Author(s)

Zofia Fischer¹, Lidiya Dubis^1,2*

¹The Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Landscape, Department of Landscape Ecology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
²Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Faculty of Geography, Lviv, Ukraine.

Forest soil profiles of two dunes within the European belt of inland dunes were analysed in the laboratory. We carried out respirometric measurements of carbon dioxide production and oxygen consumption for every horizon of the studied soils while simultaneously quantifying the organic matter and humidity. Oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide excretion decreased exponentially with depth. The oxygen consumption decrease was less rapid than the decrease in carbon dioxide production. We found a statistical significant linear dependence between oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide excretion, and organic matter content and soil water capacity. Respiration processes in the profiles were divided into two strata; oxygen respiration dominated in the first and fermentation processes in the second. We estimated total respiration in the studied profiles for an area of 1 m² down to around 1 m depth. We concluded that when assessing the soil’s role in carbon cycling in an ecosystem, it is necessary to consider both the respiratory and fermentation strata, as both produce large quantities of carbon dioxide. The main factor determining carbon dioxide production intensity is organic matter content; thus the distribution of organic matter in the soil profile determines carbon cycling intensity.

CO₂, RQ, Soil Horizons, Organic Matter

Fischer, Z. and Dubis, L. (2019) Soil Respiration in the Profiles of Forest Soils in Inland Dunes. Open Journal of Soil Science, 9, 75-90. doi: 10.4236/ojss.2019.95005.