Spatial-temporal variation in soil respiration and its controlling factors in three steppes of Stipa L. in Inner Mongolia, China

Grassland is the largest terrestrial ecosystem in China. It is of great significance to measure accurately the soil respiration of different grassland types for the contribution evaluation of the Chinese terrestrial ecosystem’s carbon emission to the atmospheric CO2 concentration. A three-year (2005-2007) field experiment was carried out on three steppes of Stipa L. in the Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia, China, using a static opaque chamber technique. The seasonal and interannual variations of soil respiration rates were analyzed, and the annual total soil respiration of the three steppes was estimated. The numerical models between soil respiration and water-heat factors were established respectively. Similar seasonal dynamic and high annual and interannual variations of soil respiration were found in all of the three steppes. In the growing season, the fluctuation of soil respiration was particularly evident. The coefficients of variation (CVs) for soil respiration in different growing seasons ranged from 54% to 93%, and the annual CVs were all above 115%. The interannual CV of soil respiration progressively decreased in the order of Stipa grandis (S. grandis) steppe > Stipa baicalensis (S. baicalensis) steppe > Stipa krylovii (S. krylovii) steppe. The annual total soil respiration for the S. baicalensis steppe was 223.62?299.24 gC m-2 a-1, 150.62-226.99 gC m-2 a-1 for the S. grandis steppe, and 111.31–131.55 gC m-2 a-1 for the S. krylovii steppe, which were consistent with the precipitation gradient. The variation in the best fitting temperature factor explained the 63.5%, 73.0%, and 73.2% change in soil respiration in the three steppes at an annual time scale, and the corresponding Q10 values were 2.16, 2.98, and 2.40, respectively. Moreover, the Q10 values that were calculated by soil temperature at different depths all expressed a 10 cm > 5 cm > surface in the three sampling sites. In the growing season, the soil respiration rates were related mostly to the surface soil moisture, and the 95.2%, 97.4%, and 93.2% variations in soil respiration in the three steppes were explained by the change in soil moisture at a depth of 0-10 cm, respectively.