Soil respiration processes in Canadian boreal forest soils following fire

The study examined two aspects of carbon cycling in the post-fire boreal forest: (1) soil respiration and its spatial variation in three post-fire boreal forest sites and (2) ecosystem respiration response to soil temperature and moisture during dry (2003) and wet (2005) years at the same sites. Soil respiration showed 35% within-site spatial variability and was not spatially autocorrelated. Soil respiration was positively and linearly related to fine root biomass (R2 = 0.63 to 0.85; P < 0.05). Forest Floor removal reduced the soil respiration by 18 to 38% depending on the site. Ecosystem respiration showed exponential relationships with soil temperature. Older sites showed 2 to 3 times greater sensitivity of ecosystem respiration to soil temperature variation (Q10) compared to the youngest F98 site.