Biome Q₁₀ and Dryness

Chuixiang Yi, Daniel Ricciuto, George Hendrey

Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA.
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Queens College, City University of New York, New York, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/ajcc.2013.24029                

Abstract

Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Q₁₀) is a critical parameter in carbon cycle models with important implications for climate-carbon feedbacks in the 21st century. The common assumption of a constant Q₁₀, usually with a value of 2.0, was shown to be invalid by a previous model-data fusion study that reported biome-specific values of this parameter. We extend the previous analysis by demonstrating that these biome-level values of Q₁₀ also are a function of dryness (R² = 0.54). When tundra and cultivated lands are excluded, the correlation is much stronger (R² = 0.92). Therefore dryness is the primary driver for variability in respiration-temperature sensitivity in forest and grassland ecosystems. This finding has important implications for the response of the terrestrial carbon cycle to climate change, as it implies that the increasing dryness would potentially accelerate the respiration temperature sensitivity feedback.

Keywords

Climate Change; Carbon Cycle; Soil Respiration; Dryness

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	J. W. Raich, C. S. Potter and D. Bhagawati, “Interannual Variability in Global Soil Respiration, 1980-1994,” Global Change Biology, Vol. 8, No. 8, 2002, pp. 800-812. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2002.00511.x
[2]	P. Friedlingstein, et al., “How Positive Is the Feedback between Climate Change and the Carbon Cycle?” Tellus, Vol. 55, No. 2, 2003, pp. 692-700. http://dx.doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0889.2003.01461.x
[3]	P. Friedlingstein, et al., “Climate-Carbon Cycle Feedback Analysis: Results from the (CMIP)-M-4 Model Intercomparison,” Journal of Climate, Vol. 19, No. 14, 2006, pp. 3337-3353. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JCLI3800.1
[4]	T. Zhou, P. Shi, D. Hui and Y. Luo, “Global Pattern of Temperature Sensitivity of Soil Heterotrophic Respiration (Q(10)) and Its Implications for Carbon-Climate Feedback,” Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, Vol. 114, No. G4, 2009, pp. 2156-2202.
[5]	E. A. Davidson, I. A. Janssens and Y. Q. Luo, “On the Variability of Respiration in Terrestrial Ecosystems: Moving beyond Q(10),” Global Change Biology, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2006, pp. 154-164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2005.01065.x
[6]	G. A. Meehl, et al., “Climate Change Projections for the Twenty-First Century and Climate Change Commitment in the CCSM3,” Journal of Climate, Vol. 19, No. 11, 2006, pp. 2597-2616. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JCLI3746.1
[7]	J. W. Raich and W. H. Schlesinger, “The Global Carbon-Dioxide Flux in Soil Respiration and Its Relationship to Vegetation and Climate,” Tellus, Vol. 44, No. 2, 1992, pp. 81-99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0889.1992.t01-1-00001.x
[8]	M. U. F. Kirschbaum, “The Temperature-Dependence of Soil Organic-Matter Decomposition, and the Effect of Global Warming on Soil Organic-C Storage,” Soil Biology & Biochemistry, Vol. 27, No. 6, 1995, pp. 753-760. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(94)00242-S
[9]	P. Ciais, et al., “Horizontal Displacement of Carbon Associated with Agriculture and Its Impacts on Atmospheric CO2,” Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 21, No. 2, 2007, pp. 1944-1951.
[10]	C. S. Potter, et al., “Terrestrial Ecosystem Production—A Process Model-Based on Global Satellite and Surface Data,” Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 7, No. 4, 1993, pp. 811-841.
[11]	C. B. Field, J. T. Randerson and C. M. Malmstrom, “Global Net Primary Production—Combining Ecology and Remote-Sensing,” Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 51, No. 1, 1995, pp. 74-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0034-4257(94)00066-V
[12]	M. I. Budyko, “Climate and Life,” Academic, New York, 1974.
[13]	E. A. G. Schuur, et al., “Vulnerability of Permafrost Carbon to Climate Change: Implications for the Global Carbon Cycle,” Bioscience, Vol. 58, No. 8, 2008, pp. 701-714. http://dx.doi.org/10.1641/B580807
[14]	C. Yi, et al., “Climate Control of Terrestrial Carbon Exchange across Biomes and Continents,” Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 5, No. 3, 2010, pp. 1-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/5/3/034007
[15]	R. Valentini, et al., “Respiration as the Main Determinant of Carbon Balance in European Forests,” Nature, Vol. 404, 2000, pp. 861-865. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/35009084
[16]	E. A. Davidson and I. Janssens, “Temperature Sensitivity of Soil Carbon Decomposition and Feedbacks to Climate Change,” Nature, Vol. 440, 2006, pp. 165-173. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature04514
[17]	T. Zhou, C. Yi, P. S. Bakwin and Li Zhu, “Links between Global CO2 Variability and Climate Anomalies of Biomes,” Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences, Vol. 51, No. 5, 2008, pp. 740-747.