota H, Yamamoto M (1984) Cycling of soil carbon in a Japanese red pine forest. 1. Before clear-felling. Bot Mag Tokyo 97:39–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nakane K, Kohno T, Horikoshi T (1996) Root respiration rate before and just after clear-felling in a mature, deciduous, broad-leaved forest. Ecol Res 11(2):111–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohashi M, Gyokusen K, Saito A (1999) Measurement of carbon dioxide evolution from a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) forest floor using an open-flow chamber method. For Ecol Manage 123(2):105–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohashi M, Gyokusen K, Saito A (2000) Contribution of root respiration to total soil respiration in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) artificial forest. Ecol Res 15(4):323–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohtsuka T, Akiyama T, Hashimoto Y, Inatomi M, Sakai T, Jia S, Mo W, Tsuda S, Koizumi H (2005) Biometric based estimates of net primary production (NPP) in a cool-temperate deciduous forest stand beneath a flux tower. Agric For Meteorol 134(1–4):27–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paterson E, Hall JM, Rattray EAS, Griffiths BS, Ritz K, Killham K (1997) Effect of elevated CO2 on rhizosphere carbon flow and soil microbial processes. Glob Change Biol 3(4):363–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raich JW, Potter CS (1995) Global patterns of carbon dioxide emissions from soils. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 9(1):23–36

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raich JW, Schlesinger WH (1992) The global carbon dioxide flux in soil respiration and its relationship to vegetation and climate. Tellus 44B(2):81–99

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rayment MB (2000) Investigating the role of soils in terrestrial carbon balance-harmonising methods for measuring soil CO2 efflux. LESC Exploratory Workshop, Edinburgh, UK, 6–8 April 2000. European Science Foundation

  • Rayment MB, Jarvis PG (2000) Temporal and spatial variation of soil CO2 efflux in a Canadian boreal forest. Soil Biol Biochem 32(1):35–45

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rustad LE, Huntington TG, Boone RD (2000) Controls on soil respiration: implications for climate change. Biogeochemistry 48(1):1–6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saigusa N, Yamamoto S, Murayama S, Kondo H, Nishimura N (2002) Gross primary production and net ecosystem exchange of a cool-temperate deciduous forest estimated by the eddy covariance method. Agric For Meteorol 112(3):203–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saigusa N, Yamamoto S, Murayama S, Kondo H (2005) Inter-annual variability of carbon budget components in an AsiaFlux forest site estimated by long-term flux measurements. Agric For Meteorol 134:4–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakai M, Tsutsumi T (1987) Carbon cycles of two different soils in a cool-temperate forest in Japan. 2. Seasonal variations of soil respiration rates under the effects of soil environmental factors (in Japanese with English summary). J Jpn For Soc 69:41–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Savage KE, Davidson EA (2001) Interannual variation of soil respiration in two New England forests. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 15(2):337–350

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Satomura T (2003) Biomass of fine roots and mycorrhizal fungi in forest ecosystems. PhD dissertation, School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, Japan

  • Schimel DS (1995) Terrestrial ecosystems and the carbon cycle. Glob Change Biol 1(1):77–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger WH, Andrews JA (2000) Soil respiration and the global carbon cycle. Biogeochemistry 48(1):7–20

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger WH, Lichter J (2001) Limited carbon storage in soil and litter of experimental forest plots under increased atmospheric CO2. Nature 411(6836):466–469

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seto M, Matsumae K, Tazaki T (1978) Seasonal changes of evolution rate of carbon dioxide from forest floor and some considerations on soil organisms and environmental factors (in Japanese with English summary). Environ Control Biol 16:103–108

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shutou K, Nakane K (2004) Change in soil carbon cycling for stand development of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) plantations following clear-cutting. Ecol Res 19(2):233–244

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simono T, Takeda H, Iwatsubo G, Tsutsumi T (1989) Seasonal changes in soil respiration rates from the floor of Chamaecyparis obtuse and Cryptomeria japonica plantations (in Japanese with English summary). Bull Kyoto Univ For 61:46–59

    Google Scholar 

  • Suh S-U, Chun Y-M, Chae N-Y, Kim J, Lim J-H, Yokozawa M, Lee M-S, Lee J-S (2006) A chamber system with automatic opening and closing for continuously measuring soil respiration based on an open-flow dynamic method. Ecol Res 21(3):405–414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takahashi A, Hiyama T, Takahashi HA, Fukushima Y (2004) Analytical estimation of the vertical distribution of CO2 production within soil: application to a Japanese temperate forest. Agric For Meteorol 126(3–4):223–235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang J, Baldocchi DD (2005) Spatial–temporal variation in soil respiration in an oak–grass savanna ecosystem in California and its partitioning into autotrophic and heterotrophic components. Biogeochemistry 73(1):183–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsutsumi T, Nishitani Y, Sakai M (1985) On the effects of soil fertility on the rate of soil respiration in a forest. Jpn J Ecol 35:207–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Valentini R, Matteucci G, Dolman AJ, Schulze ED, Rebmann C, Moors EJ, Granier A, Gross P, Jensen NO, Pilegaard K, Lindroth A, Grelle A, Bernhofer C, Grünwald T, Aubinet M, Ceulemans R, Kowalski AS, Vesala T, Rannik Ü, Berbigier P, Loustau D, Guðmundsson J, Thorgeirsson H, Ibrom A, Morgenstern K, Clement R, Moncrieff J, Montagnani L, Minerbi S, Jarvis PG (2000) Respiration as the main determinant of carbon balance in European forests. Nature 404(6780):861–865

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang WJ, Zu YG, Wang HM, Hirano T, Takagi K, Sasa K, Koike T (2005) Effect of collar insertion on soil respiration in a larch forest measured with a LI-6400 soil CO2 flux system. J For Res 10(1):57–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu M, Qi Y (2001) Soil surface CO2 efflux and its spatial and temporal variations in a young ponderosa pine plantation in northern California. Glob Change Biol 7(6):667–677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto S, Murayama S, Saigusa N, Kondo H (1999) Seasonal and inter-annual variation of CO2 flux between a temperate forest and the atmosphere in Japan. Tellus 51B(2):402–413

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yim M-H, Joo S-J, Nakane K (2002) Comparison of field methods for measuring soil respiration: a static alkali absorption method and two dynamic closed chamber methods. For Ecol Manage 170(1):189–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoneda K, Kirita H (1978) Soil respiration. In: Kira T, Ono Y, Hosokawa T (eds) Biological production in a warm-temperate evergreen oak forest. JIBP Synthesis 18. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, Japan, pp 239–250

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our many colleagues who have contributed to this work. We also thank Mr. K.-S. Kim for his help with the data acquisition. This study was supported financially by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) 21st Century Centers of Excellence (COE) program “Satellite Ecology” at Gifu University, Japan.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Basin Ecosystem Studies, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, 501-1193, Japan

    Mi-Sun Lee & Hiroshi Koizumi

  2. Agro-Meteorology Division, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, 3-1-3 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8604, Japan

    Wen Hong Mo

Authors
  1. Mi-Sun Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wen Hong Mo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hiroshi Koizumi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mi-Sun Lee.

About this article

Cite this article

Lee, MS., Mo, W. & Koizumi, H. Soil respiration of forest ecosystems in Japan and global implications. Ecol Res 21, 828–839 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-006-0038-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-006-0038-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation