Please wait a minute...
Journal of Arid Land
Journal of Arid Land  2017, Vol. 9 Issue (1): 38-50    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-016-0059-y     CSTR: 32276.14.s40333-016-0059-y
Orginal Article     
Effects of converting natural grasslands into planted grasslands on ecosystem respiration: a case study in Inner Mongolia, China
Meng ZHANG, Xiaobing LI*(), Hong WANG, Fei DENG, Xu LI, Xue MI
State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Resources Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Download: HTML     PDF(367KB)
Export: BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      

Abstract  

With increasingly intensifying degradation of natural grasslands and rapidly increasing demand of high quality forages, natural grasslands in China have been converted into planted grasslands at an unprecedented rate and the magnitude of the conversion in Inner Mongolia is among the national highest where the areal extent of planted grasslands ranks the second in China. Such land-use changes (i.e., converting natural grasslands into planted grasslands) can significantly affect carbon stocks and carbon emissions in grassland ecosystems. In this study, we analyzed the effects of converting natural grasslands into planted grasslands (including Medicago sativa, Elymus cylindricus, and M. sativa+E. cylindricus) on ecosystem respiration (Feco) in Inner Mongolia of China. Diurnal Feco and its components (i.e., total soil respiration (Fts), soil heterotrophic respiration (Fsh) and vegetation autotrophic respiration (Fva)) were measured in 2012 (27 July to 5 August) and 2013 (18 July to 25 July) in the natural and planted grasslands. Meteorological data, aboveground vegetation data and soil data were simultaneously collected to analyze the relationships between respiration fluxes and environmental factors in those grasslands. In 2012, the daily mean Feco in the M. sativa grassland was higher than that in the natural grassland, and the daily mean Fva was higher in all planted grasslands (i.e., M. sativa, E. cylindricus, and M. sativa+E. cylindricus) than in the natural grassland. In contrast, the daily mean Fts and Fsh were lower in all planted grasslands than in the natural grassland. In 2013, the daily mean Feco, Fts and Fva in all planted grasslands were higher than those in the natural grassland, and the daily mean Fsh in the M. sativa+E. cylindricus grassland was higher than that in the natural grassland. The two-year experimental results suggested that the conversion of natural grasslands into planted grasslands can generally increase the Feco and the increase in Feco is more pronounced when the plantation becomes more mature. The results also indicated that Fsh contributed more to Feco in the natural grassland whereas Fva contributed more to Feco in the planted grasslands. The regression analyses show that climate factors (air temperature and relative humidity) and soil properties (soil organic matter, soil temperature, and soil moisture) strongly affected respiration fluxes in all grasslands. However, our observation period was admittedly too short. To fully understand the effects of such land-use changes (i.e., converting natural grasslands into planted grasslands) on respiration fluxes, longer-term observations are badly needed.

Key words： natural grasslands      planted grasslands      ecosystem respiration      soil respiration      vegetation autotrophic respiration      Inner Mongolia     
Received: 23 December 2015      Published: 31 July 2017
Corresponding Authors:
Service
E-mail this article
Add to my bookshelf
Add to citation manager
E-mail Alert
RSS
Articles by authors
Meng ZHANG
Xiaobing LI
Hong WANG
Fei DENG
Xu LI
Xue MI
Cite this article:

Meng ZHANG, Xiaobing LI, Hong WANG, Fei DENG, Xu LI, Xue MI. Effects of converting natural grasslands into planted grasslands on ecosystem respiration: a case study in Inner Mongolia, China. Journal of Arid Land, 2017, 9(1): 38-50.

URL:

http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-016-0059-y     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2017/V9/I1/38

1 Aslam T, Choudhary M A, Saggar S.2000. Influence of land-use management on CO2 emissions from a silt loam soil in New Zealand. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 77(3): 257-262.
2 Ball B A, Virginia R A, Barrett J E, et al.2009. Interactions between physical and biotic factors influence CO2 flux in Antarctic dry valley soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 41(7): 1510-1517.
3 Borchard N, Schirrmann M, Hebel C V, et al.2015. Spatio-temporal drivers of soil and ecosystem carbon fluxes at field scale in an upland grassland in Germany. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 211: 84-93.
