Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spatial and seasonal variation in soil respiration along a slope in a rubber plantation and a natural forest in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China

  • Published:
Journal of Mountain Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Soil respiration is a key component of the global carbon cycle, and even small changes in soil respiration rates could result in significant changes in atmospheric CO2 levels. The conversion of tropical forests to rubber plantations in SE Asia is increasingly common, and there is a need to understand the impacts of this land-use change on soil respiration in order to revise CO2 budget calculations. This study focused on the spatial variability of soil respiration along a slope in a natural tropical rainforest and a terraced rubber plantation in Xishuangbanna, Southwest (SW) China. In each land-use type, we inserted 105 collars for soil respiration measurements. Research was conducted over one year in Xishuangbanna during May, June, July and October 2015 (wet season) and January and March 2016 (dry season). The mean annual soil respiration rate was 30% higher in natural forest than in rubber plantation and mean fluxes in the wet and dry season were 15.1 and 9.5 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 in natural forest and 11.7 and 5.7 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 in rubber plantation. Using a linear mixed effects model to assess the effect of changes in soil temperature and moisture on soil respiration, we found that soil temperature was the main driver of variation in soil respiration, explaining 48% of its seasonal variation in rubber plantation and 30% in natural forest. After including soil moisture, the model explained 70% of the variation in soil respiration in natural forest and 76% in rubber plantation. In the natural forest slope position had a significant effect on soil respiration, and soil temperature and soil moisture gradients only partly explained this correlation. In contrast, soil respiration in rubber plantation was not affected by slope position, which may be due to the terrace structure that resulted in more homogeneous environmental conditions along the slope. Further research is needed to determine whether or not these findings hold true at a landscape level.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adachi M, Bekku YS, Konuma AK, et al. (2005) Required sample size for estimating soil respiration rates in large areas of two tropical forests and of two types of plantation in Malaysia. Forest Ecology and Management 210: 455–459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2005.02.011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adachi M, Bekku YS, Rashidah W, et al. (2006) Differences in soil respiration between different tropical ecosystems. Applied Soil Ecology 34: 258–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2006.01.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adachi M, Ishida A, Bunyavejchewin S, et al. (2009) Spatial and temporal variation in soil respiration in a seasonally dry tropical forest, Thailand. Journal of Tropical Ecology 25: 531–539. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026646740999006x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahrends A, Hollingsworth PM, Ziegler AD, et al. (2015) Current trends of rubber plantation expansion may threaten biodiversity and livelihoods. Global Environmental Change 34: 48–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.06.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almagro M, Martínez-Mena M (2014) Litter decomposition rates of green manure as affected by soil erosion, transport and deposition processes, and the implications for the soil carbon balance of a rainfed olive grove under a dry Mediterranean climate. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 196: 167–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee. 2014.06.027

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balogh J, Pintér K, Fóti S, et al. (2011) Dependence of soil respiration on soil moisture, clay content, soil organic matter, and CO2 uptake in dry grasslands. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 43: 1006–1013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio. 2011.01.017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berryman EM, Barnard HR, Adams HR, et al. (2015) Complex terrain alters temperature and moisture limitations of forest soil respiration across a semiarid to subalpine gradient. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 120: 707–723. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JG002802

    Google Scholar 

  • Birch HF (1958) The effect of soil drying on humus decomposition and nitrogen availability. Plant and Soil 10: 9–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01343734

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brito LD, Marques J, Pereira GT, et al. (2009) Soil CO2 Emission of Sugarcane Fields as Affected by Topography. Scientia Agricola 66: 77–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao M, Zhang JH (1997) Tree species diversity of tropical forest vegetation in Xishuangbanna, SW China. Biodiversity and Conservatio 6: 995–1006. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:10183 67630923

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Creed IF, Webster KL, Braun GL, et al. (2012) Topographically regulated traps of dissolved organic carbon create hotspots of soil carbon dioxide efflux in forests. Biogeochemistry 112: 149–164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533–012–9713–4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Verchot LV, Cattanio JH, et al. (2000) Effects of soil water content on soil respiration in forests and cattle pastures of eastern Amazonia. Biogeochemistry 48: 53–69. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006204113917

