Heterotrophic and Autotrophic Soil Respiration under Simulated Dormancy Conditions

Daniel Beverly^1,2, Scott Franklin¹

¹School of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, USA.
²Botany Department, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/ojf.2015.53024                

Abstract

Carbon cycling research has increased over the past 20 years, but less is known about the primary contributors to soil respiration (i.e. heterotrophic and autotrophic) under dormant conditions. It is understood that soil CO₂ effluxes are significantly lower during the winter of temperate ecosystems and assumed microorganisms dominate efflux origination. We hypothesized that heterotrophic contributions would be greater than autotrophic under simulated dormancy conditions. To test this hypothesis, we designed an experiment with the following treatments: combined autotrophic heterotrophic respiration, heterotrophic respiration, autotrophic respiration, no respiration, autotrophic respiration in vermiculite, and no respiration in vermiculite. Engelmann spruce seedlings and soil substrates were placed in specially designed respiration chambers and soil CO₂ efflux measurements were taken four times over the course of a month. Soil microbial densities and root volumes were measured for each chamber after day thirty-three. Seedling presence resulted in significantly higher soil CO₂ efflux rates for all soil substrates. Autotrophic respiration treatments were not representative of solely autotrophic soil CO₂ efflux due to soil microbial contamination of autoclaved soil substrates; however, the mean autotrophic contributions averaged less than 25% of the total soil CO₂ efflux. Soil microorganism communities were likely the primary contributor to soil CO₂ efflux in simulated dormant conditions, as treatments with the greatest proportions of microbial densities had the highest soil CO₂ efflux rates. Although this study is not directly comparable to field dormant season soil CO₂ effluxes of Engelmann spruce forest, as snowpack is not maintained throughout this experiment, relationships, and metrics from such small-scale ecosystem component processes may yield more accurate carbon budget models.

Keywords

Dormant Autotrophic Respiration, Heterotrophic Respiration, Dormant Soil CO₂ Efflux, Soil Respiration, Engelmann Spruce