4 Bremer D J, Ham J M, Owensby C E, et al.1998. Responses of soil respiration to clipping and grazing in a tallgrass prairie. Journal of Environmental Quality, 27(6): 1539-1548.
5 Brito L F, Azenha M V, Janusckiewicz E R, et al.2015. Seasonal fluctuation of soil carbon dioxide emission in differently managed pastures. Agronomy Journal, 107(3): 957-962.
6 Cao G M, Tang Y H, Mo W H, et al.2004. Grazing intensity alters soil respiration in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan plateau. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 36(2): 237-243.
7 Casals P, Lopez-Sangil L, Carrara A, et al.2011. Autotrophic and heterotrophic contributions to short-term soil CO2 efflux following simulated summer precipitation pulses in a Mediterranean dehesa. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 25(3): GB3012, doi: 10.1029/2010GB003973.
8 Chen H Q, Fan M S, Kuzyakov Y, et al.2014. Comparison of net ecosystem CO2 exchange in cropland and grassland with an automated closed chamber system. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 98(2): 113-124.
9 Dai E F, Huang Y, Wu Z, et al.2016. Analysis of spatio-temporal features of a carbon source/sink and its relationship to climatic factors in the Inner Mongolia grassland ecosystem. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 26(3): 297-312.
10 Davidson B A, Belk E, Boone R D.1998. Soil water content and temperature as independent or confounded factors controlling soil respiration in a temperate mixed hardwood forest. Global Change Biology, 4(2): 217-227.
11 Deng F, Li X B, Wang H, et al.2014. GIS-based assessment of land suitability for alfalfa cultivation: A case study in the dry continental steppes of northern China. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, 12(2): 364-375.
12 Diekow J, Mielniczuk J, Knicker H, et al.2005. Carbon and nitrogen stocks in physical fractions of a subtropical Acrisol as influenced by long-term no-till cropping systems and N fertilisation. Plant and Soil, 268(1): 319-328.
13 Fang C, Moncrieff J B.2001. The dependence of soil CO2 efflux on temperature. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 33(2): 155-165.
14 Flanagan L B, Johnson B G.2005. Interacting effects of temperature, soil moisture and plant biomass production on ecosystem respiration in a northern temperate grassland. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 130(3-4): 237-253.
15 Frank A B, Liebig M A, Tanaka D L.2006. Management effects on soil CO2 efflux in northern semiarid grassland and cropland. Soil and Tillage Research, 89(1): 78-85.
16 Gomez-Casanovas N, Matamala R, Cook D R, et al.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(8): 2532-2545.
17 Gong J R, Wang Y H, Liu M, et al.2014. Effects of land use on soil respiration in the temperate steppe of Inner Mongolia, China. Soil and Tillage Research, 144: 20-31.
18 Grace J, Rayment M.2000. Respiration in the balance. Nature, 404(6780): 819-820.
19 Han Y, Zhang Z, Wang C H, et al.2012. Effects of mowing and nitrogen addition on soil respiration in three patches in an oldfield grassland in Inner Mongolia. Journal of Plant Ecology, 5(2): 219-228.
20 Hanson P J, Edwards N T, Garten C T, et al.2000. Separating root and soil microbial contributions to soil respiration: A review of methods and observations. Biogeochemistry, 48(1): 115-146.
21 Holst J, Liu C, Yao Z, et al.2008. Fluxes of nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide during freezing-thawing cycles in an Inner Mongolian steppe. Plant and Soil, 308(1-2): 105-117.
22 Holthausen R S, Caldwell M M.1980. Seasonal dynamics of root system respiration in Atriplex confertifolia. Plant and Soil, 55(2): 307-317.
23 IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2007. Summary for policymakers. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, et al. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom, New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.
24 Jenkinson D S.1990. The turnover of organic carbon and nitrogen in soil. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 329(1255): 361-368.
25 Kainiemi V, Arvidsson J, K?tterer T.2013. Short-term organic matter mineralisation following different types of tillage on a Swedish clay soil. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 49(5): 495-504.
