Abstract
Aims
Soils provide key ecosystem services and directly control ecosystem functions; thus, there is a need to define the reference state of soil functionality. Most common functional classifications are vegetation-centered, such as plant functional types (PFTs), and neglect soil characteristics and processes. We propose Soil Functional Types (SFTs) as a conceptual approach to represent and describe the functionality of soils based on characteristics of their greenhouse gas (GHG) flux dynamics.
Methods
We used automated measurements of CO2, CH4 and N2O soil fluxes in a forested area to define SFTs as surface areas with similar GHG dynamics. We performed mixed effects models, and independent cluster analyses of environmental variables and SFT classifications.
Results
Unique groupings based on SFTs, but not environmental variables, supported the hypothesis that SFTs provide additional insights on the spatial variability of soil functionality beyond information represented by commonly measured soil parameters (e.g., soil moisture, soil temperature, litter biomass).
Conclusions
This approach could complement vegetation-based functional classifications to better represent the broad range of ecosystem functions. A global application of the proposed SFT framework will only be possible if there is a community-wide effort to share data and create a global database of GHG emissions from soils.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- PFTs:
-
plant functional types
- SFTs:
-
soil functional types
- GHG:
-
greenhouse gas
- EFTs:
-
ecosystem functional types
- DFTs:
-
decomposition functional types
- GWP:
-
global warming potential
- DNERR:
-
Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve
- VWC:
-
volumetric water content
- QA/QC:
-
quality assurance and quality control
References
Alcaraz-Segura D, Paruelo J, Epstein H, Cabello J (2013) Environmental and human controls of ecosystem functional diversity in temperate South America. Remote Sens 5:127–154. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs5010127
Allison SD (2012) A trait-based approach for modelling microbial litter decomposition. Ecol Lett 15:1058–1070. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01807.x
Amundson R, Berhe AA, Hopmans JW et al (2015) Soil and human security in the 21st century. Science 348:647–653. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261071
Barba J, Curiel Yuste J, Martínez-Vilalta J, Lloret F (2013) Drought-induced tree species replacement is reflected in the spatial variability of soil respiration in a mixed Mediterranean forest. For Ecol Manag 306:79–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2013.06.025
Bond-Lamberty B, Thomson A (2010) A global database of soil respiration data. Biogeosciences 7:1915–1926. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-7-1915-2010
Bond-Lamberty B, Epron D, Harden J et al (2016) Estimating heterotrophic respiration at large scales: challenges, approaches, and next steps. Ecosphere 7:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1380
Chapin FS, Bret-Harte MS, Hobbie SE, Zhong H (1996) Plant functional types as predictors of transient responses of arctic vegetation to global change. J Veg Sci 7:347–358. https://doi.org/10.2307/3236278
Cramer W, Bondeau A, Woodward FI et al (2001) Global response of terrestrial ecosystem structure and function to CO2 and climate change: results from six dynamic global vegetation models. Glob Chang Biol 7:357–373. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2001.00383.x
Davidson EA, Belk E, Boone RD (1998) Soil water content and temperature as independent or confounded factors controlling soil respiration in a temperate mixed hardwood forest. Glob Chang Biol 4:217–227. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.1998.00128.x
Díaz S, Briske D, McIntyre S (2002) Range management and plant functional types. In: Hodkingson K, Grice A (eds) Global rangelands: progress and prospects. CAB international, Wallingford, pp 81–100
Gutekunst MY, Vargas R, Seyfferth AL (2017) Impacts of soil incorporation of pre-incubated silica-rich rice residue on soil biogeochemistry and greenhouse gas fluxes under flooding and drying. Sci Total Environ 593:134–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.03.097
Hall S, McDowell W, Silver W (2013) When wet gets wetter: decoupling of moisture, redox biogeochemistry, and greenhouse gas fluxes in a humid tropical forest soil. Ecosystems 16:576–589. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-012-9631-2
Hashimoto S, Carvalhais N, Ito A et al (2015) Global spatiotemporal distribution of soil respiration modeled using a global database. Biogeosciences 12:4121–4132. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4121-2015
IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007 : the physical science basis : contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 2007
IPCC (2013) Climate change 2013: the physical science basis. In: Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner GK et al (eds) Contribution of working group I to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324
IPCC (2014) Climate change 2014: synthesis report summary for policymakers. In: Pachauri RK, Allen MR, Barros VR et al (eds). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 1–39
Jenerette GD, Scott RL, Huxman TE (2008) Whole ecosystem metabolic pulses following precipitation events. Funct Ecol 22:924–930. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01450.x
