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Temporal variations in soil CO 2 efflux in an alpine meadow site on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau
Author(s) -
Wu Jianguo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
grassland science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.388
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1744-697X
pISSN - 1744-6961
DOI - 10.1111/grs.12251
Subject(s) - plateau (mathematics) , soil carbon , environmental science , biomass (ecology) , efflux , seasonality , organic matter , biogeochemical cycle , dissolved organic carbon , snowmelt , soil organic matter , environmental chemistry , soil water , agronomy , soil science , ecology , chemistry , biology , mathematical analysis , biochemistry , mathematics , surface runoff
Abstract Temporal variations in soil CO 2 efflux and its direct links to soil microbial biomass and environmental factors in high‐elevation regions are poorly understood. In this study, I investigated the variations in soil CO 2 efflux over time and their relationships to soil organic matter, soil microbial biomass and environmental factors in an alpine meadow site on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The results showed notable monthly to seasonal changes in soil CO 2 efflux in alpine meadows. The soil CO 2 efflux was lower overall from January to May and from October to December than from June to September ( p < 0.05); on a seasonal basis, the soil CO 2 efflux was lower during the spring, autumn and winter than during the summer ( p < 0.05). In addition, linear regression analysis showed that the temporal variations in soil CO 2 efflux over the whole year decreased with soil microbial biomass carbon content ( p < 0.05). Soil CO 2 efflux was also positively related to air temperature and snow cover depth ( p < 0.05). Multiregression and principal component regression analyses indicated that temporal variations in soil CO 2 efflux were mainly caused by monthly and seasonal changes in air temperature and soil microbial biomass.