Variations and controlling factors of soil CO2 release at daytime and nighttime scales in the loess hilly regions of China

Soil carbon dioxide (CO2) release is a critical ecosystem process affecting regional and global carbon cycles. Currently, one of the key uncertainties in projecting carbon-climate feedback is the ongoing poor representation of the deep and nighttime soil CO2 release. Using CO2 probes at hourly inter...

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Main Authors: Yarong Sun, Senbao Lu, Yunming Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-02-01
Series:Geoderma
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125000059
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author Yarong Sun
Senbao Lu
Yunming Chen
author_facet Yarong Sun
Senbao Lu
Yunming Chen
author_sort Yarong Sun
collection DOAJ
description Soil carbon dioxide (CO2) release is a critical ecosystem process affecting regional and global carbon cycles. Currently, one of the key uncertainties in projecting carbon-climate feedback is the ongoing poor representation of the deep and nighttime soil CO2 release. Using CO2 probes at hourly intervals in the Robinia. pseudoacacia plantation in the loess hilly regions of China, this study explored the relationship of soil respiration between daytime and nighttime and the discrepancy in the influence of climate, vegetation, and soil properties on soil respiration at the 0–10, 10–50, and 50–100 cm soil depth. We estimated that the cumulative CO2 release at 0–100 cm soil depth reached 688.6 g·m−2·year−1, including a 29.1 % relative contribution from the 10–100 cm soil depths. This outcome showed the necessity for accurate quantification of deep soil CO2 release. We also revealed that the cumulative CO2 release was similar between daytime and nighttime throughout four seasons at the 0–100 cm soil depths. This result demonstrated that soil CO2 release can be predicted based on daytime measurements. Soil temperature < 0℃ was not identified as a primary driver, which only explained 1 %–4% of the variation in soil respiration. Meanwhile, the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration decreased by 1.3–1.8 times when soil temperatures were < 0°C compared to when soil temperatures were > 0°C. Thus, using the correlation model based on soil temperature to predict soil respiration might introduce slight inaccuracies in outcomes when soil temperatures are < 0°C. Soil respiration is intimately associated with soil temperature, soil organic carbon content, root biomass, and leaf carbon content; the cumulative contributions of climate, vegetation, and soil properties to soil respiration were 12 %–18 %, 18 %–30 %, and 41 %–50 % during daytime and 12 %–25 % 24 %–28 %, and 40 %–46 % during nighttime at soil depths of 0–10, 10–50, 50–100 cm. Additionally, Structural Equation Modelling implied that soil moisture and temperature directly affected soil respiration during the daytime, and air temperature and relative humidity acted as indirect factors during the nighttime. Clarifying the cumulative soil CO2 release relationship between the daytime and nighttime could help predict the soil C cycle with high precision within various climates in forest ecosystems.
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spelling doaj-art-fa5c8db1bf0d4f68bb94c87e5826d1f82025-08-20T03:12:40ZengElsevierGeoderma1872-62592025-02-0145411716710.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117167Variations and controlling factors of soil CO2 release at daytime and nighttime scales in the loess hilly regions of ChinaYarong Sun0Senbao Lu1Yunming Chen2State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 ChinaInstitute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; The Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; The Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; Corresponding author at: Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, No. 26, Xinong Road, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.Soil carbon dioxide (CO2) release is a critical ecosystem process affecting regional and global carbon cycles. Currently, one of the key uncertainties in projecting carbon-climate feedback is the ongoing poor representation of the deep and nighttime soil CO2 release. Using CO2 probes at hourly intervals in the Robinia. pseudoacacia plantation in the loess hilly regions of China, this study explored the relationship of soil respiration between daytime and nighttime and the discrepancy in the influence of climate, vegetation, and soil properties on soil respiration at the 0–10, 10–50, and 50–100 cm soil depth. We estimated that the cumulative CO2 release at 0–100 cm soil depth reached 688.6 g·m−2·year−1, including a 29.1 % relative contribution from the 10–100 cm soil depths. This outcome showed the necessity for accurate quantification of deep soil CO2 release. We also revealed that the cumulative CO2 release was similar between daytime and nighttime throughout four seasons at the 0–100 cm soil depths. This result demonstrated that soil CO2 release can be predicted based on daytime measurements. Soil temperature < 0℃ was not identified as a primary driver, which only explained 1 %–4% of the variation in soil respiration. Meanwhile, the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration decreased by 1.3–1.8 times when soil temperatures were < 0°C compared to when soil temperatures were > 0°C. Thus, using the correlation model based on soil temperature to predict soil respiration might introduce slight inaccuracies in outcomes when soil temperatures are < 0°C. Soil respiration is intimately associated with soil temperature, soil organic carbon content, root biomass, and leaf carbon content; the cumulative contributions of climate, vegetation, and soil properties to soil respiration were 12 %–18 %, 18 %–30 %, and 41 %–50 % during daytime and 12 %–25 % 24 %–28 %, and 40 %–46 % during nighttime at soil depths of 0–10, 10–50, 50–100 cm. Additionally, Structural Equation Modelling implied that soil moisture and temperature directly affected soil respiration during the daytime, and air temperature and relative humidity acted as indirect factors during the nighttime. Clarifying the cumulative soil CO2 release relationship between the daytime and nighttime could help predict the soil C cycle with high precision within various climates in forest ecosystems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125000059Daytime variationNighttime variationSoil physicochemical propertiesSoil depthsSoil CO2 releasePlant input
spellingShingle Yarong Sun
Senbao Lu
Yunming Chen
Variations and controlling factors of soil CO2 release at daytime and nighttime scales in the loess hilly regions of China
Geoderma
Daytime variation
Nighttime variation
Soil physicochemical properties
Soil depths
Soil CO2 release
Plant input
title Variations and controlling factors of soil CO2 release at daytime and nighttime scales in the loess hilly regions of China
title_full Variations and controlling factors of soil CO2 release at daytime and nighttime scales in the loess hilly regions of China
title_fullStr Variations and controlling factors of soil CO2 release at daytime and nighttime scales in the loess hilly regions of China
title_full_unstemmed Variations and controlling factors of soil CO2 release at daytime and nighttime scales in the loess hilly regions of China
title_short Variations and controlling factors of soil CO2 release at daytime and nighttime scales in the loess hilly regions of China
title_sort variations and controlling factors of soil co2 release at daytime and nighttime scales in the loess hilly regions of china
topic Daytime variation
Nighttime variation
Soil physicochemical properties
Soil depths
Soil CO2 release
Plant input
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125000059
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