Heterotrophic respiration in disturbed forests : a review with examples from North America

View/ Open
Date
2011-05-14Author
Harmon, Mark E.
Concept link
Bond-Lamberty, Benjamin
Concept link
Tang, Jianwu
Concept link
Vargas, Rodrigo
Concept link
Metadata
Show full item recordCitable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4629As published
https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JG001495DOI
10.1029/2010JG001495Keyword
Carbon dynamics; Decomposition; Disturbance; EcosystemsAbstract
Heterotrophic respiration (RH) is a major process releasing carbon to the atmosphere and is essential to understanding carbon dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. Here we review what is known about this flux as related to forest disturbance using examples from North America. The global RH flux from soils has been estimated at 53–57 Pg C yr−1, but this does not include contributions from other sources (i.e., dead wood, heart-rots). Disturbance-related inputs likely account for 20–50% of all RH losses in forests, and disturbances lead to a reorganization of ecosystem carbon pools that influences how RH changes over succession. Multiple controls on RH related to climate, the material being decomposed, and the decomposers involved have been identified, but how each potentially interacts with disturbance remains an open question. An emerging paradigm of carbon dynamics suggests the possibility of multiple periods of carbon sinks and sources following disturbance; a large contributing factor is the possibility that postdisturbance RH does not always follow the monotonic decline assumed in the classic theory. Without a better understanding and modeling of RH and its controlling factors, it will be difficult to estimate, forecast, understand, and manage carbon balances of regions in which disturbance frequency and severity are changing. Meeting this challenge will require (1) improved field data on processes and stores, (2) an improved understanding of the physiological and environmental controls of RH, and (3) a more formal analysis of how model structure influences the RH responses that can be predicted.
Description
Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 116 (2011): G00K04, doi:10.1029/2010JG001495.
Collections
Suggested Citation
Journal of Geophysical Research 116 (2011): G00K04Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Exploring the ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents in a metacommunity framework
Mullineaux, Lauren S.; Metaxas, Anna; Beaulieu, Stace E.; Bright, Monika; Gollner, Sabine; Grupe, Benjamin; Herrera, Santiago; Kellner, Julie B.; Levin, Lisa A.; Mitarai, Satoshi; Neubert, Michael G.; Thurnherr, Andreas M.; Tunnicliffe, Verena; Watanabe, Hiromi K.; Won, Yong-Jin (Frontiers Media, 2018-02-21)Species inhabiting deep-sea hydrothermal vents are strongly influenced by the geological setting, as it provides the chemical-rich fluids supporting the food web, creates the patchwork of seafloor habitat, and generates ... -
Premilinary results of the effects of SURTASS-LFA sonar on singing humpback whales
Biassoni, Nicoletta; Miller, Patrick J. O.; Tyack, Peter L. (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2000-05)The singing behavior of humpback whales exposed to SURTASS-LFA sonar was monitored in Hawaii during March 1998. An observation vessel towing a hydrophone array followed individual singers continuously recording their songs ... -
Fire increases invasive spread of Molinia caerulea mainly through changes in demographic parameters
Jacquemyn, Hans; Brys, Rein; Neubert, Michael G. (Ecological Society of America, 2005-12)We investigated the effects of fire on population growth rate and invasive spread of the perennial tussock grass Molinia caerulea. During the last decades, this species has invaded heathland communities in Western Europe, ...