Soil respiration spatial and temporal variability in China between 1961 and 2014

Soil respiration (Rs) plays an important role in terrestrial-atmospheric carbon exchange but remains one of the least studied components of the carbon cycle. How environmental changes influence Rs, and in turn, how Rs influences terrestrial carbon storage in China is unclear. Here, we estimated spatial patterns and temporal trends in Rs from 1961 to 2014 to determine the influence of the recent warming hiatus on the Rs temporal variability in China. We evaluated the relationship between Rs and a set of environmental factors and developed biome-specific Rs models that were parameterized based on 2,862 Rs records and 18 continuous variables (e.g., air temperature, precipitation and leaf area index). Based on the biome-specific Rs models and environmental information, we estimated the annual Rs as well as the change trend of Rs in China during the study period. The mean annual Rs from 1961 to 2014 was 3.50 (confidence interval +/- 0.87) Pg center dot C center dot year(-1). Rs in China increased at a rate of 0.008 Pg center dot C center dot year(-2) between 1982 and 1998 (warming period), but was static between 1999 and 2014 (warming hiatus). This reduction in Rs increase rate may have an important role in enhancing terrestrial carbon sequestration. These findings confirm that temporal heterogeneity in Rs could be influenced by regional environmental changes, and further help in improving the understanding of soil carbon dynamics in China. Highlights No study in China has integrated multiple biotic and abiotic factors and analysed how soil respiration correlates with different factors across biomes. In this study, biome-specific models, including biotic and abiotic factors, were developed to estimate soil respiration in China. Annual soil respiration in China was estimated to be 3.50 (confidence interval +/- 0.87) Pg center dot C center dot year(-1). Annual soil respiration in China had greater deceleration compared to the global deceleration between 1999 and 2014.