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. 2014 Feb 26;9(2):e89294.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0089294. eCollection 2014.

Diurnal and seasonal change in stem respiration of Larix principis-rupprechtii trees, northern China

Yan Yang  1 , Miao Zhao  1 , Xiangtao Xu  2 , Zhenzhong Sun  1 , Guodong Yin  1 , Shilong Piao  1
Affiliations

Diurnal and seasonal change in stem respiration of Larix principis-rupprechtii trees, northern China

Yan Yang et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Stem respiration is a critical and uncertain component of ecosystem carbon cycle. Few studies reported diurnal change in stem respiration as well as its linkage with climate. In this study, we investigated the diurnal and seasonal change in stem respiration and its linkage with environmental factors, in larch plantations of northern China from 2010 to 2012. The stem respiration per unit surface area (RS) showed clear diurnal cycles, ranging from 1.65±0.10 to 2.69±0.15 µmol m(-2) s(-1), increased after 6∶00, peaked at 15∶00 and then decreased. Both stem temperature and air temperature show similar diurnal pattern, while the diurnal pattern of air relative humidity is just the opposite to Rs. Similar to the diurnal cycles, seasonal change in RS followed the pattern of stem temperature. RS increased from May (1.28±0.07 µmol m(-2) s(-1)) when the stem temperature was relatively low and peaked in July (3.02±0.10 µmol m(-2) s(-1)) when the stem temperature was also the highest. Further regression analyses show that RS exponentially increases with increasing temperature, and the Q10 of Rs at mid daytime (1.97±0.17 at 12∶00 and 1.96±0.10 at 15∶00) is significantly lower than that of mid nighttime (2.60±0.14 at 00∶00 and 2.71±0.25 at 03∶00) Q10. This result not only implies that Rs is more sensitive to night than day warming, but also highlights that temperature responses of Rs estimated by only daytime measurement can lead to underestimated stem respiration increase under global warming, especially considering that temperature increase is faster during nighttime.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Location of study site in Saihanba National Forest Park, Hebei Province, China.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Diurnal changes in (A) stem respiration per unit surface area (RS), (B) air relative humidity, (C) stem temperature and (D) air temperature.
For each 3-hourly interval, measurements were averaged for the six sample trees in the whole growing season (May to Sep) from 2010 to 2012. The resulting standard errors are represented by the bars.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Seasonal changes in (A) stem respiration per unit surface area (RS), (B) air relative humidity, (C) stem temperature and (D) air temperature.
For each month, all the 3-hourly measurements were averaged for the six sample trees from 2010 to 2012. The resulting standard errors are represented by the bars.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relationship of the stem respiration per unit surface area (RS) with (A) stem temperature, (B) air temperature and (C) air relative humidity.
Figure 5
Figure 5. The diurnal variations of Q10 estimated based on the seasonal variation in RS at different time during one day.
Values not given a common letter are significantly different from each other at P = 0.05. Bars represent the standard error.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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