Davies Christian A.

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Davies
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Christian A.
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  • Preprint
    Decreased mass specific respiration under experimental warming is robust to the microbial biomass method employed
    ( 2009-05) Bradford, Mark A. ; Wallenstein, Matthew D. ; Allison, Steven D. ; Treseder, Kathleen K. ; Frey, Serita D. ; Watts, Brian W. ; Davies, Christian A. ; Maddox, Thomas R. ; Melillo, Jerry M. ; Mohan, Jacqueline E. ; Reynolds, James F.
    Hartley et al. question whether reduction in Rmass, under experimental warming, arises because of the biomass method. We show the method they treat as independent yields the same result. We describe why the substrate-depletion hypothesis cannot alone explain observed responses, and urge caution in the interpretation of the seasonal data.
  • Preprint
    Thermal adaptation of soil microbial respiration to elevated temperature
    ( 2008-07-22) Bradford, Mark A. ; Davies, Christian A. ; Frey, Serita D. ; Maddox, Thomas R. ; Melillo, Jerry M. ; Mohan, Jacqueline E. ; Reynolds, James F. ; Treseder, Kathleen K. ; Wallenstein, Matthew D.
    In the short-term heterotrophic soil respiration is strongly and positively related to temperature. In the long-term its response to temperature is uncertain. One reason for this is because in field experiments increases in respiration due to warming are relatively short-lived. The explanations proposed for this ephemeral response include depletion of fast-cycling, soil carbon pools and thermal adaptation of microbial respiration. Using a >15 year soil warming experiment in a mid-latitude forest, we show that the apparent ‘acclimation’ of soil respiration at the ecosystem scale results from combined effects of reductions in soil carbon pools and microbial biomass, and thermal adaptation of microbial respiration. Mass specific respiration rates were lower when seasonal temperatures were higher, suggesting that rate reductions under experimental warming likely occurred through temperature-induced changes in the microbial community. Our results imply that stimulatory effects of global temperature rise on soil respiration rates may be lower than currently predicted.