Effect of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration on soil and root respiration in winter wheat by using a respiration partitioning chamber

Soil respiration in a cropland is the sum of heterotrophic (mainly microorganisms) and autotrophic (root) respiration. The contribution of both these types to soil respiration needs to be understood to evaluate the effects of environmental change on soil carbon cycling and sequestration. In this paper, the effects of free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) on hetero- and autotrophic respiration in a wheat field were differentiated and evaluated by a novel split-root growth and gas collection system. Elevated atmospheric pCO2 of approximately 200 μmol mol−1 above the ambient pCO2 significantly increased soil respiration by 15.1 and 14.8% at high nitrogen (HN) and low nitrogen (LN) application rates, respectively. The effect of elevated atmospheric pCO2 on root respiration was not consistent across the wheat growth stages. Elevated pCO2 significantly increased and decreased root respiration at the booting-heading stage (middle stage) and the late-filling stage (late stage), respectively, in HN and LN treatments; however, no significant effect was found at the jointing stage (early stage). Thus, the effect of increased pCO2 on cumulative root respiration for the entire wheat growing season was not significant. Cumulative root respiration accounted for approximately 25–30% of cumulative soil respiration in the entire wheat growing season. Consequently, cumulative microbial respiration (soil respiration minus root respiration) increased by 22.5 and 21.1% due to elevated pCO2 in HN and LN, respectively. High nitrogen application significantly increased root respiration at the late stage under both elevated pCO2 and ambient pCO2; however, no significant effects were found on cumulative soil respiration, root respiration, and microbial respiration. These findings suggest that heterotrophic respiration, which is influenced by increased substrate supplies from the plant to the soil, is the key process to determine C emission from agro-ecosystems with regard to future scenarios of enriched pCO2.