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Alef, K., & Nannipieri, P. (1995). Methods in Applied Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry. Waltham: Academic Press.
[2]	Amiro, B. D., Barr, A. G., Barr, J. G., Black, T. A., Bracho, R., Brown, M., Xiao, J. et al. (2010). Ecosystem Carbondioxide Fluxes after Disturbance in Forests of North America. Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, 115. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2010JG001390
[3]	Anderson, J., & Domsch, K. (1973). Quantification of Bacterial and Fungal Contributions to Soil Respiration. Archives of Microbiology, 93, 113-127. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00424942
[4]	Andrews, J. A., Harrison, K. G., Matamala, R., & Schlesinger, W. H. (1999). Separation of Root Respiration from Total Soil Respiration Using Carbon-13 Labeling during Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE). Soil Science Society of America Journal, 63, 1429-1435. http://dx.doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1999.6351429x
[5]	Berns, A., Philipp, H., Narres, H. D., Burauel, P., Vereecken, H., & Tappe, W. (2008). Effect of Gamma-Sterilization and Autoclaving on Soil Organic Matter Structure as Studied by Solid State NMR, UV and Fluorescence Spectroscopy. European Journal of Soil Science, 59, 540-550. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2008.01016.x
[6]	Beverly, D. M. S. (2013). Impacts of Mountain Pine Beetle and Subsequent Forest Management on Soil Carbon Dioxide Efflux. M.S. Thesis, Greeley: University of Northern Colorado.
[7]	Biasi, C., Pitkamaki, A. S., Tavi, N. M., Koponen, H. T., & Martikainen, P. J. (2012). An Isotope Approach Based on 13C Pulse-Chase Labelling vs. the Root Trenching Method to Separate Heterotrophic and Autotrophic Respiration in Cultivated Peatlands. Boreal Environment Research, 17, 184-192.
[8]	Borken, W., Xu, Y.-J., Davidson, E. A., & Beese, F. (2002). Site and Temporal Variation of Soil Respiration in European Beech, Norway Spruce, and Scots Pine Forests. Global Change Biology, 8, 1205-1216. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2002.00547.x
[9]	Bowden, R. D., Nadelhoffer, K. J., Boone, R. D., Melillo, J. M., & Garrison, J. B. (1993). Contributions of Aboveground Litter, Belowground Litter, and Root Respiration to Total Soil Respiration in a Temperate Mixed Hardwood Forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 23, 1402-1407. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x93-177
[10]	Bradford, J. B., Birdsey, R. A., Joyce, L. A., & Ryan, M. G. (2008). Tree Age, Disturbance History, and Carbon Stocks and Fluxes in Subalpine Rocky Mountain Forests. Global Change Biology, 14, 2882-2897. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01686.x
[11]	Brooks, P. D., McKnight, D., & Elder, K. (2005). Carbon Limitation of Soil Respiration under Winter Snowpacks: Potential Feedbacks between Growing Season and Winter Carbon Fluxes. Global Change Biology, 11, 231-238. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00877.x
[12]	Brooks, P. D., & Williams, M. W. (1999). Snowpack Controls on Nitrogen Cycling and Export in Seasonally Snow-Covered Catchments. Hydrological Processes, 13, 2177-2190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(199910)13:14/15<2177::AID-HYP850>3.0.CO;2-V
[13]	Brooks, P. D., Williams, M. W., & Schmidt, S. K. (1996). Microbial Activity under Alpine Snowpacks, Niwot Ridge, Colorado. Biogeochemistry, 32, 93-113. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00000354
[14]	Buchmann, N. (2000). Biotic and Abiotic Factors Controlling Soil Respiration Rates in Picea abies Stands. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 32, 1625-1635. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(00)00077-8
[15]	Coleman, D. C. (1991). Carbon Isotope Techniques. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
[16]	Comstedt, D., Bostrom, B., & Ekblad, A. (2011). Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Soil Respiration in a Norway Spruce Forest: Estimating the Root Decomposition and Soil Moisture Effects in a Trenching Experiment. Biogeochemistry, 104, 121-132. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10533-010-9491-9
[17]	Davidson, E. A., & Janssens, I. A. (2006). Temperature Sensitivity of Soil Carbon Decomposition and Feedbacks to Climate Change. Nature, 440, 165-173. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature04514
[18]	Dixon, R. K., Solomon, A. M., Brown, S., Houghton, R. A., Trexier, M. C., & Wisniewski, J. (1994). Carbon Pools and Flux of Global Forest Ecosystems. Science, 263, 185-190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.263.5144.185
[19]	Ewel, K. C., Cropper Jr., W. P., & Gholz, H. L. (1987). Soil CO2 Evolution in Florida Slash Pine Plantations. II. Importance of Root Respiration. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 17, 330-333. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x87-055
[20]	Friedlingstein, P., Bopp, L., Ciais, P., Dufresne, J. L., Fairhead, L., LeTreut, H. et al. (2001). Positive Feedback between Future Climate Change and the Carbon Cycle. Geophysical Research Letters, 28, 1543-1546. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2000GL012015
[21]	Garrett, H. E., & Cox, G. S. (1973). Carbon Dioxide Evolution from the Floor of an Oak-Hickory Forest1. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 37, 641-644.
[22]	Gomez-Casanovas, N., Matamala, R., Cook, D. R., & Gonzalez-Meler, M. A. (2012). Net Ecosystem Exchange Modifies the Relationship between the Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Components of Soil Respiration with Abiotic Factors in Prairie Grasslands. Global Change Biology, 18, 2532-2545. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02721.x
