Tree Species Influence Soil Respiration in a Temperate Forest of Uttrakhand Himalaya, India

ABSTRACT

We investigated the influence of dominant tree species and seasonal variation of the soil respiration rates in the temperate forest of the Indian Himalayan region. Ten dominant tree species based on the ecological parameters were selected for the study; seven were evergreen (Abies pindrow, Cedrus deodara, Cupressus torulosa, Eunonymous pendulous, Pinus wallichiana, Quercus leucotrichophora, and Rhododenderon arboreum) and three were deciduous (Aesculus indica, Pyrus paschia, and Toona ciliata). Soil respiration was highest under the canopy of Eunonymous pendulous i.e. 25.33 μmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹ and lowest under Rhododenderon arboreum i.e. 0.10 μmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹ tree species. The trend of canopy influence of tree species on soil respiration followed the order of Eunonymous pendulous > Aesculus indica >Abies pindrow> Pyrus paschia >Cedrus deodara >Pinus wallichiana >Cupressus torulosa >Toona ciliata > Quercus leucotrichophora > Rhododenderon arboreum. Seasonally, soil respiration was higher during the rainy season when litter decomposition is at its peak and lowers in winter. There is a positive correlation of soil respiration with soil physicochemical properties i.e. soil pH, soil moisture, total carbon, microbial biomass C and N. However, negative correlations were detected between soil respiration and microbial biomass P, and total P. Overall results clearly define the differential influence of trees species growing in a given forest on the soil CO₂ efflux in a temperate forest ecosystem, thus warranting further research on the functional trait-based analysis on the overall biomass dynamics on the forest floor vis-à-vis CO₂ and nutrient flux in the topsoil.

KEYWORDS:

• Soil respiration
• microbial biomass
• temperate forest
• tree species
• organic carbon

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, for providing financial support through the INSPIRE Fellowship to MR. Laboratory facilities at Doon University were used for analytical work.

Author contribution

MR, KA and AA conceptualized, designed, and developed the questionnaire; MR collected the data and analyzed the data. KA and AA read and modified the draft manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Department of Science and Technology India [Inspire fellowship].