Topographical Effects on Soil Respiration in a Deciduous Forest—The Case of Weathered Granite Region in Southern Kyoto Prefecture—

Abstract

We monitored soil respiration at a valley bottom and a ridge above that valley in an experimental forest and quantitatively estimated the effect of topography on soil respiration. Compared to the valley bottom, the ridge showed a lower rate of soil respiration in summer and a higher rate in winter; the seasonal difference was caused by soil drying in summer and soil warmth in winter. Both the valley bottom and ridge had annual soil respiration rates of approximately 6.2 tC ha^-1 year^-1. However, the annual value for the ridge included the estimated respiration acceleration due to warm soil temperature (0.68 tC ha^-1 year^-1) and deceleration caused by soil drying (0.62 tC ha^-1 year^-1).