A new pattern expanding current temperature models: A negative correlation between soil respiration and temperature in cold environments

作者：Wei Zhao, Meng Yang, Qiufeng Wang, Tianxiang Hao, Jianxing Zhu, Zhi Chen, Guirui Yu · 发表于：CATENA · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.catena.2025.109653 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics、Climate change and permafrost

• The relationship between annual soil respiration and mean annual temperature is U-shaped. • The negative correlation between soil respiration and temperature extends classical models. • Traditional models underestimate soil respiration by 5–32 % in cold regions. • Cold-region soil respiration shows scale-dependent temperature responses. Soil respiration (Rs) is the second-largest carbon flux after gross primary productivity. Thus, assessing the relationship between Rs and temperature is essential for carbon budget assessments and climate-change predictions. A critical but unresolved question is whether current models accurately capture the Rs–temperature relationship in cold environments. We used multiscale observations from natural ecosystems across China and conducted Rs–temperature model comparisons, focusing on Rs responses under low-temperature conditions. We found that annual Rs exhibited a U-shaped relationship with mean annual temperature (MAT). Notably, unlike the positive Rs–temperature correlation in temperate regions, annual Rs was negatively correlated with temperature in cold regions (MAT < 3.75 °C), primarily in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and Northeast Cold Temperate Zone. This unexpected inverse pattern likely stemmed from the inhibitory effect of increased soil moisture associated with rising MAT. Traditional models (Van’t Hoff, Lloyd–Taylor, and Arctangent) systematically underestimated Rs in these cold regions by up to 32 %. In contrast, monthly Rs increas...