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Blécourt M, Hänsel VM, Brumme R, et al. (2014) Soil redistribution by terracing alleviates soil organic carbon losses caused by forest conversion to rubber plantation. Forest Ecology and Management 313: 26–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2013.10.043

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong LY, Wu CS, Gao JM, Sha LQ (2012) Effects of simulated rainfall on the soil respiration in tropical secondary forest and rubber plantation in Xishuangbanna of Yunnan,Southwest China. Chinese Journal of Ecology 31: 1887–1892. (In Chinese) https://doi.org/10.13292/j.1000–4890.2015.0232

    Google Scholar 

  • Epron D, Bosc A, Bonal D, Freycon V (2006) Spatial variation of soil respiration across a topographic gradient in a tropical rain forest in French Guiana. Journal of Tropical Ecology 22: 565–574. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266467406003415

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epron D, Nouvellon Y, Roupsard O, et al. (2004) Spatial and temporal variations of soil respiration in a Eucalyptus plantation in Congo. Forest Ecology and Management 202: 149–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2004.07.019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang HJ, Yu GR, Cheng SL, et al. (2010) Effects of multiple environmental factors on CO2 emission and CH4 uptake from old-growth forest soils. Biogeosciences 7: 395–407. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg–7–395–2010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang QL, Sha LQ (2006) Soil respiration in a tropical seasonal rainforest and Rubber plantation in Xishuangbanna,Yunnan. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology 30: 97–103. (In Chinese)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang Y, Gundersen P, Zhang W, et al. (2008) Soil–atmosphere exchange of N2O, CO2 and CH4 along a slope of an evergreen broad-leaved forest in southern China. Plant and Soil 319: 37–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104–008–9847–2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franzluebbers AJ (1999) Microbial activity in response to waterfilled pore space of variably eroded southern Piedmont soils. Applied Soil Ecology 11: 91–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0929–1393(98)00128–0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg SD, Zhao YL, Harrison RD, et al. (2017) Soil respiration in sloping rubber plantations and tropical natural forests in Xishuangbanna, China. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 249:237–246. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee. 2017.08.001

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson PJ, Wullschleger SD, Bohlman SA, and Todd DE (1993) Seasonal and Topographic Patterns of Forest Floor CO2 Efflux from an Upland Oak Forest. Tree Physiology 13: 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hashimoto S, Tanaka N, Suzuki M, et al. (2004) Soil respiration and soil CO2 concentration in a tropical forest, Thailand. Journal of Forest Research 9: 75–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310–003–0046-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ishizuka S, Iswandi A, Nakajima Y, et al. (2005) Spatial patterns of greenhouse gas emission in a tropical rainforest in Indonesia. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 71: 55–62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705–004–5284–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkinson DS, Adams DE, Wild A (1991) Model Estimates of CO2 Emissions from Soil in Response to Global Warming. Nature 351: 304–306. https://doi.org/10.1038/351304a0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang SY, Doh S, Lee D, et al. (2003) Topographic and climatic controls on soil respiration in six temperate mixed-hardwood forest slopes, Korea. Global Change Biology 9: 1427–1437. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365–2486.2003.00668.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katayama A, Kume T, Komatsu H, et al. (2009) Effect of forest structure on the spatial variation in soil respiration in a Bornean tropical rainforest. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 149: 1666–1673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. agrformet.2009.05.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kosugi Y, Mitani T, Ltoh M, et al. (2007) Spatial and temporal variation in soil respiration in a Southeast Asian tropical rainforest. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 147: 35–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2007.06.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuzyakov Y, Cheng W (2001) Photosynthesis controls of rhizosphere respiration and organic matter decomposition. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 33: 1915–1925. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038–0717(01)00117–1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang R, Blagodatsky S, Xu J, et al. (2017) Seasonal differences in soil respiration and methane uptake in rubber plantation and rainforest. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 240: 314–328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2017.02.032

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leon E, Vargas R, Bullock S, et al. (2014) Hot spots, hot moments, and spatio-temporal controls on soil CO2 efflux in a water-limited ecosystem. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 77: 12–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2014.05.029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li HF, Xia HP, Xiong YM (2007) Mechanism of greenhouse gases fluxes from soil and its controlling factors: A review. Ecology and Environment 16: 1781–1788. (In Chinese) https://doi.org/10.16258/j.cnki.1674–5906.2007.06.027

