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Spatial and temporal variations in temperate forest soil carbon dioxide during the non‐growing season
Author(s) -
Dyer James M.,
Brook George A.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
earth surface processes and landforms
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.294
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1096-9837
pISSN - 0197-9337
DOI - 10.1002/esp.3290160504
Subject(s) - environmental science , spatial variability , evergreen , deciduous , evapotranspiration , bulk density , water content , soil texture , soil science , temperate forest , soil carbon , hydrology (agriculture) , soil water , carbon dioxide , temperate climate , atmospheric sciences , geology , ecology , statistics , mathematics , geotechnical engineering , biology
In the Whitehall Forest of Georgia during the 1985‐86 non‐growing season soil CO 2 varied with soil depth, varied spatially at constant depth, and varied temporally with changing environmental conditions. Variations with depth in the upper 1.4 m of the soil were of greater magnitude than temporal variations and spatial differences at 30 cm depth were of lesser magnitude. Mean soil CO 2 in evergreen forest was higher (0.207 per cent) than in deciduous and mixed forest (0.157 per cent). There were no trends in soil CO 2 along hillslopes or with changes in soil texture, bulk density, moisture content, or temperature. Soil CO 2 did increase near trees possibly due to increased root densities and/or more numerous pockets of microbial activity. For CO 2 at 30 cm depth, two variables–the mean daily temperature range in the month before measurement and actual evapotranspiration in the week before measurement (AET7)–explained 76 per cent of the variation in mean soil CO 2 . At the profile site, where soil CO 2 was measured at five depths, 66 per cent of the variability in CO 2 was explained by soil depth, AET7, and the average daily temperature range in the two months before measurement.