@article{6cc9079c3243447b976d5e6cda24d76e,
title = "Recent Photosynthates Are the Primary Carbon Source for Soil Microbial Respiration in Subtropical Forests",
abstract = "Tropical and subtropical forests represent the largest terrestrial carbon pool. Elucidating the carbon sources for soil microbial respiration (Rm) in tropical and subtropical forests is of fundamental importance to the global carbon cycle in a warming world. Based on hourly measurements, we quantified Rm of in situ forest soil and soil cores from a subtropical forest. We found recent photosynthates, not soil organic carbon (SOC), contributed 88% ± 12% of the carbon source fueling Rm. The control of recent photosynthates on Rm is also supported by the close relationship between Rm and photosynthetically active radiation as well as literature data synthesis results. These results challenge conventional models based on the tenet that Rm is mainly regulated by soil temperature in all forest ecosystems. The results imply that the widely observed warming-induced Rm increases are largely explained by the enhanced input of recent photosynthates in tropical forests, not SOC consumption.",
keywords = "photosynthetically active radiation, recent photosynthates, soil microbial respiration, soil organic carbon, subtropical forest, wavelet analysis",
author = "Zhijie Yang and Lin, {Teng Chiu} and Lixin Wang and Shidong Chen and Xiaofei Liu and Decheng Xiong and Chao Xu and Mary Arthur and Rebecca McCulley and Sihong Shi and Yusheng Yang",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 31930071 and 31670623); M. Arthur's contribution was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, McIntire‐Stennis Program under University of Kentucky accession number 1011623. We wish to acknowledge the Sanming Forest National Field Research Station staff for their excellent support, especially S. Zhang who checked equipment and replaced batteries every week in the field during the study period. Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 31930071 and 31670623); M. Arthur's contribution was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, McIntire-Stennis Program under University of Kentucky accession number 1011623. We wish to acknowledge the Sanming Forest National Field Research Station staff for their excellent support, especially S. Zhang who checked equipment and replaced batteries every week in the field during the study period. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.",
year = "2022",
month = nov,
day = "28",
doi = "10.1029/2022GL101147",
language = "English",
volume = "49",
journal = "Geophysical Research Letters",
issn = "0094-8276",
publisher = "American Geophysical Union",
number = "22",
}