    Google Scholar 

  • Li HM, Ma YX, Liu WJ (2016) Land use and topography as predictors of nitrogen levels in tropical catchments in Xishuangbanna, SW China. Environmental Earth Sciences 75, 539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665–015–5241–6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liao Ch H, Li P, Feng ZM, Zhang J (2014) Area monitoring by remote sensing and spatiotemporal variation of rubber plantations in Xishuangbanna. Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering 30: 170–180. (In Chinese) https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1002–6819.2014.22.021

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu WJ, Luo QP, Lu HJ, et al. (2017) The effect of litter layer on controlling surface runoff and erosion in rubber plantations on tropical mountain slopes, SW China. Catena 149: 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2016.09.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu HZ, Sha LQ, Hu WY, et al. (2009) Seasonal variation of soil respiration and it’s components in tropical rainforest and rubber plantation in Xishuangbnana, Yunnan. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology 20: 2315–2322. (In Chinese)DOI: 10.13287/j.1001–9332.2009.0336

    Google Scholar 

  • Luan JW, Liu SR, Zhu XL, et al. (2012) Roles of biotic and abiotic variables in determining spatial variation of soil respiration in secondary oak and planted pine forests. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 44: 143–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2011.08.012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mande HK, Abdullah AM, Aris AZ, Nuruddin AA (2014) A Comparison of Soil CO2 Efflux Rate in Young Rubber Plantation, Oil Palm Plantation, Recovering and Primary Forest Ecosystems of Malaysia. Polish journal of Environmental Studies 23: 1649–1657.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin JG, Bolstad PV (2009) Variation of soil respiration at three spatial scales: Components within measurements, intrasite variation and patterns on the landscape. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 41: 530–543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio. 2008.12.012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohashi M, Kumagai TO, Kume T, et al. (2008) Characteristics of soil CO2 efflux variability in an aseasonal tropical rainforest in Borneo Island. Biogeochemistry 90: 275–289. https://doi. org/10.1007/s10533–008–9253–0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohashi M, Kume T, Yoshifuji N, et al. (2015) The effects of an induced short-term drought period on the spatial variations in soil respiration measured around emergent trees in a typical bornean tropical forest, Malaysia. Plant & Soil 387(1–2):337–349. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104–014–2303–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Raich JW, Potter CS (1995) Global Patterns of Carbon-Dioxide Emissions from Soils. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 9: 23–36. https://doi.org/10.1029/94gb02723

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rochette P, Desjardins RL, Pattey E (1991) Spatial and Temporal Variability of Soil Respiration in Agricultural Fields. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 71: 189–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saiz G, Green C, Butterbach-Bahl K, et al. (2006) Seasonal and spatial variability of soil respiration in four Sitka spruce stands. Plant and Soil 287: 161–176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104–006–9052–0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Satakhun D, Gay F, Chairungsee N, et al. (2013) Soil CO2 efflux and soil carbon balance of a tropical rubber plantation. Ecological Research 28: 969–979. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284–013–1079–0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwendenmann L, Veldkamp E, Brenes T, et al. (2003) Spatial and temporal variation in soil CO2 efflux in an old-growth neotropical rain forest, La Selva, Costa Rica. Biogeochemistry 64: 111–128. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024941614919

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheng H, Yang Y, Yang Z, et al. (2010) The dynamic response of soil respiration to land-use changes in subtropical China. Global Change Biology 16: 1107–1121. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365–2486.2009.01988.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song QH, Tan ZH, Zhang YP, et al. (2013) Spatial heterogeneity of soil respiration in a seasonal rainforest with complex terrain. iForest-Biogeosciences and Forestry 6: 65–72. https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor0681–006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takahashi M, Hirai K, Limtong P, et al. (2011) Topographic variation in heterotrophic and autotrophic soil respiration in a tropical seasonal forest in Thailand. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 57: 452–465. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380768. 2011.589363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takyu M, Aiba SI, Kitayama K (2003) Changes in biomass, productivity and decomposition along topographical gradients under different geological conditions in tropical lower montane forests on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Oecologia 134: 397–404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442–002–1115–1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsui CC, Chen ZS, Hsieh CF (2004) Relationships between soil properties and slope position in a lowland rain forest of southern Taiwan. Geoderma 123: 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2004.01.031