Kim D-G, Vargas R, Bond-Lamberty B, Turetsky MR (2012) Effects of soil rewetting and thawing on soil gas fluxes: a review of current literature and suggestions for future research. Biogeosciences 9:2459–2483. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-2459-2012
Klironomos JN, Rillig MC, Allen MF (1999) Designing belowground field experiments with the help of semi-variance and power analyses. Appl Soil Ecol 12:227–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0929-1393(99)00014-1
Lavorel S, Díaz S, Cornelissen JHC et al (2007) Plant functional types: are we getting any closer to the holy grail? In: Josep G. Canadell; Diane E. Pataki; Louis F. Pitelka (eds) terrestrial ecosystems in a changing world. Springer, Berlin, pp 149–164
Lee S-J, Berbery EH, Alcaraz-Segura D (2013) Effect of implementing ecosystem functional type data in a mesoscale climate model. Adv Atmos Sci 30:1373–1386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-012-2143-3
Leon E, Vargas R, Bullock S et al (2014) Hot spots, hot moments, and spatio-temporal controls on soil CO2 efflux in a water-limited ecosystem. Soil Biol Biochem 77:12–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2014.05.029
Lovett GM, Turner MG, Jones CG, Weathers KC (2006) Ecosystem function in heterogeneous landscapes. In: Lovett GM, Jones CG, Turner MG, Weathers KC (eds) Ecosystem function in heterogeneous landscapes. Spinger, New York, pp 1–4
McBratney A, Field DJ, Koch A (2014) The dimensions of soil security. Geoderma 213:203–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.08.013
Myhre G, Shindell D, Bréon F-M et al (2013) Anthropogenic and natural radiative forcing. In: Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner G-K et al (eds) Climate change 2013: the physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 659–740
Ocko IB, Hamburg SP, Jacob DJ et al (2017) Unmask temporal trade-offs in climate policy debates. Science 356:492–493. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaj2350
Oertel C, Matschullat J, Zurba K et al (2016) Greenhouse gas emissions from soils-a review. Chemie der Erde - Geochemistry 76:327–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemer.2016.04.002
Oksanen J, Kindt R, Legendre P et al (2007) The vegan package
Parkin TB (1987) Soil microsites as a source of denitrification Variability1. Soil Sci Soc Am J 51:1194. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1987.03615995005100050019x
Paruelo JM, Jobbágy EG, Sala OE (2001) Current distribution of ecosystem functional types in temperate South America. Ecosystems 4:683–698. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-001-0037-9
Petrakis S, Seyfferth A, Kan J et al (2017) Influence of experimental extreme water pulses on greenhouse gas emissions from soils. Biogeochemistry 133:147–164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-017-0320-2
Pettorelli N, Schulte to Bühne H, Tulloch A et al (2017) Satellite remote sensing of ecosystem functions: opportunities, challenges and way forward. Remote Sens Ecol Conserv. https://doi.org/10.1002/rse2.59
Pinheiro J, Bates D, DepRoy S (2009) Linear and nonlinear mixed effects models. R package version 3:1–96
Rodeghiero M, Cescatti A (2008) Spatial variability and optimal sampling strategy of soil respiration. For Ecol Manag 255:106–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.08.025
Savage K, Phillips R, Davidson E (2014) High temporal frequency measurements of greenhouse gas emissions from soils. Biogeosciences 11:2709–2720. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2709-2014
Shugart HH, Woodward FI (eds) (1997) Plant functional types: their relevance to ecosystem properties and global change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Smith KA, Ball T, Conen F et al (2003) Exchange of greenhousegases between soil and atmosphere: interactions of soil physical factors and biological processes. Eur J Soil Sci 54:779–791. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2389.2003.00567.x
van Hees PAW, Jones DL, Finlay R et al (2005) The carbon we do not see—the impact of low molecular weight compounds on carbon dynamics and respiration in forest soils: a review. Soil Biol Biochem 37:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2004.06.010
Wright JP, Naeem S, Hector A et al (2006) Conventional functional classification schemes underestimate the relationship with ecosystem functioning. Ecol Lett 9:111–120. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00850.x
Acknowledgements
Funding was provided by the United States Department of Agriculture-Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Grant 2013-02758, and State of Delaware’s Federal Research and Development Matching Grant Program. We are grateful for the support of Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve for access to the site and support to maintain this experiment. Data available from the Dryad Digital Repository: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.kq7h7.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Feike A. Dijkstra.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Petrakis, S., Barba, J., Bond-Lamberty, B. et al. Using greenhouse gas fluxes to define soil functional types. Plant Soil 423, 285–294 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3506-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3506-4