Dynamics of component carbon fluxes in a semi-arid Acacia woodland, central Australia

Cleverly, J; Boulain, N; Villalobos-Vega, R; Grant, N; Faux, R; Wood, C; Cook, PG; Yu, Q; Leigh, A; Eamus, D

Dynamics of component carbon fluxes in a semi-arid Acacia woodland, central Australia

Cleverly, J

Boulain, N Villalobos-Vega, R Grant, N Faux, R

Wood, C Cook, PG Yu, Q

Leigh, A

Eamus, D

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 2013, 118 (3), pp. 1168 - 1185
Issue Date:: 2013-07-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Cleverly, J https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2731-7150	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Boulain, N	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Villalobos-Vega, R	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Grant, N	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Faux, R https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9761-9832	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Wood, C	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Cook, PG	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Yu, Q https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6950-1821	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Leigh, A https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3568-2606	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Eamus, D https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2765-8040	en_US
dc.date.issued	2013-07-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 2013, 118 (3), pp. 1168 - 1185	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/26493
dc.description.abstract	Vast areas in the interior of Australia are exposed to regular but infrequent periods of heavy rainfall, interspersed with long periods at high temperatures, but little is known of the carbon budget of these remote areas or how they respond to extreme precipitation. In this study, we applied three methods to partition net ecosystem photosynthesis into gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (R<inf>e</inf>) during two years of contrasting rainfall. The first year was wet (>250 mm above average rainfall), while little precipitation fell during the second year (>100 mm below average). During the first year of study, rates of GPP were large (793 g C m<sup>-2</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>) in this semi-arid Mulga (Acacia aneura) and grass savanna due to complementary photosynthetic responses by the canopy and C<inf>4</inf> understorey to cycles of heavy rainfall. Patterns in GPP during the summer and autumn matched those in leaf area index (LAI), photosynthetic activity, and autotrophic respiration. During the dry year, small but positive photosynthetic uptake by Mulga contributed to the neutral carbon budget (GPP / R<inf>e</inf> = 1.06 ± 0.03). Small rates of photosynthesis by evergreen Mulga when dry were supported by storage of soil moisture above a relatively shallow hardpan. Little soil organic matter (1.1%) was available to support heterotrophic respiration (R<inf>h</inf>) without input of fresh substrate. The two largest sources of R<inf>e</inf> in this study were autotrophic respiration by the seasonal understorey and R<inf>h</inf> through decomposition of fresh organic matter supplied by the senescent understorey. © 2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1002/jgrg.20101	en_US
dc.title	Dynamics of component carbon fluxes in a semi-arid Acacia woodland, central Australia	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	3	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	118	en_US
utslib.for	0607 Plant Biology	en_US
utslib.for	0404 Geophysics	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	3	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	118	en_US

Abstract:

Vast areas in the interior of Australia are exposed to regular but infrequent periods of heavy rainfall, interspersed with long periods at high temperatures, but little is known of the carbon budget of these remote areas or how they respond to extreme precipitation. In this study, we applied three methods to partition net ecosystem photosynthesis into gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Re) during two years of contrasting rainfall. The first year was wet (>250 mm above average rainfall), while little precipitation fell during the second year (>100 mm below average). During the first year of study, rates of GPP were large (793 g C m^-2 yr^-1) in this semi-arid Mulga (Acacia aneura) and grass savanna due to complementary photosynthetic responses by the canopy and C4 understorey to cycles of heavy rainfall. Patterns in GPP during the summer and autumn matched those in leaf area index (LAI), photosynthetic activity, and autotrophic respiration. During the dry year, small but positive photosynthetic uptake by Mulga contributed to the neutral carbon budget (GPP / Re = 1.06 ± 0.03). Small rates of photosynthesis by evergreen Mulga when dry were supported by storage of soil moisture above a relatively shallow hardpan. Little soil organic matter (1.1%) was available to support heterotrophic respiration (Rh) without input of fresh substrate. The two largest sources of Re in this study were autotrophic respiration by the seasonal understorey and Rh through decomposition of fresh organic matter supplied by the senescent understorey. © 2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/26493