Components of respiration and their temperature sensitivity in four reconstructed soils

Seasonal changes characteristics in the respiration of four reconstructed soil masses in a barren gravel land were monitored. The results showed that (1) Respiration and heterotrophic respiration of the four reconstructed soils with added meteorite, shale, sand increased gradually with increasing soil temperatures, reaching its maximum in summer and decreasing to its minimum in winter. the average annual respiration of reconstructed soil with sand was 4.87 μmol·m(–2)·s(–1), which was significantly higher than the other reconstructed soils (p < 0.05). (2) The maximum and minimum values of autotrophic respiration for the four reconstructed soils appeared in August 2018 and January 2018, respectively. the proportion of autotrophic respiration to total respiration was 12.5–38.0%, 9.5–42.0%, 7.7–41.2%, and 5.0–39.3% for the soils with reconstituted meteorite, shale, sand, and soft rock, respectively. (3) The relationship between respiration and the temperature of reconstructed soils can be represented by an exponential function. The 90% to 93% changes in reconstructed soils respiration were caused by soil temperature. The temperature sensitivity (Q(10)) of reconstituted soil with added sand was significantly higher than that of the other three reconstituted soils.