[23]	Goulden, M. L., Munger, J. W., Fan, S. M., Daube, B. C., & Wofsy, S. C. (1996). Measurements of Carbon Sequestration by Long-Term Eddy Covariance: Methods and a Critical Evaluation of Accuracy. Global Change Biology, 2, 169-182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.1996.tb00070.x
[24]	Granhus, A., FlØistad, I. S., & SØgaard, G. (2009). Bud Burst Timing in Picea abies Seedlings as Affected by Temperature during Dormancy Induction and Mild Spells during Chilling. Tree Physiology, 29, 497-503. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpn039
[25]	Hanson, P., Edwards, N., Garten, C., & Andrews, J. (2000). Separating Root and Soil Microbial Contributions to Soil Respiration: A Review of Methods and Observations. Biogeochemistry, 48, 115-146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1006244819642
[26]	Houghton, R., Hackler, J., & Lawrence, K. (1999). The U.S. Carbon Budget: Contributions from Land-Use Change. Science, 285, 574-578. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.285.5427.574
[27]	Hubbard, R. M., Ryan, M. G., Elder, K., & Rhoades, C. C. (2005). Seasonal Patterns in Soil Surface CO2 Flux under Snow Cover in 50 and 300 Year Old Subalpine Forests. Biogeochemistry, 73, 93-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10533-004-1990-0
[28]	Hunt, G. A. (1989). Effect of Controlled-Release Fertilizers on Growth and Mycorrhizae in Container-Grown Engelmann Spruce. Western Journal of Applied Forestry, 4, 129-131.
[29]	Iwata, Y., Hayashi, M., & Hirota, T. (2008). Comparison of Snowmelt Infiltration under Different Soil-Freezing Conditions Influenced by Snow Cover All Rights Reserved. Vadose Zone Journal, 7, 79-86.
[30]	Johnson, M. S., & Jost, G. (2011). Ecohydrology and Biogeochemistry of the Rhizosphere in Forested Ecosystems. In D. F. Levia, D. Carlyle-Moses, & T. Tanaka, (Eds.), Forest Hydrology and Biogeochemistry (pp. 483-498). Berlin: Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1363-5_24
[31]	Lee, M.-S., Nakane, K., Nakatsubo, T., & Koizumi, H. (2003). Seasonal Changes in the Contribution of Root Respiration to Total Soil Respiration in a Cool-Temperate Deciduous Forest Roots. In Roots: The Dynamic Interface between Plants and the Earth (pp. 311-318). Berlin: Springer.
[32]	Monson, R. K., Lipson, D. L., Burns, S. P., Turnipseed, A. A., Delany, A. C., Williams, M. W., & Schmidt, S. K. (2006). Winter Forest Soil Respiration Controlled by Climate and Microbial Community Composition. Nature, 439, 711-714. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature04555
[33]	Nottingham, A. T., Griffiths, H., Chamberlain, P. M., Stott, A. W., & Tanner, E. V. (2009). Soil Priming by Sugar and Leaf-Litter Substrates: A Link to Microbial Groups. Applied Soil Ecology, 42, 183-190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2009.03.003
[34]	Paterson, E., Hall, J., Rattray, E., Griffiths, B., Ritz, K., & Killham, K. (1997). Effect of Elevated CO2 on Rhizosphere Carbon Flow and Soil Microbial Processes. Global Change Biology, 3, 363-377. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.1997.t01-1-00088.x
[35]	Raich, J., & Schlesinger, W. H. (1992). The Global Carbon Dioxide Flux in Soil Respiration and Its Relationship to Vegetation and Climate. Tellus B, 44, 81-99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0889.1992.t01-1-00001.x
[36]	Rouhier, H., Billès, G., Billès, L., & Bottner, P. (1996). Carbon Fluxes in the Rhizosphere of Sweet Chestnut Seedlings (Castanea sativa) Grown under Two Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations: 14C Partitioning after Pulse Labelling. Plant and soil, 180, 101-111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00015416
[37]	Ryan, M. G. (1991). Effects of Climate Change on Plant Respiration. Ecological Applications, 1, 157-167. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1941808
[38]	Saxena, D., & Stotzky, G. (2001). Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Toxin Released from Root Exudates and Biomass of Bt Corn Has No Apparent Effect on Earthworms, Nematodes, Protozoa, Bacteria, and Fungi in Soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 33, 1225-1230. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(01)00027-X
[39]	Schadt, C. W., Martin, A. P., Lipson, D. A., & Schmidt, S. K. (2003). Seasonal Dynamics of Previously Unknown Fungal Lineages in Tundra Soils. Science, 301, 1359-1361. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1086940
[40]	Stewart, I. T., Cayan, D. R., & Dettinger, M. D. (2004). Changes in Snowmelt Runoff Timing in Western North America under a “Business as Usual” Climate Change Scenario. Climatic Change, 62, 217-232. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:CLIM.0000013702.22656.e8
[41]	Sutinen, M. L., Holappa, T., Ritari, A., & Kujala, K. (1999). Seasonal Changes in Soil Temperature and Snow-Cover under Different Simulated Winter Conditions: Comparison with Frost Hardiness of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) Roots. Chemosphere—Global Change Science, 1, 485-492. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1465-9972(99)00037-9
[42]	Trevors, J. T. (1996). Sterilization and Inhibition of Microbial Activity in Soil. Journal of Microbiological Methods, 26, 53-59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0167-7012(96)00843-3
[43]	Twine, T. E., Kustas, W., Norman, J., Cook, D., Houser, P., Meyers, T. et al. (2000). Correcting Eddy-Covariance Flux Underestimates over a Grassland. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 103, 279-300. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1923(00)00123-4
[44]	Vázquez, F. J., Acea, M. J., & Carballas, T. (1993). Soil Microbial Populations after Wildfire. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 13, 93-103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.1993.tb00055.x
[45]	Wolf, D., Dao, T., Scott, H., & Lavy, T. (1989). Influence of Sterilization Methods on Selected Soil Microbiological, Physical, and Chemical Properties. Journal of Environmental Quality, 18, 39-44.