26 Kim D G, Kirschbaum M U F.2015. The effect of land-use change on the net exchange rates of greenhouse gases: A compilation of estimates. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 208: 114-126.
27 Kuzyakov Y V, Larionova A A.2005. Root and rhizomicrobial root respiration: A review of approaches to estimate respiration by autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms in soil. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 168(4): 503-520.
28 Lal R.2004. Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change. Geoderma, 123(1-2): 1-22.
29 Li X B, Li G Q, Wang H, et al.2015. Influence of meadow changes on net primary productivity: A case study in a typical steppe area of XilinGol of Inner Mongolia in China. Geosciences Journal, 19(3): 561-573.
30 Li X D, Zhang C P, Fu H, et al.2013. Grazing exclusion alters soil microbial respiration, root respiration and the soil carbon balance in grasslands of the Loess Plateau, northern China. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 59(6): 877-887.
31 Liu W X, Zhang Z, Wan S Q.2009. Predominant role of water in regulating soil and microbial respiration and their responses to climate change in a semiarid grassland. Global Change Biology, 15(1): 184-195.
32 Liu X Z, Wan S O, Su B, et al.2002. Response of soil CO2 efflux to water manipulation in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Plant and Soil, 240(2): 213-223.
33 Lu X Y, Fan J H, Yan Y, et al.2013. Responses of soil CO2 fluxes to short-term experimental warming in alpine steppe ecosystem, Northern Tibet. PLoS ONE, 8(3): e59054, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059054.
34 Ma T.2008. Effect of grazing on soil respiration in typical Leymus chinensis grassland of Xilin River basin in Inner Mongolia. MSc Thesis. Yangling: Northwest A&F University. (in Chinese)
35 MacDonald N W, Zak D R, Pregitzer K S.1995. Temperature effects on kinetics of microbial respiration and net nitrogen and sulfur mineralization. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 59(1): 233-240.
36 Mielnick P C, Dugas W A.2000. Soil CO2 flux in a tallgrass prairie. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 32(2): 221-228.
37 Monkany K, Raison R J, Prokushkin A S.2006. Critical analysis of root: Shoot ratios in terrestrial biomes. Global Change Biology, 12(1): 84-96.
38 Pang Y Y, Deng B, Zhang Y J, et al.2011. Soil respiration of alfalfa fields in the agro-pastoral ecotone of Northern China and its environment on responses. Acta Agrestia Sinica, 19(3): 432-437. (in Chinese)
39 Pendall E, Schwendenmann L, Rahn T, et al.2010. Land use and season affect fluxes of CO2, CH4, CO, N2O, H2 and isotopic source signatures in Panama: Evidence from nocturnal boundary layer profiles. Global Change Biology, 16(10): 2721-2736.
40 Peng F, You Q G, Xu M H, et al.2015. Effects of experimental warming on soil respiration and its components in an alpine meadow in the permafrost region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. European Journal of Soil Science, 66(1): 145-154.
41 Peri P L, Bahamonde H, Christiansen R.2015. Soil respiration in Patagonian semiarid grasslands under contrasting environmental and use conditions. Journal of Arid Environments, 119: 1-8.
42 Qi Y C, Dong Y S, Liu J Y, et al.2007. Effect of the conversion of grassland to spring wheat field on the CO2 emission characteristics in Inner Mongolia, China. Soil and Tillage Research, 94(2): 310-320.
43 Regina K, Alakukku L.2010. Greenhouse gas fluxes in varying soil types under conventional and no-till practices. Soil and Till Research, 109(2): 144-152.
44 Reichstein M, Falge E, Baldocchi D, et al.2005. On the separation of net ecosystem exchange into assimilation and ecosystem respiration: Review and improved algorithm. Global Change Biology, 11(9): 1424-1439.
45 Rochette P, Desjardins R L, Pattey E.1991. Spatial and temporal variability of soil respiration in agricultural fields. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 71(2): 189-196.
46 Rong Y P, Ma L, Johnson D A, et al.2015. Soil respiration patterns for four major land-use types of the agro-pastoral region of northern China. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 213: 142-150.
