Stability of Ecosystem CO 2 Flux in Response to Changes in Precipitation in a Semiarid Grassland

Kaiqiang Bao, Haifeng Tian, Min Su, Liping Qiu, Xiaorong Wei, Yanjiang Zhang, Jian Liu, Hailong Gao and Jimin Cheng
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Kaiqiang Bao: College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Haifeng Tian: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming in the Loess Plateau, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Min Su: College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Liping Qiu: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming in the Loess Plateau, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Xiaorong Wei: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming in the Loess Plateau, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Yanjiang Zhang: College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Jian Liu: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming in the Loess Plateau, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Hailong Gao: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming in the Loess Plateau, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Jimin Cheng: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming in the Loess Plateau, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) flux provides feedback between C cycling and the climatic system. There is considerable uncertainty regarding the direction and magnitude of the responses of this process to precipitation changes, hindering accurate prediction of C cycling in a changing world. We examined the responses of ecosystem CO 2 flux to ambient precipitation and experimentally decreased (−35%) and increased precipitation (+20%) in a semiarid grassland in China between July 2013 and September 2015. The measured CO 2 flux components included the gross ecosystem productivity (GEP), net ecosystem CO 2 exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration (Re), and soil respiration (Rs). The results showed that the seasonal and diurnal patterns of most components of ecosystem CO 2 flux were minimally affected by precipitation treatments, with less than 4% changes averaged across the three growing seasons. GEP and NEE had a quadratic relationship, while Re and Rs increased exponentially with soil temperature. GEP, RE, and Rs, however, decreased with soil moisture. Decreased precipitation reduced the dependence of CO 2 flux on soil temperature but partly increased the dependence on soil moisture; in contrast, increased precipitation had the opposite influence. Our results suggested a relatively stable CO 2 flux in this semiarid grassland across the tested precipitation regimes.

Keywords: ecosystem respiration; net ecosystem exchange; response function; soil moisture; soil respiration; soil temperature (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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