Please wait a minute...
Journal of Arid Land  2016, Vol. 8 Issue (3): 341-349    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-016-0081-0     CSTR: 32276.14.s40333-016-0081-0
Research Articles     
Diurnal and seasonal variations of soil respiration rate under different row-spacing in a Panicum virgatum L. field on semi-arid Loess Plateau of China
HUANG Jin1,2, GAO Zhijuan1, CHEN Ji1, ZHANG He1, XU Bingcheng1,2*
1 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China;
2 State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China
Download:   PDF(288KB)
Export: BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      

Abstract  Soil respiration (SR) in crop field is affected by environmental factors, agronomic practices and crop types. To clarify how planting density affects the SR dynamics in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) field on the semi-arid Loess Plateau, this research investigated diurnal and seasonal changes of soil respiration rate (RS) under three different row-spacing treatments (20, 40 and 60 cm) in the fourth growing year of switchgrass. Results showed that RS presented a pronounced seasonality under all row-spacing treatments. The highest daily average RS values appeared in August, while the lowest (P<0.05) were in September for each row-spacing. Diurnal variations of RS exhibited single-peak curves in each month. Daily average RS increased significantly as row-spacing enlarged during May and August but there was no significant difference among row-spacing treatments in September. Soil water storage in the depth of 0–100 cm had no significant difference (P>0.05) among the row-spacing treatments, and similar results were found for soil temperature in 0–15 cm soil depth. Soil respiration temperature sensitivity (Q10) values were 1.0–3.7 during the growing months, which were strongly correlated with air temperature in May and June and the soil temperature at 15 cm depth in August. Higher aboveground biomass production and lower RS in most growth months indicated that 20 cm row-spacing treatment was beneficial for increasing the carbon fixation in switchgrass field. Results also implied that it is necessary to take into account the in?uence of phenology and root growth of switchgrass on soil respiration for accurately evaluating the carbon cycle in the region.

Key wordsmicrotopography      univariate spatial patterns      aggregation      negative association      positive association     
Received: 19 May 2015      Published: 01 June 2016
Fund:  

The Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-11-0444)
The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (ZD2013020)

Corresponding Authors:
Cite this article:

HUANG Jin, GAO Zhijuan, CHEN Ji, ZHANG He, XU Bingcheng. Diurnal and seasonal variations of soil respiration rate under different row-spacing in a Panicum virgatum L. field on semi-arid Loess Plateau of China. Journal of Arid Land, 2016, 8(3): 341-349.

URL:

http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-016-0081-0     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2016/V8/I3/341

Conant R T, Dalla-Betta P, Klopatek C C, et al. 2004. Controls on soil respiration in semiarid soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 36(6): 945–951.

Curiel Yuste J, Janssens I A, Carrara A, et al. 2004. Annual Q10 of soil respiration reflects plant phenological patterns as well as temperature sensitivity. Global Change Biology, 10(2): 161–169.

Dornbush M E, Raich J W. 2006. Soil temperature, not aboveground plant productivity, best predicts intra-annual variations of soil respiration in central Iowa grasslands. Ecosystems, 9(6): 909–920.

Gao Z J, Xu B C, Wang J, et al. 2015. Diurnal and seasonal variations in photosynthetic characteristics of switchgrass in semiarid region on the Loess Plateau of China. Photosynthetica, 53(4): 489–498.

Han G X, Zhou G S, Xu Z Z, et al. 2007. Biotic and abiotic factors controlling the spatial and temporal variation of soil respiration in an agricultural ecosystem. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 39(2): 418–425.

Han G X, Luo Y Q, Li D J, et al. 2014. Ecosystem photosynthesis regulates soil respiration on a diurnal scale with a short-term time lag in a coastal wetland. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 68: 85–94.

Huang G, Li Y, Su Y G. 2015. Effects of increasing precipitation on soil microbial community composition and soil respiration in a temperate desert, Northwestern China. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 83: 52–56.

Janssens I A, Pilegaard K. 2003. Large seasonal changes in Q10 of soil respiration in a beech forest. Global Change Biology, 9(6): 911–918.

Jia X X, Shao M A, Wei X R, et al. 2014. Response of soil CO2 efflux to water addition in temperate semiarid grassland in northern China: the importance of water availability and species composition. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 50(5): 839–850.

Jiang J, Li D Q, Huang J. 2007. Growth of Panicum virgatum and soil moisture characteristics. Bulletin of Soil and Water Conservation, 27(5): 75–78, 88. (in Chinese)

Jiang J S, Guo S L, Zhang Y J, et al. 2015. Changes in temperature sensitivity of soil respiration in the phases of a three-year crop rotation system. Soil and Tillage Research, 150: 139–146.

Kuzyakov Y, Gavrichkova O. 2010. Time lag between photosynthesis and carbon dioxide ef?ux from soil: a review of mechanisms and controls. Global Change Biology, 16(12): 3386–3406.

Lee D K, Doolittle J J, Owens V N. 2007. Soil carbon dioxide fluxes in established switchgrass land managed for biomass production. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 39(1): 178–186.

Lloyd J, Taylor J A. 1994. On the temperature dependence of soil respiration. Functional Ecology, 8(3): 315–323.

Lü P Y, Chai Q, Li G. 2011. Effects of fertilizing nitrogen levels on soil respiration during growing season in maize field. Pratacultural Science, 28(11): 1919–1923. (in Chinese)

Luo Y, Wan S, Hul D, Wallance L L. 2001. Acclimatization of soil respiration to warming in a tall grass prairie. Nature, 413: 622–625.

Ma Z, Wood CW, Bransby D I. 2001. Impact of row spacing, nitrogen rate, and time on carbon partitioning of switchgrass. Biomass and Bioenergy, 20(6): 413–419.

Mattera J, Romero L A, Cuatrín A L, et al. 2013. Yield components, light interception and radiation use efficiency of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) in response to row spacing. European Journal of Agronomy, 45: 87–95.

McLaughlin S B, Kszos L A. 2005. Development of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) as a bioenergy feedstock in the United States. Biomass and Bioenergy, 28(6): 515–535.

Monti A, Fazio S, Lychnaras V, et al. 2007. A full economic analysis of switchgrass under different scenarios in Italy estimated by BEE model. Biomass and Bioenergy, 31(4): 177–185.

Pang X Y, Bao W K, Zhu B, et al. 2013. Responses of soil respiration and its temperature sensitivity to thinning in a pine plantation. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 171–172: 57–64.

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.

Qi Y C, Dong Y S, Liu L X, et al. 2010. Spatial-temporal variation in soil respiration and its controlling factors in three steppes of Stipa L. in Inner Mongolia, China. Science China Earth Sciences, 53(5): 683–693.

Shan L, Chen G L. 1993. Theory and Practice of Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau. Beijing: Chinese Science Press. (in Chinese)

Sun X H, Zhang R Z, Cai L Q, et al. 2009. Effects of different tillage measures on upland soil respiration in Loess Plateau. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 20(9): 2173–2180. (in Chinese)

Wagle P, Kakani V G. 2014. Seasonal variability in net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange over a young switchgrass stand. GCB Bioenergy, 6(4): 339–350.

Wang X, Yan Y C, Zhao S, et al. 2015. Variation of soil respiration and its environmental factors in Hulunber meadow steppe. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 35(1): 1–4. (in Chinese)

Wang X H, Piao S L, Ciais P, et al. 2010. Are ecological gradients in seasonal Q10 of soil respiration explained by climate or by vegetation seasonality? Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42(10): 1728–1734.

Wright L, Turhollow A. 2010. Switchgrass selection as a “model” bioenergy crop: a history of the process. Biomass and Bioenergy, 34(6): 851–868.

Xu B C, Shan L, Li F M. 2005. Aboveground biomass and water use efficiency of an introduced grass, Panicum virgatum, in the semiarid loess hilly-gully region. Acta Ecologia Sinica, 25(9): 2206–2213. (in Chinese)

Xu B C, Li F M, Shan L. 2008. Switchgrass and milkvetch intercropping under 2:1 row-replacement in semiarid region, northwest China: Aboveground biomass and water use efficiency. European Journal of Agronomy, 28(3): 485–492.

Xu B C, Li F M, Shan L. 2010. Seasonal root biomass and distribution of switchgrass and milk vetch intercropping under 2:1 row replacement in a semiarid region in northwest China. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 41(16): 1959–1973.

Xu M, Qi Y. 2001. Soil-surface CO2 efflux and its spatial and temporal variations in a young ponderosa pine plantation in northern California. Global Change Biology, 7(6): 667–677.

Zhang Q, Lei H M, Yang D W. 2013. Seasonal variations in soil respiration, heterotrophic respiration and autotrophic respiration of a wheat and maize rotation cropland in the North China Plain. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 180: 34–43.

Zhang Q B, Yang L, Xu Z Z, et al. 2014. Effects of cotton field management practices on soil CO2 emission and C balance in an arid region of Northwest China. Journal of Arid Land, 6(4): 468–477.
[1] YAN Ping, WANG Xiaoxu, ZHENG Shucheng, WANG Yong, LI Xiaomei. Research on wind erosion processes and controlling factors based on wind tunnel test and 3D laser scanning technology[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(9): 1009-1021.
[2] YAO Linlin, ZHOU Hongfei, YAN Yingjie, LI Lanhai, SU Yuan. Projection of hydrothermal condition in Central Asia under four SSP-RCP scenarios[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(5): 521-536.
[3] LIU Feng, GENG Xiaoyuan, ZHU A-xing, Walter FRASER, SONG Xiaodong, ZHANG Ganlin. Soil polygon disaggregation through similarity-based prediction with legacy pedons[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2016, 8(5): 760-772.
[4] WeiJun ZHAO, Yan ZHANG, QingKe ZHU, Wei QIN, ShuZhen PENG, Ping LI, YanMin ZHAO, Huan MA, Yu WANG. Effects of microtopography on spatial point pattern of forest stands on the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2015, 7(3): 370-380.