47 Sánchez M L, Ozores M I, Colle R, et al.2002. Soil CO2 fluxes in cereal land use of the Spanish plateau: Influence of conventional and reduced tillage practices. Chemosphere, 47(8): 837-844.
48 Schlentner R E, Van Cleve K.1985. Relationships between CO2 evolution from soil, substrate temperature, and substrate moisture in four mature forest types in interior Alaska. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 15(1): 97-106.
49 Sharkhuu A, Plante A F, Enkhmandal O, et al.2016. Soil and ecosystem respiration responses to grazing, watering and experimental warming chamber treatments across topographical gradients in northern Mongolia. Geoderma, 269: 91-98.
50 Thierron V, Laudelout H.1996. Contribution of root respiration to total CO2 efflux from the soil of a deciduous forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 26(7): 1142-1148.
51 Tomotsune M, Yoshitake S, Watanabe S, et al.2013. Separation of root and heterotrophic respiration within soil respiration by trenching, root biomass regression, and root excising methods in a cool-temperate deciduous forest in Japan. Ecological Research, 28(2): 259-269.
52 Valentini R, Matteucci G, Dolman A J, et al.2000. Respiration as the main determinant of carbon balance in European forests. Nature, 404(6780): 861-865.
53 Varella R F, Bustamante M M C, Pinto A S, et al.2004. Soil fluxes of CO2, CO, NO, and N2O from an old pasture and from native Savanna in Brazil. Ecological Applications, 14(4): 221-231.
54 Walkley A, Black I A.1934. An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science, 37(1): 29-38.
55 Wang C K, Jiang J Y, Zhang Q Z.2006. Soil respiration in six temperate forests in China. Global Change Biology, 12(11): 2103-2114.
56 Wang W J, Dalal R C, Moody P W, et al.2003 Relationships of soil respiration to microbial biomass, substrate availability and clay content. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 35(2): 273-284.
57 Wang Y S, Hu Y O, Ji B M, et al.2003. An investigation on the relationship between emission/uptake of greenhouse gases and environmental factors in semiarid grassland. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, 20(1): 119-127.
58 Wang Z, Ji L, Hou X Y, et al.2016. Soil respiration in semiarid temperate grasslands under various land management. PLoS ONE, 11(1): e0147987, doi: 10.1371/journal. pone.0147987.
59 Wu X, Yao Z, Brüggemann N, et al.2010. Effects of soil moisture and temperature on CO2 and CH4 soil-atmosphere exchange of various land use/cover types in a semi-arid grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42(5): 773-787.
60 Xie H H, Fan J, Qi L B, et al.2010. Seasonal characteristics of soil respiration and affecting factors under typical vegetations in the water-wind erosion crisscross region of the Loess Plateau. Environmental Science, 31(12): 2995-3003. (in Chinese)
61 Xie R, Wu X Q.2016. Effects of grazing intensity on soil organic carbon of rangelands in Xilin Gol League, Inner Mongolia, China. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 26(11): 1550-1560.
62 Xu L J, Wang B, Yu Z, et al.2009. Soil respiration in fields of Medicago sativa L. cv. Aohan with different growth years. Arid Zone Research, 26(1): 14-20. (in Chinese)
63 Yang J, Huang J H, Zhan X M, et al.2004. The diurnal dynamic patterns of soil respiration for different plant communities in the agro-pastoral ecotone with reference to different measuring methods. Acta Phytoecologica Sinica, 28(3): 318-325. (in Chinese)
64 Zhan J Y, Yan H M, Chen B, et al.2012. Decomposition analysis of the mechanism behind the spatial and temporal patterns of changes in carbon bio-sequestration in China. Energies, 5(2): 386-398.
65 Zhang X S, Tang H P, Dong X B, et al.2016. The dilemma of steppe and it’s transformation in China. Chinese Science Bulletin, 61(2): 165-177. (in Chinese)
66 Zhang Z H, Duan J C, Wang S P, et al.2012. Effects of land use and management on ecosystem respiration in alpine meadow on the Tibetan plateau. Soil and Tillage Research, 124: 161-169.
