Temperature sensitivity of anaerobic CO2 production in soils of Phragmites australis marshes with distinct hydrological characteristics in the Yellow River estuary

Temperature sensitivity (Q10) is important to reveal carbon decomposition responding to climate change. It’s remains limited to understand how Q10 of anaerobic soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition is regulated by soil property in various wetlands with distinct hydrological characteristics. In the present study, samples of soil at the depths of 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm and 20–30 cm were collected in three typical Phragmites australis marshes, including a freshwater marsh (FPa), a no-tidal salt marsh (NTPa) and a tidal salt marsh (TPa), in the Yellow River estuary. The soil samples were incubated at 10 °C, 20 °C and 30 °C, respectively, to determine the rates of anaerobic CO2 production, Q10 values, and their relations to soil properties. Over 70-d incubation, temperature rise significantly increased the mean rates by 70%–136% (from 10 °C to 20 °C) and 64%–142% (from 20 °C to 30 °C) among the marshes, with the mean Q10 values ranging from 1.61 to 2.66. The rates of CO2 production and Q10 values were significantly affected by wetland type and soil depth. Among marshes, the Q10 of the FPa and NTPa soils was higher than that of the TPa soil (for 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm but for 20–30 cm); along soil depths, the Q10 of the top soil was higher than that of the subsoil (for FPa and NTPa but for TPa). Q10 was affected by total organic carbon (TOC), salinity and pH, and the effects were different with marshes. TOC was a main factor regulating Q10 for the freshwater and the no-tidal salt marshes, while salinity and pH were main factors for the tidal salt marsh. The findings highlight an interactive mechanism of soil property and tidal underlying the response of SOM decomposition to temperature change in estuarine wetlands.