Abstract
Forests capture carbon dioxide through the process of photosynthesis. However, forests also respire carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Soil respiration (R
s) is a significant source of atmospheric carbon dioxide. A portion of R
s comes from the process of microorganisms breaking down carbon sources in the soil while another portion is from respiring roots (Gough and others 2008). Even small changes in R
s can have a significant impact on whether a forest will behave as a carbon source or a carbon sink (Schlesinger and Andrews 2000). Therefore, considerable attention has recently been focused on accurate predictions of R
s.
Parent Publication
Keywords
soil respiration,
carbon source,
carbon sink,
forests
Citation
Hammer, Rachel; Seiler, John; Thomas, Valerie; Strahm, Brian. 2020. Soil respiration as related to abiotic and remotely sensed variables in varying overstories and understories in a high elevation southern Appalachian forest. In: Bragg, Don C.; Koerth, Nancy E.; Holley, A. Gordon, eds. 2020. Proceedings of the 20th biennial southern silvicultural research conference. e–Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–253. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station: 166-167.