Effects of Prescribed Burning on Soil CO 2 Emissions from Pinus yunnanensis Forestland in Central Yunnan, China

Bo Yang, Qibo Chen, Shunqing Gong, Yue Zhao, Denghui Song and Jianqiang Li
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Bo Yang: College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Qibo Chen: College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Shunqing Gong: College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Yue Zhao: College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Denghui Song: College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Jianqiang Li: College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-12

Abstract: The effects of low-intensity and high-frequency prescribed burning on the soil CO 2 emissions from Pinus yunnanensis forestland should be explored to achieve sustainable operation and management under fire disturbance. A Li-6400XT portable photosynthesis meter (equipped with a Li-6400-09 soil respiration chamber) and a TRIME ® -PICO 64/32 soil temperature and moisture meter were used to measure the soil CO 2 flux, soil temperature, and soil moisture at fixed observation sites in two treatments (i.e., unburned (UB) and after prescribed burning (AB)) in a Pinus yunnanensis forest of Zhaobi Mountain, Xinping County, Yunnan, China from March 2019 to February 2021. We also determined the relationships between the soil CO 2 flux and soil hydrothermal factors. The results showed that (1) the soil CO 2 flux in both UB and AB plots exhibited a significant unimodal trend of seasonal variations. In 2020, the highest soil CO 2 fluxes occurred in September; they were 7.08 μmol CO 2 ·m −2 ·s −1 in the morning and 7.63 μmol CO 2 ·m −2 ·s −1 in the afternoon in the AB treatment, which was significantly lower than those in the UB treatment ( p < 0.05). The AB and the UB treatment showed no significant differences in annual soil carbon flux ( p > 0.05). (2) The relationship between the soil CO 2 flux and moisture in the AB and UB plots was best fitted by a quadratic function, with a degree of fitting between 0.435 and 0.753. The soil CO 2 flux and soil moisture showed an inverted U-shaped correlation in the UB plot ( p < 0.05) but a positive correlation in the AB plot ( p < 0.05). Soil moisture was the key factor affecting the soil CO 2 flux ( p < 0.05), while soil temperature showed no significant effect on soil CO 2 flux in this area ( p > 0.05). Therefore, the application of low-intensity prescribed burning for fire hazard reduction in this region achieved the objective without causing a persistent and drastic increase in the soil CO 2 emissions. The results could provide important theoretical support for scientific implementation of prescribed burning, as well as scientific evaluation of ecological and environmental effects after prescribed burning.

Keywords: prescribed burning; Pinus yunnanensis; soil CO 2 flux; soil temperature; soil moisture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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