Respiratory carbon losses and the carbon-use efficiency of a northern hardwood forest, 1999–2003

doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2005.01438.x

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Wiley InterScience

New Phytologist

Volume 167 Issue 2, Pages 437 - 456

Published Online: 21 Apr 2005

Published on behalf of the New Phytologist Trust

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Respiratory carbon losses and the carbon-use efficiency of a northern hardwood forest, 1999–2003

P. S. Curtis ¹ , C. S. Vogel ² , C. M. Gough ¹ , H. P. Schmid ³ , H.-B. Su ⁴ and B. D. Bovard ⁵

¹ Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; ² University of Michigan Biological Station, Pellston, MI 49769, USA; ³ Department of Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA; ⁴ Department of Geography, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA; ⁵ Department of Environmental Studies, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA

Author for correspondence: Peter S. Curtis Tel: +1 614 292 0835 Fax: +1 614 292 2030 Email: curtis.7@osu.edu

KEYWORDS

carbon cycle • ecosystem • eddy covariance • gross primary productivity (GPP) • leaf • respiration • soil • wood

New Phytologist (2005) doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2005.01438.x

©New Phytologist (2005)

Summary

•
Quantitative assessment of carbon (C) storage by forests requires an understanding of climatic controls over respiratory C loss. Ecosystem respiration can be estimated biometrically as the sum (R_Σ) of soil (R_s), leaf (R_l) and wood (R_w) respiration, and meteorologically by measuring above-canopy nocturnal CO₂ fluxes (F_cn).
•
Here we estimated R_Σ over 5 yr in a forest in Michigan, USA, and compared R_Σ and F_cn on turbulent nights. We also evaluated forest carbon-use efficiency (E_c = P_NP/P_GP) using biometric estimates of net primary production (P_NP) and R_Σ and F_cn-derived estimates of gross primary production (P_GP).
•
Interannual variation in R_Σ was modest (142 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹). Mean annual R_Σ was 1425 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹; 71% from R_s, 18% from R_l, and 11% from R_w. Hourly R_Σ was well correlated with F_cn, but 11 to 58% greater depending on the time of year. Greater R_Σ compared with F_cn resulted in higher estimated annual P_GP and lower annual E_c (0.42 vs 0.54) using biometric and meteorological data, respectively.
•
Our results provide one of the first multiyear estimates of R_Σ in a forested ecosystem, and document the responses of component respiratory C losses to major climatic drivers. They also provide the first assessment of E_c in a deciduous forest using independent estimates of P_GP.