%0 Journal Article
%T Effects of Vegetation Type and Management Practice on Soil Respiration of Grassland in Northern Japan
%A Minaco Adachi
%A Satoshi Tsuda
%J Applied and Environmental Soil Science
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/624013
%X Soil respiration rate in two types of grassland dominated with Zoysia japonica and Miscanthus sinensis, respectively, and under two management practices (undisturbed and intentionally burned) for the M. sinensis grassland was investigated for understanding the effects of grassland vegetation type and management practices on the relationship between soil temperature and soil respiration in northern Japan. Soil temperatures at depth of 1 cm in the Z. japonica (ZJ) and burned M. sinensis (MSb) plots had a larger temporal variation than that in the control M. sinensis (MSc) plot prior to early July. However, the coefficient of temperature sensitivity ( ) values, based on soil respiration rates and soil temperatures at 5£¿cm depth in the ZJ and MSb plots, were 1.3 and 2.9. These rates were lower than that in the MSc plot (4.3), meaning that soil respiration showed lower activity to an increase in soil temperature in the ZJ and MSb plots. In addition, monthly carbon fluxes from soil in these plots were smaller than that in the MSc plot. These results suggested that artificial disturbance would decrease soil microbial or/and plant root respiration, and it would contribute to the plant productivity. Future studies should examine the effects of the intensity and period of management on the soil respiration rate. 1. Introduction Temperate grasslands comprise approximately 16% of the land area in east Asia [1]. In Japan, because the climax vegetation is forest, most grasslands are seminatural or artificial grasslands that require intensive management such as mowing or controlled burning [2]. The area of grassland in Japan is about 387,945£¿ha, or about 1% of the total land area [3]. The area of controlled burning in Japan is small, with only 0.3% of the total land area burned between April and August in 2000, a typical year [4]. Seminatural and artificial grasslands require continual management by mowing, grazing, or controlled burning. The vegetation types of grasslands differ depending on the strength and frequency of management; for example, Miscanthus sinensis dominated areas are cut once or twice per year, whereas Zoysia japonica dominated areas are cut three times per year [5]. Soil is a major carbon reserve in terrestrial ecosystems, and carbon flux from soil (soil respiration) is an important component because of the second largest carbon flux from the ecosystems. In particular, soil temperature would vary with changes in management type [6, 7], and it would influence soil respiration rate. For instance, many studies around the world reported that land use
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aess/2013/624013/