An Experimental Comparison of Two Methods on Photosynthesis Driving Soil Respiration: Girdling and Defoliation.
other · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26177498.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0132649 and PMC identifier 4503459.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Previous studies with different experimental methods have demonstrated that photosynthesis significantly influences soil respiration (RS). To compare the experimental results of different methods, RS after girdling and defoliation was measured in five-year-old seedlings of Fraxinus mandshurica from June to September. Girdling and defoliation significantly reduced RS by 33% and 25% within 4 days, and 40% and 32% within the entire treatment period, respectively. The differential response of RS to girdling and defoliation was a result of the over-compensation for RS after girdling and redistribution of stored carbon after defoliation. No significant effect on RS was observed between girdling and defoliation treatment, while the soluble sugar content in fine roots was higher in defoliation than in girdling treatment, indicating that defoliation had less compensation effect for RS after interrupting photosynthates supply. We confirm the close coupling of RS with photosynthesis and recommend defoliation for further studies to estimate the effect of photosynthesis on RS.
Medical subject headings
- Fraxinus
- Photosynthesis
- Physiology
- Soil