Rising soil temperature in China and its potential ecological impact.

ABSTRACT: Global warming influences a series of ecological processes and ecosystems' stability. Although comprehensive studies have been done to investigate responses of various ecosystem processes to rising air temperatures, less is known about changes in soil temperatures and their impact on below-ground processes, particularly in deep layers. Herein, we used 50 y of temperature data (1962-2011) from 360 sites in China to assess spatio-temporal changes in soil temperatures from the surface to a depth of 3.20 m. We determined, apparently for the first time, that soil surface temperature increased 31% more than air temperature, potentially leading to more carbon release to the atmosphere than predicted. Annual mean surface temperature increased by 2.07-4.04 and 0.66-2.21 °C in northern and southern

SUBMITTER: Zhang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5073247 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature