Aims To explore resorption efficiency of nitrogen(NrE)and phosphorus(PrE)of woody plants in relation to soil nutrient availability,climate and evolutionary history,in North China.Methods We measured concentrations of nitrogen([N])and phosphorus([P])in both full expanded mature green and senescent leaves of the same individuals for 88 woody species from 10 sites of mt.Dongling,beijing,China.We built a phylogenetic tree for all these species and compared NrE and PrE among life forms(trees,shrubs and woody lianas)and between functional groups(N-fixers and non-N-fixers).We then explored patterns of NrE and PrE along gradients of mean annual temperature(MAT),soil inorganic N and available P,and phylogeny using a general linear model.Important Findingsmass-based NrE(NrEm)and PrE(PrEm)averaged 57.4 and 61.4%,respectively,with no significant difference among life forms or functional groups.Neither NrEm nor PrEm exhibited significant phylogenetic signals,indicating that NrEm and PrEm were not phylogenetically conserved.NrEm was not related to[N]in green leaves;PrEm was positively correlated with[P]in green leaves;however,this relationship disappeared for different groups.NrEm decreased with[N]in senescent leaves,PrEm decreased with[P]in senescent leaves,for all species combined and for trees and shrubs.NrEm decreased with soil inorganic N for all species and for shrubs;PrEm did not exhibit a significant trend with soil available P for all species or for different plant groups.Neither NrEm nor PrEm was significantly related to MAT for overall species and for species of different groups.
In recent decades, there have been a number of debates on climate warming and its driving forces. Based on an extensive literature review, we suggest that （1） climate warming occurs with great uncertainty in the magnitude of the temperature increase; （2） both human activities and natural forces contribute to climate change, but their relative contributions are difficult to quan- tify; and （3） the dominant role of the increase in the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases （including CO2） in the global warming claimed by the Intergovernrnental Panel on Climate Change （IPCC） is questioned by the scientific communities because of large uncertainties in the mechanisms of natural factors and anthropogenic activities and in the sources of the increased atmospheric CO2 concentration. More efforts should be made in order to clarify these uncertainties.
Forests play a leading role in regional and global carbon (C) cycles. Detailed assessment of the temporal and spatial changes in C sinks/sources of China's forests is critical to the estimation of the national C budget and can help to constitute sustainable forest management policies for climate change. In this study, we explored the spatio-temporal changes in forest biomass C stocks in China between 1977 and 2008, using six periods of the national forest inventory data. According to the definition of the forest inventory, China's forest was categorized into three groups: forest stand, economic forest, and bamboo forest. We estimated forest biomass C stocks for each inventory period by using continuous biomass expansion factor (BEF) method for forest stands, and the mean biomass density method for economic and bamboo forests. As a result, China's forests have accumulated biomass C (i.e., biomass C sink) of 1896 Tg (1Tg=1012g) during the study period, with 1710, 108 and 78 Tg C in forest stands, and economic and bamboo forests, respectively. Annual forest biomass C sink was 70.2 Tg Ca-1 , offsetting 7.8% of the contemporary fossil CO2 emissions in the country. The results also showed that planted forests have functioned as a persistent C sink, sequestrating 818 Tg C and accounting for 47.8% of total C sink in forest stands, and that the old-, mid- and young-aged forests have sequestrated 930, 391 and 388 Tg C from 1977 to 2008. Our results suggest that China's forests have a big potential as biomass C sink in the future because of its large area of planted forests with young-aged growth and low C density.
Remotely-sensed vegetation indices, which indicate the density and photosynthetic capacity of vegetation, have been widely used to monitor vegetation dynamics over broad areas. In this paper, we reviewed satellite-based studies on vegetation cover changes, biomass and productivity variations, phenological dynamics, desertification, and grassland degradation in China that occurred over the past 2-3 decades. Our review shows that the satellite-derived index （Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI） during growing season and the vegetation net primary productivity in major terrestrial ecosystems （for example forests, grasslands, shrubs, and croplands） have significantly increased, while the number of fresh lakes and vegetation coverage in urban regions have experienced a substantial decline. The start of the growing season continually advanced in China＇s temperate regions until the 1990s, with a large spatial heterogeneity. We also found that the coverage of sparsely-vegetated areas declined, and the NDVI per unit in vegetated areas increased in arid and semi-arid regions because of increased vegetation activity in grassland and oasis areas. However, these results depend strongly not only on the periods chosen for investigation, but also on factors such as data sources, changes in detection methods, and geospatial heterogeneity. Therefore, we should be cautious when applying remote sensing techniques to monitor vegetation structures, functions, and changes.
