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Soil CO 2 efflux and soil carbon balance of a tropical rubber plantation
Author(s) -
Satakhun Duangrat,
Gay Frédéric,
Chairungsee Naruenat,
Kasemsap Poonpipope,
Chantuma Pisamai,
Thanisawanyangkura Sornprach,
Thaler Philippe,
Epron Daniel
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
ecological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1440-1703
pISSN - 0912-3814
DOI - 10.1007/s11284-013-1079-0
Subject(s) - soil respiration , environmental science , carbon cycle , soil carbon , carbon fibers , plant litter , agronomy , litter , autotroph , heterotroph , soil water , nutrient , ecology , ecosystem , soil science , biology , mathematics , genetics , algorithm , composite number , bacteria
Natural rubber is a valuable source of income in many tropical countries and rubber trees are increasingly planted in tropical areas, where they contribute to land‐use changes that impact the global carbon cycle. However, little is known about the carbon balance of these plantations. We studied the soil carbon balance of a 15‐year‐old rubber plantation in Thailand and we specifically explored the seasonal dynamic of soil CO 2 efflux ( F S ) in relation to seasonal changes in soil water content ( W S ) and soil temperature ( T S ), assessed the partitioning of F S between autotrophic ( R A ) and heterotrophic ( R H ) sources in a root trenching experiment and estimated the contribution of aboveground and belowground carbon inputs to the soil carbon budget. A multiplicative model combining both T S and W S explained 58 % of the seasonal variation of F S . Annual soil CO 2 efflux averaged 1.88 kg C m −2 year −1 between May 2009 and April 2011 and R A and R H accounted for respectively 63 and 37 % of F S , after corrections of F S measured on trenched plots for root decomposition and for difference in soil water content. The 4‐year average annual aboveground litterfall was 0.53 kg C m −2 year −1 while a conservative estimate of belowground carbon input into the soil was much lower (0.17 kg C m −2 year −1 ). Our results highlighted that belowground processes (root and rhizomicrobial respiration and the heterotrophic respiration related to belowground carbon input into the soil) have a larger contribution to soil CO 2 efflux (72 %) than aboveground litter decomposition.