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vankessel C, Pennock DJ, Farrell RE (1993) Seasonal-Variations in Denitrification and Nitrous-Oxide Evolution at the Landscape Scale. Soil Science Society of America journal 57: 988–995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang CY, Chen Q, Yuan K, et al. (2013) Soil respiration rate and its relationship with soil temperature and moisture in Rubber plantations. Acta Ecologica Sinica 50: 974–982. (In Chinese) https://doi.org/10.11766 /trxb20121010401

    Google Scholar 

  • Werner C, Zheng X, Tang J, et al. (2006) N2O, CH4 and CO2 emissions from seasonal tropical rainforests and a rubber plantation in Southwest China. Plant and Soil 289: 335–353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104–006–9143-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood TE, Detto M, Silver WL (2013) Sensitivity of Soil Respiration to Variability in Soil Moisture and Temperature in a Humid Tropical Forest. Plos One 8, e80965. https://doi.org/ARTN e8096510.1371/journal.pone.0080965

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood TE, Silver WL (2012) Strong spatial variability in trace gasdynamics following experimental drought in a humid tropical forest. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 26, GB3005. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010gb004014

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu ZL, Liu HM, Liu LY (2001) Rubber cultivation and sustainable development in Xishuangbanna, China. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 8: 337–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504500109 470091

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu JJ, Goldberg SD, Mortimer PE, et al. (2016) Soil respiration under three different land use types in a tropical mountain region of China. Journal of Mountain Science 13:416–423. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629–014–3250–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang X, Blagodatsky S, Lippe M, et al. (2016) Land-use change impact on time-averaged carbon balances: Rubber expansion and reforestation in a biosphere reserve, South-West China. Forest Ecology and Management 372: 149–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2016.04.009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yim MH, Joo SJ, Shutou K, Nakane K (2003) Spatial variability of soil respiration in a larch plantation: estimation of the number of sampling points required. Forest Ecology and Management 175: 585–588. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378–1127(02)00222–0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuste JC, Baldocchi DD, Gershenson A, et al. (2007) Microbial soil respiration and its dependency on carbon inputs, soil temperature and moisture. Global Change Biology 13: 2018–2035. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365–2486.2007.01415.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Zhang YP, Sha LQ, et al. (2015) Effects of continuous drought stress on soil respiration in a tropical rainforest in southwest China. Plant and Soil 394: 343–353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104–015–2523–4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou WJ, Sha LQ, Shou L, et al. (2008) Seasonal change of soil respiration and its influences factors in Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) in Xishuangbanna,SW China. Journal of Mountain Science 26: 317–325. (In Chinese) https://doi.org/10.16089/j.cnki.1008–2786.2008.03.020

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler AD, Fox JM, Xu JC (2009) The Rubber Juggernaut. Science 324: 1024–1025. https://doi.org/10.1126/science. 1173833

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research is part of the BMZ/GIZ “Green Rubber” (Project No. Project No. 13.1432.7-001.00) and the CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) Research Program 6: Forests, Trees and Agroforestry. It was financially supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany. The analyses were partly funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31450110067) and the Chinese Academy of Science funded the post-doc fellowship for Stefanie Goldberg (Grant No. 2013Y2SB0007). The authors thank all the staff from the NRWNNR offices, farmers and villagers who welcomed us doing this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Mountain Ecosystem Studies, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China

    Yong-li Zhao, Stefanie D. Goldberg, Jian-chu Xu & Rhett D. Harrison

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China

    Yong-li Zhao

  3. World Agroforestry Centre, East and Central Asia, Kunming, 650201, China

    Stefanie D. Goldberg, Jian-chu Xu & Rhett D. Harrison

  4. World Agroforestry Centre, East & Southern Africa Region, 13 Elm Road, Woodlands, Lusaka, Zambia

    Rhett D. Harrison

Authors
  1. Yong-li Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stefanie D. Goldberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jian-chu Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Rhett D. Harrison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jian-chu Xu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhao, Yl., Goldberg, S.D., Xu, Jc. et al. Spatial and seasonal variation in soil respiration along a slope in a rubber plantation and a natural forest in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China. J. Mt. Sci. 15, 695–707 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-017-4478-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-017-4478-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation