Does spatial distribution of tree size account for spatial variation in soil respiration in a tropical forest?

Laëtitia Bréchet (1) , Stéphane Ponton (2) , Tancrède Alméras (3) , Damien Bonal (2) , Daniel Epron (2)

1 ECOFOG - Ecologie des forêts de Guyane
2 EEF - Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières [devient SILVA en 2018]
3 MAB - Mécanique de l'Arbre et du Bois

We explored the relationship between soil processes, estimated through soil respiration (Rsoil), and the spatial variation in forest structure, assessed through the distribution of tree size, in order to understand the determinism of spatial variations in Rsoil in a tropical forest. The influence of tree size was examined using an index (Ic) calculated for each tree as a function of (1) the trunk cross section area and (2) the distance from the measurement point. We investigated the relationships between Ic and litterfall,root mass and Rsoil, respectively. Strong significant relationships were found between Ic and both litterfall and root mass. Rsoil showed a large range of variations over the 1-ha experimental plot, from 1.5 to 12.6 gC m−2 d−1. The best relationship between Ic and Rsoil only explained 17% of the spatial variation in Rsoil. These results support the assumption that local spatial patterns in litter production and root mass depend on tree distribution in tropical forests. Our study also emphasizes the modest contribution of tree size distribution-which is mainly influenced by the presence of the biggest trees (among the large range size of the inventoried trees greater than 10 cm diameter at 1.30 m above ground level or at 0.5 m above the buttresses)-in explaining spatial variations in Rsoil.

Mots clés: Forest structure; Soil respiration; Root mass; Litterfall; Spatial variation; Tropical forest

Domaines: Autre

Laëtitia Bréchet, Stéphane Ponton, Tancrède Alméras, Damien Bonal, Daniel Epron. Does spatial distribution of tree size account for spatial variation in soil respiration in a tropical forest?. Plant and Soil, 2011, 347 (1), pp.293-303. ⟨10.1007/s11104-011-0848-1⟩. ⟨hal-00797064⟩