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Understanding the response mechanisms of litter respiration to soil moisture in water-limited semi-arid regions is of vital importance to better understanding the interplay between ecological processes and the local carbon cycle. In situ soil respiration was monitored during 2010–2012 under various conditions (normal litter, no litter, and double litter treatments) in a 30-year-old artificial black locust plantation (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) on the Loess Plateau. Litter respiration with normal and double litter treatments exhibited similar seasonal variation, with the maximum value obtained in summer (0.57 and 1.51 μmol m−2s−1 under normal and double litter conditions, respectively) and the minimum in spring (0.27 and 0.69 μmol m−2s−1 under normal and double litter conditions, respectively). On average, annual cumulative litter respiration was 115 and 300 g C m−2 y−1 under normal and double litter conditions, respectively. Using a soil temperature of 17°C as the critical point, the relationship between litter respiration and soil moisture was found to follow quadratic functions well, whereas the determination coefficient was much greater at high soil temperature than at low soil temperature (33–35% vs. 22–24%). Litter respiration was significantly higher in 2010 and 2012 than in 2011 under both normal litter (132–165 g C m−2 y−1 vs. 48 g C m−2 y−1) and double litter (389–418 g C m−2 y−1 vs. 93 g C m−2 y−1) conditions. Such significant interannual variations were largely ascribed to the differences in summer rainfall. Our study demonstrates that, apart from soil temperature, moisture also has significant influence on litter respiration in semi-arid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial heterogeneity of soil respiration and its temperature sensitivity pose a great challenge to accurately estimate the carbon flux in global carbon cycling, which has primarily been researched in flatlands versus hillslope ecosystems. On an eroded slope (35°) of the semiarid Loess Plateau, soil respiration, soil moisture and soil temperature were measured in situ at upper and lower slope positions in triplicate from 2014 until 2016, and the soil biochemical and microbial properties were determined. The results showed that soil respiration was significantly greater (by 44.2%) at the lower slope position (2.6 μmol m–2 s–1) than at the upper slope position, as were soil moisture, carbon, nitrogen fractions and root biomass. However, the temperature sensitivity was 13.2% greater at the upper slope position than at the lower slope position (P < 0.05). The soil fungal community changed from being Basidiomycota-dominant at the upper slope position to being Zygomycota-dominant at the lower slope position, corresponding with increased β-D-glucosidase activity at the upper slope position than at the lower slope position. We concluded that soil respiration was enhanced by the greater soil moisture, root biomass, carbon and nitrogen contents at the lower slope position than at the upper slope position. Moreover, the increased soil respiration and decreased temperature sensitivity at the lower slope position were partially due to copiotrophs replacing oligotrophs. Such spatial variations along slopes must be properly accounted for when estimating the carbon budget and feedback of future climate change on hillslope ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) fertilization has a considerable effect on food production and carbon cycling in agro-ecosystems. However, the impacts of N fertilization rates on the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Q10) were controversial. Five N rates (N0, N45, N90, N135, and N180) were applied to a continuous winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crop on the semi-arid Loess Plateau, and the in situ soil respiration was monitored during five consecutive years from 2008 to 2013. During the growing season, the mean soil respiration rates increased with increasing N fertilization rates, peaking at 1.53 μmol m−2s−1 in the N135 treatment. A similar dynamic pattern was observed during the non-growing season, yet on average with 7.3% greater soil respiration rates than the growing season. In general for all the N fertilization treatments, the mean Q10 value during the non-growing season was significantly greater than that during the growing season. As N fertilization rates increased, the Q10 values did not change significantly in the growing season but significantly decreased in the non-growing season. Overall, N fertilization markedly influenced soil respirations and Q10 values, in particular posing distinct effects on the Q10 values between the growing and non-growing seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]