COSORE: A community database for continuous soil respiration and other soil‐atmosphere greenhouse gas flux data

Globally, soils store two to three times as much carbon as currently resides in the atmosphere, and it is critical to understand how soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and uptake will respond to ongoing climate change. In particular, the soil‐to‐atmosphere CO2 flux, commonly though imprecisely termed soil respiration (RS), is one of the largest carbon fluxes in the Earth system. An increasing number of high‐frequency RS measurements (typically, from an automated system with hourly sampling) have been made over the last two decades; an increasing number of methane measurements are being made with such systems as well. Such high frequency data are an invaluable resource for understanding GHG fluxes, but lack a central database or repository. Here we describe the lightweight, open‐source COSORE (COntinuous SOil REspiration) database and software, that focuses on automated, continuous and long‐term GHG flux datasets, and is intended to serve as a community resource for earth sciences, climate change syntheses and model evaluation. Contributed datasets are mapped to a single, consistent standard, with metadata on contributors, geographic location, measurement conditions and ancillary data. The design emphasizes the importance of reproducibility, scientific transparency and open access to data. While being oriented towards continuously measured RS, the database design accommodates other soil‐atmosphere measurements (e.g. ecosystem respiration, chamber‐measured net ecosystem exchange, methane fluxes) as well as experimental treatments (heterotrophic only, etc.). We give brief examples of the types of analyses possible using this new community resource and describe its accompanying R software package

Fine root dynamics and partitioning of root respiration into growth and maintenance components in cool temperate deciduous and evergreen forests

Aims: We aim to show the seasonality of fine root dynamics and examine the relationship between root respiration (Rr) and fine root dynamics. In addition, we try partitioning Rr into growth (Rg) and maintenance (Rm) components. Methods: Soil respiration (Rs), fine root biomass (B), and fine root production (P) were measured simultaneously over a growing season in adjoining deciduous (DF) and evergreen (EF) forests. The Rr was separated from Rs by the trenching method, and Rr was partitioned into Rg and Rm using an empirical model. Results: The seasonality of P was almost the same in both forests, though that of B was different. The Rr showed a positive correlation with P in both sites. Annual Rr was estimated to be 610 (DF) and 393 (EF) g C m⁻² year-¹. Annual Rg and Rm were 121 and 166 (DF), and 86 and 182 (EF) g C m⁻² year-¹, respectively. Conclusions We found a clear seasonal pattern in P and a positive linearity between Rr and P. Despite considerable uncertainty due to the small sample size, presence of larger roots, and measurement uncertainty, the results suggest that our approach is capable of partitioning Rr

Carbon dioxide exchange of a larch forest after a typhoon disturbance

A typhoon event catastrophically destroyed a 45-year-old Japanese larch plantation in southern Hokkaido, northern Japan in September 2004, and about 90% of trees were blown down. Vegetation was measured to investigate its regeneration process and CO2 flux, or net ecosystem production (NEP), was measured in 2006–2008 using an automated chamber system to investigate the effects of typhoon disturbance on the ecosystem carbon balance. Annual maximum aboveground biomass (AGB) increased from 2.7 Mg ha−1 in 2006 to 4.0 Mg ha−1 in 2007, whereas no change occurred in annual maximum leaf area index (LAI), which was 3.7 m2 m−2 in 2006 and 3.9 m2 m−2 in 2007. Red raspberry (Rubus idaeus) had become dominant within 2 years after the typhoon disturbance, and came to account for about 60% and 50% of AGB and LAI, respectively. In comparison with CO2 fluxes measured by the eddy covariance technique in 2001–2003, for 4.5 months during the growing season, the sum of gross primary production (GPP) decreased on average by 739 gC m−2 (64%) after the disturbance, whereas ecosystem respiration (RE) decreased by 501 gC m−2 (51%). As a result, NEP decreased from 159 ± 57 gC m−2 to −80 ± 30 gC m−2, which shows that the ecosystem shifted from a carbon sink to a source. Seasonal variation in RE was strongly correlated to soil temperature. The interannual variation in the seasonal trend of RE was small. Light-saturated GPP (Pmax) decreased from 30–45 μmol m−2 s−1 to 8–12 μmol m−2 s−1 during the summer season through the disturbance because of large reduction in LAI

Partitioning of root respiration into growth, maintenance, and ion uptake components in a young larch-dominated forest

Purpose Fine roots play an essential role in global carbon cycles, but phenological variations in root function and metabolism are poorly understood. To illustrate the dynamics of fine root function and metabolism in the field, we partitioned root respiration (R-r) into growth (R-g), maintenance (R-m), and ion uptake (R-ion) components using a modified traditional model. Methods A year-round experiment was conducted in a young larch-dominated forest regrowing on bare soil. Soil respiration was measured with a chamber method and partitioned into R-r and heterotrophic respiration by trenching. Fine root biomass and production were measured simultaneously. Using the field data, the model was parameterized, and R-r was further partitioned. Results Annually, R-r (210-253 g C m(-2) yr(-1)) accounts for 45-47% of the total soil respiration. The contribution of fine root R-g, fine root R-m, coarse root R-m, and fine root R-ion were 26-40, 46-51, 10-16, and 12%, respectively. The R-g contribution showed a clear seasonal variation, with a peak in mid-spring and a minimum in early fall, mainly because of different seasonality between fine root production and soil temperature. Conclusion The model parameters were consistent with those from our previous study conducted by the same method in the same site. Thus, we believe that our approach was robust under a relatively simple condition. However, our growth respiration parameter resulting from only field data was much higher than those from laboratory experiments. To further improve our understanding of root respiration, more field data should be accumulated

