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Temporal variability in 13C of respired CO2 in a pine and a hardwood forest subject to similar climatic conditions

  • Ecosystem Ecology
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Abstract

Temporal variability in the 13C of foliage (δ13CF), soil (δ13CS) and ecosystem (δ13CR) respired CO2 was contrasted between a 17.2-m tall evenly aged loblolly pine forest and a 35-m tall unevenly aged mature second growth mixed broadleaf deciduous forest in North Carolina, USA, over a 2-year period. The two forests are located at the Duke Forest within a kilometer of each other and are subject to identical climate and have similar soil types. The δ13CF, collected just prior to dawn, was primarily controlled by the time-lagged vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in both stands; it was used for calculating the ratio of intercellular to ambient CO2 (Ci/Ca). A remarkable similarity was observed in the relationship between Ci/Ca and time-lagged VPD in these two forests despite large differences in hydraulic characteristics. This similarity emerged as a result of physiological adjustments that compensated for differences in plant hydraulic characteristics, as predicted by a recently proposed equilibrium hypothesis, and has implications to ecophysiological models. We found that in the broadleaf forest, the δ13C of forest floor CO2 efflux dominated the δ13CR, while in the younger pine forest, the δ13C of foliage respired CO2 dominated δ13CR. This dependence resulted in a more variable δ13CR in the pine forest when compared to the broadleaf forest due to the larger photosynthetic contribution. Given the sensitivity of the atmospheric inversion models to δ13CR, the results demonstrate that these models could be improved by accounting for stand characteristics, in addition to previously recognized effects of moisture availability, when estimating δ13CR.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Paul Stoy for help with the environmental data. Support was provided by the Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Program, US Department of Energy, through the Southeast Regional Center (SERC) of the National Institute for Global Environmental Change (NIGEC), and through the Terrestrial Carbon Processes Program (TCP, DE-FG02-00ER63016) the FACE project and the National Science Foundation (# 0343604). This paper benefitted from the constructive comments of two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oceanography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-4320, USA

    Behzad Mortazavi, Jeffrey P. Chanton & James L. Prater

  2. Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, LSRC, Box 90328, Durham, NC, 27708-0328, USA

    A. Christopher Oishi, Ram Oren & Gabriel Katul

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  1. Behzad Mortazavi
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  2. Jeffrey P. Chanton
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Correspondence to Behzad Mortazavi.

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Mortazavi, B., Chanton, J.P., Prater, J.L. et al. Temporal variability in 13C of respired CO2 in a pine and a hardwood forest subject to similar climatic conditions. Oecologia 142, 57–69 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1692-2

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