J Plant Ecol ›› 2013, Vol. 6 ›› Issue (5): 335-348 .DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtt038

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect of clear-cutting silviculture on soil respiration in a subtropical forest of China

Yinlei Ma1, Yan Geng1, Yuanyuan Huang1, Yue Shi1, Pascal A. Niklaus2, Bernhard Schmid2 and Jin-Sheng He1,3,*   

  1. 1 Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; 2 Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland; 3 Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China
  • Received:2012-11-27 Accepted:2013-07-03 Published:2013-09-20
  • Contact: He, Jin-Sheng

Effect of clear-cutting silviculture on soil respiration in a subtropical forest of China

Abstract: Aims Clear-cutting is a common forest management practice, especially in subtropical China. However, the potential ecological consequences of clear-cutting remain unclear. In particular, the effect of clear-cutting on soil processes, such as the carbon cycle, has not been quantified in subtropical forests. Here, we investigated the response of soil respiration (Rs) to clear-cutting during a 12-month period in a subtropical forest in eastern China.
Methods We randomly selected four clear-cut (CC) plots and four corresponding undisturbed forest (UF) plots. Measurements of Rs were made at monthly time points and were combined with continuous climatic measurements in both CC and UF. Daily Rs was estimated by interpolating data with an exponential model dependent on soil temperature. Daily Rs was cumulated to annual Rs estimates.
Important findings In the first year after clear-cutting, annual estimates of Rs in CC (508±23g C m ?2 yr-1) showed no significant difference to UF plots (480±12g C m ?2 yr-1). During the summer, soil temperatures were usually higher, whereas the soil volumetric water content was lower in CC than in UF plots. The long-term effects of clear-cutting on Rs are not significant, although there might be effects during the first several months after clear-cutting. Compared with previous work, this pattern was more pronounced in our subtropical forest than in the temperate and boreal forests that have been studied by others. With aboveground residuals off-site after clear-cutting, our results indicate that the stimulation of increasing root debris, as well as environmental changes, will not lead to a significant increase in Rs. In addition, long-term Rs will not show a significant decrease from the termination of root respiration, and this observation might be because of the influence of fast-growing vegetation after clear-cutting in situ .

Key words: clear-cutting, subtropical forest, soil respiration, soil temperature

摘要:
Aims Clear-cutting is a common forest management practice, especially in subtropical China. However, the potential ecological consequences of clear-cutting remain unclear. In particular, the effect of clear-cutting on soil processes, such as the carbon cycle, has not been quantified in subtropical forests. Here, we investigated the response of soil respiration (Rs) to clear-cutting during a 12-month period in a subtropical forest in eastern China.
Methods We randomly selected four clear-cut (CC) plots and four corresponding undisturbed forest (UF) plots. Measurements of Rs were made at monthly time points and were combined with continuous climatic measurements in both CC and UF. Daily Rs was estimated by interpolating data with an exponential model dependent on soil temperature. Daily Rs was cumulated to annual Rs estimates.
Important findings In the first year after clear-cutting, annual estimates of Rs in CC (508±23g C m ?2 yr-1) showed no significant difference to UF plots (480±12g C m ?2 yr-1). During the summer, soil temperatures were usually higher, whereas the soil volumetric water content was lower in CC than in UF plots. The long-term effects of clear-cutting on Rs are not significant, although there might be effects during the first several months after clear-cutting. Compared with previous work, this pattern was more pronounced in our subtropical forest than in the temperate and boreal forests that have been studied by others. With aboveground residuals off-site after clear-cutting, our results indicate that the stimulation of increasing root debris, as well as environmental changes, will not lead to a significant increase in Rs. In addition, long-term Rs will not show a significant decrease from the termination of root respiration, and this observation might be because of the influence of fast-growing vegetation after clear-cutting in situ .