Significant CO_2 fluxes from snow-covered soils occur in cold biomes. However, little is known about winter soil respiration on the eastern Tibetan Plateau of China. We therefore measured winter soil CO_2 fluxes and estimated annual soil respiration in two contrasting coniferous forest ecosystems(a Picea asperata plantation and a natural forest).Mean winter soil CO_2 effluxes were 1.08 lmol m^-2s^-1in the plantation and 1.16 lmol m^-2s^-1in the natural forest.These values are higher than most reported winter soil CO_2 efflux values for temperate or boreal forest ecosystems.Winter soil respiration rates were similar for our two forest ecosystems but mean soil CO_2 efflux over the growing season was higher in the natural forest than in the plantation. The estimated winter and annual soil effluxes for the natural forest were 176.3 and 1070.3 g m^-2, respectively, based on the relationship between soil respiration and soil temperature,which were 17.2 and 9.7 % greater than their counterparts in the plantation. The contributions of winter soil respiration to annual soil efflux were 15.4 % for the plantation and 16.5 %for the natural forest and were statistically similar. Our results indicate that winter soil CO_2 efflux from frozen soils in the alpine coniferous forest ecosystems of the eastern Tibetan Plateau was considerable and was an important component of annual soil respiration. Moreover, reforestation(natural coniferous forests were deforested and reforested with P. asperata plantation) may reduce soil respiration by reducing soil carbon substrate availability and input.
Temperature and freeze-thaw events are two key factors controlling litter decomposition in cold biomes.Predicted global warming and changes in freeze-thaw cycles therefore may directly or indirectly impact litter decomposition in those ecosystems. Here, we conducted a2-year-long litter decomposition experiment along an elevational gradient from 3000 to 3600 m to determine the potential effects of litter quality, climate warming and freeze-thaw on the mass losses of three litter types [dragon spruce(Picea asperata Mast.), red birch(Betula albosinensis Burk.), and minjiang fir(Abies faxoniana Rehd. et Wild)]. Marked differences in mass loss were observed among the litter types and sampling dates. Decay constant(k) values of red birch were significantly higher than those of the needle litters. However, mass losses between elevations did not differ significantly for any litter type.During the winter, lost mass contributed 18.3–28.8 % of the net loss rates of the first year. Statistical analysis showed that the relationships between mass loss and litter chemistry or their ratios varied with decomposition periods. Our results indicated that short-term field incubations could overestimate the k value of litter decomposition.Considerable mass was lost from subalpine forest litters during the wintertime. Potential future warming may not affect the litter decomposition in the subalpine forest ecosystems of eastern Tibetan Plateau.
Zhenfeng XuJianxiao ZhuFuzhong WuYang LiuBo TanWanqin Yang
