Carbon dioxide efflux and concentrations in two soils under temperate forests

The carbon dioxide efflux to the atmosphere and the concentrations at various depths in two soils were measured, for more than a year, under pure stands of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in central Italy. Microbial biomass and activity at the monitored depths were determined in the laboratory and the CO2 evolved from incubated samples was submitted to radiocarbon analysis to assess the mean residence time of the organic matter degraded by microorganisms. The CO2 efflux showed similar trends in the two soils, with highest values in October and lowest in January. The efflux depended more on air and soil temperatures than soil moisture, and was related to these variables better under fir than under beech. In both soils, the CO2 concentration increased with depth: in the top horizon it was low and similar to that of the atmosphere, while in the deeper horizons it often amounted to considerable values (up to more than 1% by volume in the BC horizon under fir). The subsoil of the fir stand generally showed much higher CO2 concentrations than that of the beech. The basal respiration as determined in the laboratory was at a maximum in the topsoil and decreased sharply downwards. Therefore, the high CO2 concentrations measured in the field at the bottom of the profiles - where roots were few, and microbial biomass and available C pool were at a minimum - appeared to be due more to slow diffusivity of the soil matrix rather than to heavy release of the gas by the biota. The organic matter respired by microorganisms in incubated soil samples showed positive values of Delta(14)C that revealed a recent synthesis. The estimated mean residence time increased with depth, suggesting a generally higher degree of stabilisation of the organic pool in the subsoil.