Carbon partitioning in a wet and a semiwet subarctic mire ecosystem based on in situ C-14 pulse-labelling
(2011) In Soil Biology & Biochemistry 43(2). p.231-239- Abstract
- In this study we quantify the partitioning of recent assimilates to above- and below-ground carbon (C) pools in two subarctic mire ecosystems - wet minerotrophic and semiwet ombrotrophic mire - using in situ C-14 pulse-labelling. Ecosystem C partitioning to rhizomes, coarse roots, fine roots, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and microbes were quantified twice during the growing season at three different soil depths. Finally the C-14-partitioning data from this and a previous study were combined to estimate the overall C partitioning of the three main vegetation types of a Scandinavian subarctic mire in early and late summer. The semiwet ombrotrophic ecosystem hosted a much larger root biomass on an area basis compared to the wet... (More)
- In this study we quantify the partitioning of recent assimilates to above- and below-ground carbon (C) pools in two subarctic mire ecosystems - wet minerotrophic and semiwet ombrotrophic mire - using in situ C-14 pulse-labelling. Ecosystem C partitioning to rhizomes, coarse roots, fine roots, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and microbes were quantified twice during the growing season at three different soil depths. Finally the C-14-partitioning data from this and a previous study were combined to estimate the overall C partitioning of the three main vegetation types of a Scandinavian subarctic mire in early and late summer. The semiwet ombrotrophic ecosystem hosted a much larger root biomass on an area basis compared to the wet minerotrophic ecosystem which might be due to differences in the soil nutrient level. Microbial C was found to be the largest C-pool in both ecosystems. Ecosystem C-14 partitioning was poorly related to plant biomass for the semiwet and the wet ecosystem. Overall a higher partitioning of recent assimilates to below-ground compartments was apparent in August-September compared to June-July, while the opposite was found for the above-ground C-pools. In the semiwet ecosystem twice as much C-14 was found in DOC compared to the wet ecosystem, where root density, litter and above-ground biomass were important controls of the C-14-recovery in DOC. Plant-derived DOC was estimated to be 15.4 versus 12.9 mg C m(-2) d(-1) in the semiwet and wet ecosystem, respectively. Graminoid dominated and dwarf shrub dominated vegetation types of the subarctic mire Stordalen differ with respect to the relative amount of recently assimilated C partitioned to C-pools with "slow" versus "fast" decomposition rate. The capacity for sequestration of recently fixed C within "slow" C-pools might affect the ecosystem C balance (NEE) and C-storage. The potential for vegetation changes might therefore be an important factor to consider in studies of response of ecosystem C-dynamics to global change factors in subarctic mires. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1868841
- author
- Olsrud, Maria and Christensen, Torben LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2011
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Below-ground, C-14 pulse-labelling, Carbon allocation, Carex rotundata, Eriophorum angustifolium, Minerotrophic, Mire ecosystem, Ombrotrophic, Subarctic
- in
- Soil Biology & Biochemistry
- volume
- 43
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 231 - 239
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000286967800002
- scopus:78650678827
- ISSN
- 0038-0717
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.09.034
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- f1b5fa9f-7e71-4cf0-a602-1515a1f80b92 (old id 1868841)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 14:43:28
- date last changed
- 2022-01-28 02:09:17
@article{f1b5fa9f-7e71-4cf0-a602-1515a1f80b92, abstract = {{In this study we quantify the partitioning of recent assimilates to above- and below-ground carbon (C) pools in two subarctic mire ecosystems - wet minerotrophic and semiwet ombrotrophic mire - using in situ C-14 pulse-labelling. Ecosystem C partitioning to rhizomes, coarse roots, fine roots, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and microbes were quantified twice during the growing season at three different soil depths. Finally the C-14-partitioning data from this and a previous study were combined to estimate the overall C partitioning of the three main vegetation types of a Scandinavian subarctic mire in early and late summer. The semiwet ombrotrophic ecosystem hosted a much larger root biomass on an area basis compared to the wet minerotrophic ecosystem which might be due to differences in the soil nutrient level. Microbial C was found to be the largest C-pool in both ecosystems. Ecosystem C-14 partitioning was poorly related to plant biomass for the semiwet and the wet ecosystem. Overall a higher partitioning of recent assimilates to below-ground compartments was apparent in August-September compared to June-July, while the opposite was found for the above-ground C-pools. In the semiwet ecosystem twice as much C-14 was found in DOC compared to the wet ecosystem, where root density, litter and above-ground biomass were important controls of the C-14-recovery in DOC. Plant-derived DOC was estimated to be 15.4 versus 12.9 mg C m(-2) d(-1) in the semiwet and wet ecosystem, respectively. Graminoid dominated and dwarf shrub dominated vegetation types of the subarctic mire Stordalen differ with respect to the relative amount of recently assimilated C partitioned to C-pools with "slow" versus "fast" decomposition rate. The capacity for sequestration of recently fixed C within "slow" C-pools might affect the ecosystem C balance (NEE) and C-storage. The potential for vegetation changes might therefore be an important factor to consider in studies of response of ecosystem C-dynamics to global change factors in subarctic mires. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.}}, author = {{Olsrud, Maria and Christensen, Torben}}, issn = {{0038-0717}}, keywords = {{Below-ground; C-14 pulse-labelling; Carbon allocation; Carex rotundata; Eriophorum angustifolium; Minerotrophic; Mire ecosystem; Ombrotrophic; Subarctic}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{2}}, pages = {{231--239}}, publisher = {{Elsevier}}, series = {{Soil Biology & Biochemistry}}, title = {{Carbon partitioning in a wet and a semiwet subarctic mire ecosystem based on in situ C-14 pulse-labelling}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.09.034}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.09.034}}, volume = {{43}}, year = {{2011}}, }