Soil Respiration Variations in Temperate Rhododendron (Rhododendron arboreum) Forest of Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) in Nepal

Temperate forests are considered most fragile hence need to recognize their vulnerability owing to continuous climatic changes and anthropogenic activities. In this study, we assessed soil respiration (SR) by using the chamber method in a natural Rhododendron (Rhododendron arboreum) forest which is recognized as the world’s largest forest type located at Annapurna Conservation Area in the temperate region of Nepal. We evaluated the consequences of multiple ecological parameters mainly climatic and biotic factors on SR variations during the month of October in 2016 and 2017. Our results confirmed that SR well corresponded with soil temperature (ST) variables represented with the highly significant (p