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In the open-field warming experiment using infrared heaters, 3 °C warming affected soil respiration more in the deciduous Quercus variabilis Blume plot than in the evergreen Pinus densiflora Sieb. et Zucc. plot, but did not affect the plant biomass in either species. Understanding the species-specific responses of belowground carbon processes to warming is essential for the accurate prediction of forest carbon cycles in ecosystems affected by future climate change. This study aimed to investigate the effect of experimental warming on soil CO2 efflux, soil-air CO2 concentration, and plant biomass for two taxonomically different temperate tree species. Experimental warming was conducted in an open-field planted with Q. variabilis and P. densiflora seedlings. Infrared heaters increased the air temperature by 3 °C in the warmed plots compared with the air temperature in the control plots over a 2-year period. The increase in air and soil temperature stimulated soil CO2 efflux by 29 and 22 % for the Q. variabilis and P. densiflora plots, respectively. Seasonal variation in the warming effect on soil CO2 efflux was species-specific. Soil CO2 efflux was also positively related to both soil temperature and soil water content. The soil moisture deficit decreased the difference in soil CO2 efflux between the control and warmed plots. Warming did not affect soil CO2 concentration and plant biomass in either species; however, the mean soil CO2 concentration was positively correlated with root and total biomass. Warming increased soil CO2 efflux in both Q. variabilis and P. densiflora plots, while the increase showed remarkable seasonal variations and different magnitudes for the two species.

The minirhizotron technique was used to investigate the spatial (soil depth) and temporal (season) changes of fine roots (≤2 mm) in a mature Pinus densiflora forest. Length, production, and mortality of fine roots were measured at different depths on seven dates between March and October 2011. Average fine root length (mm cm−2), production, and mortality (μm cm−2) during the growing seasons were 2.54 ± 0.82, 84 ± 27, and 7 ± 4 at 0–20 cm depth, 0.85 ± 0.37, 39 ± 13, and 14 ± 9 at 20–40 cm depth, and 1.26 ± 0.92, 45 ± 28, and 34 ± 16 at 40–60 cm depth, respectively. There was no significant difference in length, production, or mortality of fine roots among the different seasons and depths (P > 0.05). The seasonal pattern in fine root length generally increased during the growing seasons. The fine root production was high in summer, whereas the mortality was high in autumn. This preliminary result using a minirhizotron technique can be used for quantifying and understanding the fine root dynamics in P. dens...

A laboratory study was conducted to measure the intact root respiration (R A) of Pinus densiflora seedlings in May 2010. To investigate the contribution of R A to total soil respiration (R S) and the temporal pattern of intact R A, closed and open-flow root chamber systems were used. The R A of 3-year-old P. densiflora seedlings was 9.83 nmol CO2 g−1 s−1. The R A to R S ranged from 53 to 58%. The intact R A was strongly temperature-dependent (P

This study was conducted to investigate effects of thinning on carbon (C) storage of soil, forest floor and coarse woody debris (CWD) in Pinus densiflora stands, central Korea. Two study stands (25- and 55-year-old stands) were located in P. densiflora forests of Gangwon-do and thinned in 2008. Each stand was divided into three plots by different thinning intensities based on stand density: no thinning (control, 0%), moderate thinning (M, 30%), and heavy thinning (H, 50%) in the 25-year-old stand and no thinning (control, 0%), light thinning (L, 20%), and moderate thinning (M, 30%) in the 55-year-old stand. We measured C storage of 0–30 cm depth soil, forest floor and CWD in 2009. Total C storage (t C ha−1) of soil, forest floor and CWD in two thinned plots was significantly higher than that in the control plot only in the 55-year-old stand: 66.4 for control

Coarse woody debris (CWD) mass dynamics in three temperate natural forests, dominated by Quercus mongolica, Ab- ies holophylla, and Pinus densiflora, were studied for 5 to 8 years in a Korea National Long-Term Ecological Research (KNLTER) site located in Mt. Jumbong, Korea. CWD mass (Mg/ha), input rate of CWD mass (Mg ha -1 y -1 ), and decay rate constant (1/y) were 20.6, 1.20, and 0.058 for Q. mongolica forest, 12.2, 0.44, 0.106 for A. holophylla forest, and 5.0, 0.00, and 0.086 for P. densiflora forest, respectively. CWD mass was classified into species, types (log, snag, and stump), and decay classes (I-V). The proportion of logs was higher than that of the other CWD types in Q. mongolica forest because of wind-related mortality, whereas the proportion of logs was similar to the proportion of snags in A. holophylla forest and P. densiflora forest. CWD mass, input rate, decay rate, and distribution reflected the status of forest regeneration and succession for three forests. Mass dynamics were affected interactively by a variety of factors including species, micro- climate, and topography, but these effects were hardly distinguishable in this study because of the limited number of comparable sites and pieces of CWD. Thus, further studies will require data regarding long-term microclimate and CWD mass dynamics in a variety of forest types, which could represent diverse environmental factors.