Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.04.012
Document accepted manuscript
Title (Primary) Immediate and carry-over effects of increased soil frost on soil respiration and microbial activity in a spruce forest
Author Yang, K.; Peng, C.; Peñuelas, J.; Kardol, P.; Li, Z.; Zhang, L.; Ni, X.; Yue, K.; Tan, B.; Yin, R.; Xu, Z.
Source Titel Soil Biology & Biochemistry
Year 2019
Department BZF
Volume 135
Page From 51
Page To 59
Language englisch
Keywords Snow exclusion; Soil enzyme; Microbial biomass; Nitrogen availability; Soil aggregate; Fine root
Abstract Increased soil frost associated with winter climate change could have immediate and carry-over effects on biological processes in high-altitude forest soils, but the nature of these processes remain poorly understood. We conducted a snow-exclusion experiment to investigate the immediate and cross-seasonal effects of increased soil frost on soil CO2 efflux and biological activity in a subalpine spruce forest on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, China. The increased frost reduced soil CO2 efflux by ∼15 and ∼19% in the winters of 2015/2016 and 2016/2017, respectively. Increased frost also tended to decrease soil basal respiration, the amount of microbial phospholipid fatty acids and the activities of enzymes involved in soil carbon cycling during the winters. Winter soil nitrogen availabilities were higher in the snow-exclusion treatment than in the control plots. However, these effects did not carry over to the following growing season. Our results suggest that increased frost reduces winter soil respiration by direct environmental effects (e.g. soil temperature) and indirect biological processes (e.g. microbial biomass and activity), whereas increased frost did not induce any cross-seasonal effects. These findings underscore the ecological importance of seasonal snowpack and microbe-associated carbon processes in subalpine forests where winter snowfall is decreasing substantially.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=22057
Yang, K., Peng, C., Peñuelas, J., Kardol, P., Li, Z., Zhang, L., Ni, X., Yue, K., Tan, B., Yin, R., Xu, Z. (2019):
Immediate and carry-over effects of increased soil frost on soil respiration and microbial activity in a spruce forest
Soil Biol. Biochem. 135 , 51 - 59 10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.04.012