CO(2) Emission Increases with Damage Severity in Moso Bamboo Forests Following a Winter Storm in Southern China

Despite the prevalence of disturbances in forests, the effects of disturbances on soil carbon processes are not fully understood. We examined the influences of a winter storm on soil respiration and labile soil organic carbon (SOC) of a Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycle) plantation in the Wuyi Mountains in Southern China from May 2008 to May 2009. We sampled stands that were damaged at heavy, moderate, and light levels, which yielded aboveground biomass inputs to the soil at 22.12 ± 0.73 (mean ± 1 s.e.m.), 10.40 ± 1.09, and 5.95 ± 0.73 Mg per hectare, respectively. We found that soil respiration rate and annual cumulative CO(2) emissions were significantly higher in heavily damaged sites than moderately and lightly damaged sites. Soil temperature was the most important environmental factor affecting soil respiration rate across all studied stands. However, soil respiration sensitivity to temperature (Q(10)) decreased in heavily damaged sites. Microbial biomass carbon and its proportion to total SOC increased with damage intensity. Soil respiration rate was positively correlated to microbial biomass carbon and soil moisture. Our results indicated that the increase of soil respiration following canopy disturbance from winter storm resulted from increased microbial biomass carbon, soil moisture, and temperature.