Long-term monitoring on the dynamics of ecosystem CO2 balance recovering from a clear-cut harvesting in a cool-temperate forest

Clear-cut harvesting is one of the important types of forest management but is considered to be a large CO2 source to the atmosphere. Understanding how this form of logging affects a site’s CO2 balance is critical for determining appropriate management scenarios, yet we have little understanding of how wood harvesting affects the ecosystem CO2 balance. An experimental clear-cutting and plantation establishment study has been conducted in a cool-temperate mixed forest in northern Japan to obtain a complete series of pre- and post-harvest data on the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) between the ecosystem and the atmosphere until a disturbed ecosystem once more become a net CO2 sink in the annual budget and recapture all the emitted CO2 after the harvest. A mixed forest, which had been a weak CO2 sink, was disturbed by clear-cutting and was replaced with a hybrid larch (Larix gmelinii × L. kaempferi) plantation. The ecosystem turned to be a large CO2 source just after the harvesting in 2003, and the cumulative net CO2 emission reached up to 15.4 MgC ha–1 at 7 years after the harvesting, then the ecosystem turned to be a CO2 retrieve mode (CO2 sink in the annual budget). This ecosystem recaptured all CO2 emission 18 years after the harvesting in 2020, if off-site carbon storage in forest products is not considered. This implies one harvesting operation cause large invisible and long-lasting effect on the forest ecosystem CO2 balance

Variations in biomass, production and respiration of fine roots in a young larch forest

Root respiration (R-r) plays a crucial role in the global carbon balance, because R-r accounts for about a half of soil respiration in typical forest ecosystems. Plant roots are different in metabolism and functions according to size. Fine roots, which are typically defined as roots < 2 mm in diameter, perform important ecosystem functions and consequently govern belowground carbon cycles mainly because of their high turnover rates. However, the phenological variation of fine root functions is not well understood yet. To quantitatively examine the fine mot functions, we adopted an approach to partition R-r into growth respiration (R-g) and maintenance respiration (R-m) using a modified traditional model, in which R-s was proportional to root production, and R-m was proportional to root biomass and exponentially related to soil temperature. We conducted a field experiment on soil respiration and fine root biomass and production over a year in a larch-dominated young forest developing on the bare ground after removing surface organic soil to parameterize the model. The model was significantly parameterized using the field data measured in such simplified field conditions, because we could control spatial variation in heterotrophic respiration and contamination from roots other than fine roots. The annual R-r of all roots was 94 g C m(-2) yr(-1) and accounted for 25% of total soil respiration on average. The annual R-r was partitioned into fine root R-g , fine root R-m and coarse root R-m by 30,44 and 26%, respectively; coarse root R-g was presumed to be negligible. Fine root R-g and R-m varied according to the seasonal variations of fine root production and soil temperature, respectively; the contribution of fine root biomass was minor because of its small seasonality. The contribution of R-g to total fine root respiration was lower in the cold season with low production

Spatial and temporal variations in the light environment in a primary and selectively logged forest long after logging in Peninsular Malaysia

We compared forest light environments between a primary lowland tropical rainforest and a rainforest selectively logged 50 years ago in the Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia using two different approaches to assess forest light environments, hemispherical canopy photographs and continuous measurements of forest photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and showed clear evidence of the long-term impact of selective logging on forest light environments. The selectively logged forest canopy consisted of shorter and smaller crowns with less variations of height and crown area than the primary forest. From the canopy structural characteristics of the selectively logged forest, we predicted that the selectively logged forest has brighter and more homogeneous forest light than the primary forest. Both hemispherical canopy photographs and measurements of PPFD showed that the selectively logged forest had more open canopies and longer sunfleck time than the primary forest. A significantly smaller variance of canopy openness and a shorter autocorrelation range in the selectively logged forest than in the primary forest were found, indicating that the selectively logged forest had a less heterogeneous light environment spatially than the primary forest. Therefore our predictions were confirmed. The results suggest that different light environments for the primary forest and forest after logging might promote different forest dynamics between them

Soil carbon flux research in the Asian region : review and future perspectives

Soil respiration (Rs ) is the largest flux of carbon dioxide (CO2) next to photosynthesis in terrestrial ecosystems. With the absorption of atmospheric methane (CH4), upland soils become a large CO2 source and CH4 sink. These soil carbon (C) fluxes are key factors in the mitigation and adaption of future climate change. The Asian region spans an extensive area from the northern boreal to tropical regions in Southeast Asia. As this region is characterised by highly diverse ecosystems, it is expected to experience the strong impact of ecosystem responses to global climate change. For the past two decades, researchers in the AsiaFlux community have meaningfully contributed to improve the current understanding of soil C dynamics, response of soil C fluxes to disturbances and climate change, and regional and global estimation based on model analysis. This review focuses on five important aspects: 1) the historical methodology for soil C flux measurement; 2) responses of soil C flux components to environmental factors; 3) soil C fluxes in typical ecosystems in Asia; 4) the influence of disturbance and climate change on soil C fluxes; and 5) model analysis and the estimation of soil C fluxes in research largely focused in Asia