Interannual precipitation controls on soil CO2 fluxes in high elevation conifer and aspen forests
Long-term soil CO _2 emission measurements are necessary for detecting trends and interannual variability in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Such records are becoming increasingly valuable as ecosystems experience altered environmental conditions associated with climate change. From 2013 to 2021, we c...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad07b5 |
| _version_ | 1797635066322485248 |
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| author | Mariah S Carbone Andrew D Richardson billy barr Max Berkelhammer Claudia M Boot Austin Simonpietri Christopher J Still |
| author_facet | Mariah S Carbone Andrew D Richardson billy barr Max Berkelhammer Claudia M Boot Austin Simonpietri Christopher J Still |
| author_sort | Mariah S Carbone |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Long-term soil CO _2 emission measurements are necessary for detecting trends and interannual variability in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Such records are becoming increasingly valuable as ecosystems experience altered environmental conditions associated with climate change. From 2013 to 2021, we continuously measured soil CO _2 concentrations in the two dominant high elevation forest types, mixed conifer and aspen, in the upper Colorado River basin. We quantified the soil CO _2 flux during the summer months, and found that the mean and total CO _2 flux in both forests was related to the prior winter’s snowfall and current summer’s rainfall, with greater sensitivity to rainfall. We observed a decline in surface soil CO _2 production, which we attributed to warming and a decrease in amount and frequency of summer rains. Our results demonstrate strong precipitation control on the soil CO _2 flux in mountainous regions, a finding which has important implications for carbon cycling under future environmental change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:16:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b77dfc84a92b4a0bb4b74a37a119a878 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:16:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-b77dfc84a92b4a0bb4b74a37a119a8782023-11-07T07:52:36ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262023-01-01181212400910.1088/1748-9326/ad07b5Interannual precipitation controls on soil CO2 fluxes in high elevation conifer and aspen forestsMariah S Carbone0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7832-7009Andrew D Richardson1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0148-6714billy barr2Max Berkelhammer3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8924-716XClaudia M Boot4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1487-242XAustin Simonpietri5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6671-1487Christopher J Still6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8295-4494Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University , Flagstaff, AZ, United States of America; Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory , Gothic, CO, United States of AmericaCenter for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University , Flagstaff, AZ, United States of America; School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University , Flagstaff, AZ, United States of AmericaRocky Mountain Biological Laboratory , Gothic, CO, United States of AmericaRocky Mountain Biological Laboratory , Gothic, CO, United States of America; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois , Chicago, IL, United States of AmericaDepartment of Chemistry and Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, CO, United States of AmericaCenter for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University , Flagstaff, AZ, United States of America; Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory , Gothic, CO, United States of AmericaRocky Mountain Biological Laboratory , Gothic, CO, United States of America; Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University , Corvallis, OR, United States of AmericaLong-term soil CO _2 emission measurements are necessary for detecting trends and interannual variability in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Such records are becoming increasingly valuable as ecosystems experience altered environmental conditions associated with climate change. From 2013 to 2021, we continuously measured soil CO _2 concentrations in the two dominant high elevation forest types, mixed conifer and aspen, in the upper Colorado River basin. We quantified the soil CO _2 flux during the summer months, and found that the mean and total CO _2 flux in both forests was related to the prior winter’s snowfall and current summer’s rainfall, with greater sensitivity to rainfall. We observed a decline in surface soil CO _2 production, which we attributed to warming and a decrease in amount and frequency of summer rains. Our results demonstrate strong precipitation control on the soil CO _2 flux in mountainous regions, a finding which has important implications for carbon cycling under future environmental change.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad07b5soil CO2 fluxsoil respirationsnowmonsoon rainmontane forestsmixed conifer |
| spellingShingle | Mariah S Carbone Andrew D Richardson billy barr Max Berkelhammer Claudia M Boot Austin Simonpietri Christopher J Still Interannual precipitation controls on soil CO2 fluxes in high elevation conifer and aspen forests Environmental Research Letters soil CO2 flux soil respiration snow monsoon rain montane forests mixed conifer |
| title | Interannual precipitation controls on soil CO2 fluxes in high elevation conifer and aspen forests |
| title_full | Interannual precipitation controls on soil CO2 fluxes in high elevation conifer and aspen forests |
| title_fullStr | Interannual precipitation controls on soil CO2 fluxes in high elevation conifer and aspen forests |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interannual precipitation controls on soil CO2 fluxes in high elevation conifer and aspen forests |
| title_short | Interannual precipitation controls on soil CO2 fluxes in high elevation conifer and aspen forests |
| title_sort | interannual precipitation controls on soil co2 fluxes in high elevation conifer and aspen forests |
| topic | soil CO2 flux soil respiration snow monsoon rain montane forests mixed conifer |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad07b5 |
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