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Respiratory carbon use and carbon storage in mid‐rotation loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda L.) plantations: the effect of site resources on the stand carbon balance
Author(s) -
Maier Chris A.,
Albaugh Timothy J.,
Lee Allen H.,
Dougherty Phillip M.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/j.1529-8817.2003.00809.x
Subject(s) - primary production , respiration , soil respiration , carbon fibers , loblolly pine , environmental science , perennial plant , carbon sequestration , soil carbon , agronomy , zoology , ecosystem respiration , botany , ecosystem , pinus <genus> , biology , carbon dioxide , ecology , soil water , mathematics , soil science , algorithm , composite number
We used estimates of autotrophic respiration ( R A ), net primary productivity (NPP) and soil CO 2 evolution ( S ff ), to develop component carbon budgets for 12‐year‐old loblolly pine plantations during the fifth year of a fertilization and irrigation experiment. Annual carbon use in R A was 7.5, 9.0, 15.0, and 15.1 Mg C ha −1 in control (C), irrigated (I), fertilized (F) and irrigated and fertilized (IF) treatments, respectively. Foliage, fine root and perennial woody tissue (stem, branch, coarse and taproot) respiration accounted for, respectively, 37%, 24%, and 39% of R A in C and I treatments and 38%, 12% and 50% of R A in F and IF treatments. Annual gross primary production (GPP=NPP+ R A ) ranged from 13.1 to 26.6 Mg C ha −1 . The I, F, and IF treatments resulted in a 21, 94, and 103% increase in GPP, respectively, compared to the C treatment. Despite large treatment differences in NPP, R A , and carbon allocation, carbon use efficiency (CUE=NPP/GPP) averaged 0.42 and was unaffected by manipulating site resources. Ecosystem respiration ( R E ), the sum of S ff , and above ground R A , ranged from 12.8 to 20.2 Mg C ha −1 yr −1 . S ff contributed the largest proportion of R E , but the relative importance of S ff decreased from 0.63 in C treatments to 0.47 in IF treatments because of increased aboveground R A . Aboveground woody tissue R A was 15% of R E in C and I treatments compared to 25% of R E in F and IF treatments. Net ecosystem productivity (NEP=GPP‐ R E ) was roughly 0 in the C and I treatments and 6.4 Mg C ha −1 yr −1 in F and IF treatments, indicating that non‐fertilized treatments were neither a source nor a sink for atmospheric carbon while fertilized treatments were carbon sinks. In these young stands, NEP is tightly linked to NPP; increased ecosystem carbon storage results mainly from an increase in foliage and perennial woody biomass.