The impact of extreme drought on soil respiration in Caragana microphylla habitats in the Horqin Sandy Land

doi:10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00174

Journal of Desert Research ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (4): 334-342.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00174

The impact of extreme drought on soil respiration in Caragana microphylla habitats in the Horqin Sandy Land

Mi Xia¹^,²(), Yayong Luo¹^,²(), Xinyu Zhao³, Hesong Wang⁴, Binghao Chen⁵, Canyu Shi¹^,²

^1.Naiman Desertification Research Station，Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources，Chinese Academy of Sciences，Lanzhou 730000，China
^2.College of Resources and Environment，University of Chinese Academy of Sciences，Beijing 101408，China
^3.College of Desert Control Science and Engineering，Inner Mongolia Agricultural University，Hohhot 010018，China
^4.College of Grassland Science，Inner Mongolia Minzu University，Tongliao 028043，Inner Mongolia，China
^5.School of Ecology and Environment，Inner Mongolia University，Hohhot 010020，China

Received:2025-04-02 Revised:2025-06-24 Online:2025-07-20 Published:2025-08-18
Contact: Yayong Luo

Abstract

Abstract:

Soil respiration is a crucial component of the terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycle. This study investigated the dynamic changes in soil respiration and environmental factors under extreme drought conditions in the Horqin Sandy Land， aiming to reveal the impacts of precipitation pattern alterations on soil respiration in Caragana microphylla. Based on field control experiments conducted in 2024 in the hinterland of Horqin Sandy Land， five treatments were established： natural precipitation， 50% rainfall reduction， June drought， July drought， and August drought. The results showed that： The soil respiration rate during the growing season initially increased and then decreased； Continuous drought lasting over one month during the growing season significantly reduced soil respiration， while 50% rainfall reduction had non-significant effects； The soil respiration rate exhibited a significant exponential relationship with soil temperature， but showed no significant linear correlation with soil moisture content； Soil hydrothermal factors， plant characteristics， and enzyme activities collectively explained 48% of the variation in soil respiration rates， with soil hydrothermal factors demonstrating the highest independent explanatory power （37%）. This study provides important scientific references for accurately estimating carbon emissions in Horqin Sandy Land under future precipitation change scenarios.

Key words: extreme drought, soil respiration, Horqin Sandy Land, Caragana microphylla

CLC Number:

Mi Xia, Yayong Luo, Xinyu Zhao, Hesong Wang, Binghao Chen, Canyu Shi. The impact of extreme drought on soil respiration in Caragana microphylla habitats in the Horqin Sandy Land[J]. Journal of Desert Research, 2025, 45(4): 334-342.

Figures/Tables 8

Fig.1 Monthly precipitation and average temperature in the study area in 2024

Table 1 Repeated measurement ANOVA of drought treatment and growing season on soil respiration rate in a desert steppe

差异来源	自由度	F
干旱处理	4	5.323^**
生长季	9	81.735^**
干旱处理×生长季	11	4.105^**

Fig.2 The impact of drought treatments on soil respiration rate in Caragana microphylla

Fig.3 The effect of drought treatment on cumulative soil respiration in Caragana microphylla

Table 2 Effects of different drought treatments on soil hydrothermal factors， plant characteristics， and enzyme activity of Caragana microphylla （mean±SE）

项目	处理
项目	W1	W2	W3	W4	W5
土壤温度	20.90±0.032^c	21.80±0.054^b	21.26±0.183^c	20.94±0.068^c	22.90±0.114^a
土壤含水量	0.017±0.001	0.023±0.004	0.028±0.004	0.023±0.002	0.010±0.003
根生物量	0.396±0.099	0.408±0.160	0.380±0.119	0.768±0.213	1.070±0.377
优势度指数	0.559±0.109	0.522±0.048	0.659±0.056	0.516±0.085	0.465±0.093
多样性指数	0.168±0.046	0.243±0.031	0.206±0.041	0.211±0.045	0.208±0.042
均匀度指数	0.097±0.023	0.163±0.026	0.106±0.022	0.195±0.081	0.142±0.041
脱氢酶	3.234±0.323	3.667±0.441	3.542±0.432	3.917±0.107	3.917±0.734
蔗糖酶	19.354±3.265^a	16.262±3.106^ab	21.867±1.712^a	14.916±2.766^ab	10.848±3.230^b
纤维素酶	13.632±0.771	12.819±1.027	13.812±0.475	13.271±1.004	13.063±1.066

Fig4 The fitting relationship between soil respiration rate and soil temperature and moisture content

Fig.5 Correlation analysis of soil respiration rate with Soil hydrothermal factors， plant characteristics， and enzyme activity

Fig.6 Variation partitioning of soil respiration rate by environmental factor groups

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The impact of extreme drought on soil respiration in Caragana microphylla habitats in the Horqin Sandy Land

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