Southern Research Station

Title: Soil pCO₂, soil respiration, and root activity in CO₂ - fumigated and nitrogen-fertilized ponderosa pine

Author: Johnson, Dale; Geisinger, Donn; Walker, Roger; Newman, John; Vose, James; Elliott, Katherine; Ball, Timothy

Date: 1994

Source: Plant and Soil 165: 129 -138

Description: The purpose of this paper is to describe the effects of C0₂ and N treatments on soil pC0₂, calculated CO₂ efflux, root biomass and soil carbon in open-top chambers planted with Pinus ponderosa seedlings. Based upon the literature, it was hypothesized that both elevated CO₂ and N would cause increased root biomass which would in turn cause increases in both total soil CO₂ efflux and microbial respiration. This hypothesis was only supported in part: both C0₂ and N treatments caused significant increases in root biomass, soil pCO₂, and calculated CO₂ efflux, but there were no differences in soil microbial respiration measured in the laboratory. Both correlative and quantitative comparisons of CO₂ efflux rates indicated that microbial respiration contributes little to total soil CO₂ efflux in the field. Measurements of soil pC0₂ and calculated CO₂ efflux provided inexpensive, non-invasive, and relatively sensitive indices of belowground response to CO₂ and N treatments.

Keywords: carbon dioxide, nitrogen, ponderosa pine, soil respiration, soil carbon

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Citation

Johnson, Dale; Geisinger, Donn; Walker, Roger; Newman, John; Vose, James; Elliott, Katherine; Ball, Timothy  1994.  Soil pCO₂, soil respiration, and root activity in CO₂ - fumigated and nitrogen-fertilized ponderosa pine.   Plant and Soil 165: 129 -138