title: Organic matter and water addition enhance soil respiration in an arid region.
abstract: Climate change is generally predicted to increase net primary production, which could lead to additional C input to soil. In arid central Asia, precipitation has increased and is predicted to increase further. To assess the combined effects of these changes on soil CO2 efflux in arid land, a two factorial manipulation experiment in the shrubland of an arid region in northwest China was conducted. The experiment used a nested design with fresh organic matter and water as the two controlled parameters. It was found that both fresh organic matter and water enhanced soil respiration, and there was a synergistic effect of these two treatments on soil respiration increase. Water addition not only enhanced soil C emission, but also regulated soil C sequestration by fresh organic matter addition. The results indicated that the soil CO2 flux of the shrubland is likely to increase with climate change, and precipitation played a dominant role in regulating soil C balance in the shrubland of an arid region.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Resource Plants, Beijing Botanical garden, West China Subalpine Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Jianjian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Xuechun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Lianhe
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Shaoming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yuanrun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D002681:China; D002980:Climate; D057231:Climate Change; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D014867:Water; D002245:Carbon Dioxide