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Validating laboratory predictions of soil rewetting respiration pulses using field data

Li, Xiankun ; Pallandt, Marleen ; Naidu, Dilip ; Rousk, Johannes LU orcid ; Hugelius, Gustaf and Manzoni, Stefano (2025) In Biogeosciences 22(11). p.2691-2705
Abstract

Improved understanding of the mechanisms driving heterotrophic CO2 emissions after rewetting of a dry soil may improve projections of future soil carbon fate. While drying and rewetting (DRW) under laboratory conditions have demonstrated that heterotrophic CO2 emissions depend on DRW features and soil and environmental conditions, these laboratory insights have not been validated in field conditions. To this aim, we collated mean respiration rates over 48 h after rewetting from two data sources: 37 laboratory studies reporting data for more than 3 DRW cycles (laboratory respiration, LR) and 6 field datasets recording hourly heterotrophic respiration and soil moisture (field respiration, FR). LR and FR were... (More)

Improved understanding of the mechanisms driving heterotrophic CO2 emissions after rewetting of a dry soil may improve projections of future soil carbon fate. While drying and rewetting (DRW) under laboratory conditions have demonstrated that heterotrophic CO2 emissions depend on DRW features and soil and environmental conditions, these laboratory insights have not been validated in field conditions. To this aim, we collated mean respiration rates over 48 h after rewetting from two data sources: 37 laboratory studies reporting data for more than 3 DRW cycles (laboratory respiration, LR) and 6 field datasets recording hourly heterotrophic respiration and soil moisture (field respiration, FR). LR and FR were explained by six predictors using random forest algorithms and partial dependence plots. Results indicated that the most important drivers of LR and FR were SOC and temperature, respectively. Both LR and FR increased with increasing SOC and temperature. LR increased with soil dryness before rewetting, but this trend was less clear in FR. LR decreased with soil moisture increments at rewetting, while FR increased with soil moisture increments. LR was higher in soils from humid climates than from arid climates, but this effect was not observed in FR. We concluded that laboratory insights could be partly validated with current datasets. Caution should be taken when extending laboratory insights for predicting fluxes in ecosystems.

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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Biogeosciences
volume
22
issue
11
pages
15 pages
publisher
Copernicus GmbH
external identifiers
  • scopus:105008088165
ISSN
1726-4170
DOI
10.5194/bg-22-2691-2025
language
English
LU publication?
yes
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Publisher Copyright: © Author(s) 2025.
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9af0b723-dc47-462c-a9cd-725327bb8583
date added to LUP
2025-12-17 08:57:21
date last changed
2025-12-17 08:58:31
@article{9af0b723-dc47-462c-a9cd-725327bb8583,
  abstract     = {{<p>Improved understanding of the mechanisms driving heterotrophic CO<sub>2</sub> emissions after rewetting of a dry soil may improve projections of future soil carbon fate. While drying and rewetting (DRW) under laboratory conditions have demonstrated that heterotrophic CO<sub>2</sub> emissions depend on DRW features and soil and environmental conditions, these laboratory insights have not been validated in field conditions. To this aim, we collated mean respiration rates over 48 h after rewetting from two data sources: 37 laboratory studies reporting data for more than 3 DRW cycles (laboratory respiration, LR) and 6 field datasets recording hourly heterotrophic respiration and soil moisture (field respiration, FR). LR and FR were explained by six predictors using random forest algorithms and partial dependence plots. Results indicated that the most important drivers of LR and FR were SOC and temperature, respectively. Both LR and FR increased with increasing SOC and temperature. LR increased with soil dryness before rewetting, but this trend was less clear in FR. LR decreased with soil moisture increments at rewetting, while FR increased with soil moisture increments. LR was higher in soils from humid climates than from arid climates, but this effect was not observed in FR. We concluded that laboratory insights could be partly validated with current datasets. Caution should be taken when extending laboratory insights for predicting fluxes in ecosystems.</p>}},
  author       = {{Li, Xiankun and Pallandt, Marleen and Naidu, Dilip and Rousk, Johannes and Hugelius, Gustaf and Manzoni, Stefano}},
  issn         = {{1726-4170}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{11}},
  pages        = {{2691--2705}},
  publisher    = {{Copernicus GmbH}},
  series       = {{Biogeosciences}},
  title        = {{Validating laboratory predictions of soil rewetting respiration pulses using field data}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2691-2025}},
  doi          = {{10.5194/bg-22-2691-2025}},
  volume       = {{22}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}