Modeling climate change effects on soil respiration in three different stages of primary succession in deglaciated region on Gongga Mountain, China

Primary succession in deglaciated region is the ideal environment for examining soil respiration (SR). In this study, we measured SR and employed a process-oriented model, Forest-denitrification-decomposition (DNDC), to study responses of SR to climate change in three primary successional stages in deglaciated region on Gongga Mountain, China. Stand types included a hardwood stand (S1), a coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest stand (S2), and a mature stand of Abies fabri (Mast.) Craib (S3). Four climate scenarios (Baseline, B1, A1B, A2) reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were investigated. According to measured values, there was substantial temporal variation (coefficient of variation ranged from 49.7% in S1 to 61.4% in S3) and spatial variation (annual SR ranged from 2657 +/- 944 kg C ha(1) in S1 to 9228 +/- 1743 kg C ha(1) in S3) in the data. The modeled results showed that climate change affected the different stages to different extent in this region. Climate change will weaken the carbon sink strength of forest ecosystems in deglaciated region. The results have provided a better understanding on patterns of SR, and provided useful information on the magnitude and the response of SR to climate change in deglaciated region.