Effects of warming on soil respiration during the non-growing seasons in a semiarid temperate steppe

Aims The response pattern of terrestrial soil respiration to warming during non-growing seasons is a poorly understood phenomenon, though many believe that these warming effects are potentially significant. This study was conducted in a semiarid temperate steppe to examine the effects of warming during the non-growing seasons on soil respiration and the underlying mechanisms associated therewith. Methods This experiment was conducted in a semiarid temperate grassland and included 10 paired control and experimental plots. Experimental warming was achieved with open top chambers (OTCs) in October 2014. Soil respiration, soil temperature and soil moisture were measured several times monthly from November 2014 to April 2015 and from November 2015 to April 2016. Microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) and available nitrogen content of soil were measured from 0 to 20 cm soil depth. Repeated measurement ANOVAs and paired-sample t tests were conducted to document the effect of warming, and the interactions between warming and time on the above variables. Simple regressions were employed to detect the underlying causality for the observed effects. Important Findings Soil respiration rate was 0.24 mu mol m(-2) s(-1) in the control plots during the non-growing seasons, which was roughly 14.4% of total soil carbon flux observed during growing seasons. Across the two non-growing seasons, warming treatment significantly increased soil temperature and soil respiration by 1.48 degrees C (P < 0.001) and 42.1% (P < 0.01), respectively, when compared with control plots. Warming slightly, but did not significantly decrease soil moisture by 0.66% in the non-growing seasons from 2015 to 2016. In the nongrowing seasons 2015-16, experimental warming significantly elevated MBC and MBN by 19.72% and 20.99% (both P < 0.05), respectively. In addition, soil respiration responses to warming were regulated by changes in soil temperate, MBC and MBN. These findings indicate that changes in non-growing season soil respiration impact other components in the carbon cycle. Additionally, these findings facilitate projections regarding climate change-terrestrial carbon cycling.