Aims Tropical forest plays a key role in global C cycle;however,there are few studies on the C budget in the tropical rainforests in Asia.This study aims to(i)reveal the seasonal patterns of total soil respiration(R_(T)),litter respiration(R_(L))and soil respiration without surface organic litter(R_(NL))in the primary and secondary Asian tropical mountain rainforests and(ii)quantify the effects of soil temperature,soil moisture and substrate availability on soil respiration.Methods The seasonal dynamics of soil CO_(2) efflux was measured by an automatic chamber system(Li-8100),within the primary and secondary tropical mountain rainforests located at the Jianfengling National Reserve in Hainan Island,China.The litter removal treatment was used to assess the contribution of litter to belowground CO_(2) production.Important Findings The annual R_(T) was higher in the primary forest(16.73±0.87 Mg C ha−1)than in the secondary forest(15.10±0.26 Mg C ha−1).The rates of R_(T),R_(NL) and R_(L) were all significantly higher in the hot and wet season(May–October)than those in the cool and dry season(November–April).Soil temperature at 5cm depth could explain 55–61%of the seasonal variation in R_(T),and the temperature sensitivity index(Q_(10))ranked by R_(L)(Q_(10)=3.39)>R_(T)(2.17)>R_(NL)(1.76)in the primary forest and by R_(L)(4.31)>R_(T)(1.86)>R_(NL)(1.58)in the secondary forest.The contribution of R_(L) to R_(T) was 22–23%,while litter input and R_(T) had 1 month time lag.In addition,the seasonal variation of R_(T) was mainly determined by soil temperature and substrate availability.Our findings suggested that global warming and increased substrate availability are likely to cause considerable losses of soil C in the tropical forests.
Aims Boreal forest is the largest and contains the most soil carbon among global terrestrial biomes.Soil respiration during the prolonged winter period may play an important role in the carbon cycles in boreal forests.This study aims to explore the characteristics of winter soil respiration in the boreal forest and to show how it is regulated by environmental factors,such as soil temperature,soil moisture and snowpack.Methods Soil respiration in an old-growth larch forest(Larix gmelinii Ruppr.)in Northeast China was intensively measured during the winter soilfreezing process in 2011 using an automated soil CO_(2) flux system.The effects of soil temperature,soil moisture and thin snowpack on soil respiration and its temperature sensitivity were investigated.Important Findings Total soil respiration and heterotrophic respiration both showed a declining trend during the observation period,and no significant difference was found between soil respiration and heterotrophic respiration until the snowpack exceeded 20cm.Soil respiration was exponentially correlated with soil temperature and its temperature sensitivity(Q10 value)for the entire measurement duration was 10.5.Snow depth and soil moisture both showed positive effects on the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration.Based on the change in the Q10 value,we proposed a‘freeze–thaw critical point’hypothesis,which states that the Q10 value above freeze–thaw critical point is much higher than that below it(16.0 vs.3.5),and this was probably regulated by the abrupt change in soil water availability during the soil-freezing process.Our findings suggest interactive effects of multiple environmental factors on winter soil respiration and recommend adopting the freeze–thaw critical point to model soil respiration in a changing winter climate.
Aims Root and heterotrophic respiration may respond differently to environmental variability,but little evidence is available from largescale observations.Here we aimed to examine variations of root and heterotrophic respiration across broad geographic,climatic,soil and biotic gradients.Methods We conducted a synthesis of 59 field measurements on root and heterotrophic respiration across China’s forests.Important Findings Root and heterotrophic respiration varied differently with forest types,of which evergreen broadleaf forest was significantly different from those in other forest types on heterotrophic respiration but without statistically significant differences on root respiration.The results also indicated that root and heterotrophic respiration exhibited similar trends along gradients of precipitation,soil organic carbon and satellite-indicated vegetation growth.However,they exhibited different relationships with temperature:root respiration exhibited bimodal patterns along the temperature gradient,while heterotrophic respiration increased monotonically with temperature.Moreover,they showed different relationships with MOD17 GPP,with increasing trend observed for root respiration whereas insignificant change for heterotrophic respiration.In addition,root and heterotrophic respiration exhibited different changes along the age sequence,with insignificant change for root respiration and decreasing trend for heterotrophic respiration.Overall,these results suggest that root and heterotrophic respiration may respond differently to environmental variability.Our findings could advance our understanding on the different environmental controls of root and heterotrophic respiration and also improve our ability to predict soil CO_(2) flux under a changing environment.