[1] MA Jinpeng, PANG Danbo, HE Wenqiang, ZHANG Yaqi, WU Mengyao, LI Xuebin, CHEN Lin. Response of soil respiration to short-term changes in precipitation and nitrogen addition in a desert steppe[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(9): 1084-1106.
[2] ZHANG Hui, Giri R KATTEL, WANG Guojie, CHUAI Xiaowei, ZHANG Yuyang, MIAO Lijuan. Enhanced soil moisture improves vegetation growth in an arid grassland of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(7): 871-885.
[3] LI Hongfang, WANG Jian, LIU Hu, MIAO Henglu, LIU Jianfeng. Responses of vegetation yield to precipitation and reference evapotranspiration in a desert steppe in Inner Mongolia, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(4): 477-490.
[4] REN Xiaohui, YU Ruihong, LIU Xinyu, SUN Heyang, GENG Yue, QI Zhen, ZHANG Zhuangzhuang, LI Xiangwei, WANG Jun, ZHU Penghang, GUO Zhiwei, WANG Lixin, XU Jifei. Spatial changes and driving factors of lake water quality in Inner Mongolia, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(2): 164-179.
[5] LIU Yulin, LI Jiwei, HAI Xuying, WU Jianzhao, DONG Lingbo, PAN Yingjie, SHANGGUAN Zhouping, WANG Kaibo, DENG Lei. Carbon inputs regulate the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration in temperate forests[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(9): 1055-1068.
[6] Yunxiao BAI, Xiaobing LI, Wanyu WEN, Xue MI, Ruihua LI, Qi HUANG, Meng ZHANG. CO2, CH4 and N2O flux changes in degraded grassland soil of Inner Mongolia, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2018, 10(3): 347-361.
[7] Xiang ZHANG, Zhanbin LI, Peng LI, Shanshan TANG, Tian WANG, Hui ZHANG. Influences of sand cover on erosion processes of loess slopes based on rainfall simulation experiments[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2018, 10(1): 39-52.
[8] Juan HU, Jinggui WU, Xiaojing QU. Decomposition characteristics of organic materials and their effects on labile and recalcitrant organic carbon fractions in a semi-arid soil under plastic mulch and drip irrigation[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2018, 10(1): 115-128.
[9] Yibo ZHANG, Wen XU, Zhang WEN, Dandan WANG, Tianxiang HAO, Aohan TANG, Xuejun LIU. Atmospheric deposition of inorganic nitrogen in a semi-arid grassland of Inner Mongolia, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2017, 9(6): 810-822.
[10] Fan YANG, Mamtimin ALI, Xinqian ZHENG, Qing HE, Xinghua YANG, Wen HUO, Fengchao LIANG, Shaoming WANG. Diurnal dynamics of soil respiration and the influencing factors for three land-cover types in the hinterland of the Taklimakan Desert, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2017, 9(4): 568-579.
[11] LI Xiliang, HOU Xiangyang, REN Weibo, Taogetao BAOYIN, LIU Zhiying, Warwick BADGERY, LI Yaqiong, WU Xinhong, XU Huimin. Long-term effects of mowing on plasticity and allometry of Leymus chinensis in a temperate semi-arid grassland, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2016, 8(6): 899-909.
[12] Yi ZHOU, Bing GUO, ShiXin WANG, HePing TAO. An estimation method of soil wind erosion in Inner Mongolia of China based on geographic information system and remote sensing[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2015, 7(3): 304-317.
[13] YongQing LUO, XueYong ZHAO, Olof ANDRéN, YangChun ZHU, WenDa HUANG. Artificial root exudates and soil organic carbon mineralization in a degraded sandy grassland in northern China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2014, 6(4): 423-431.
[14] QianBing ZHANG, Ling YANG, ZhenZhu XU, YaLi ZHANG, HongHai LUO, Jin WANG, WangFeng ZHANG. Effects of cotton field management practices on soil CO2 emission and C balance in an arid region of Northwest China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2014, 6(4): 468-477.
[15] Xi CHEN, WenFeng WANG, GePing LUO, Hui YE. Can soil respiration estimate neglect the contribution of abiotic exchange?[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2014, 6(2): 129-135.